Stuart Bone's Blog - Posts Tagged "crime"

I've been able to spend all this week concentrating on the new novel. I've been rewriting notes, adding new characters, working out when a particular murder takes place and how it helps the story develop; it's been brilliant. (I promise you it is still a comedy, even though there are killings. One of my characters is on medication that gives her the side effect of feeling horny all of the time...she doesn't want to change the dose).

I had to draw myself a map of the setting yesterday; the city centre of Cunden Lingus. Well I say draw, a few squares inside a big circle that represents a ring road on a scrap of paper isn't going to win me any art awards...unless I scrunch it up, piss on it and call it 'Artist's Struggle' and then it will be up for the Turner Prize!

I'm really pleased with how the ideas for the novel are progressing. I have the opening of the story prepared, which is always handy as writing the first few lines of what will become a 90k - 100k words book can be daunting. Mind you, by the time you're up to draft five, the original opening will have gone completely and been replaced by something totally different.

Still, that's all part of the writing process and I absolutely adore it.

I've spent the last few weeks immersing myself in crime. Fiction that is, not real life. I haven't suddenly changed careers (although perhaps crime would pay a little better).

I'd already read practically every Agatha Christie novel but not a lot of other crime fiction, which is what I've been immersing myself in. I've learned I've been missing out. There are so many great books out there.

I've realised though that crime novels aren't so different from other genres. There are plots, characters, twists and so many ways to tell the story, whether it's from a detailed police procedural perspective or from a private detective's viewpoint or even an untrained person who's in the wrong place at the wrong time and has to turn detective as well.

It's given me confidence in my own private detective story that I'm currently planning out. I have a main character and his family and 'sidekick' who will be the key players and I have ideas for a couple of stories.

Although I'm trying to concentrate on the crime side of things, all I keep doing is thinking of funny lines/situations the characters will find themselves in so there will definitely be humour in the story as well. I just need to ensure I get the balance right.

At the moment my main character doesn't have a name so I keep referring to him as MC. That doesn't really help conjure up an image. All I see is a Master of Ceremonies in a red tailcoat, announcing people at a function.

I was at a 'Do' once where there was an MC. I was there with a group of friends and found myself at the front of the queue. The MC said he had to announce me so I gave him my name. He then asked who I was with.
"Oh, just some friends," I told him.
Then I realised he meant a partner.
"No, I'm single," I said, "Do you really have to announce that to the room?"

I wish now I'd given him one of those funny names to announce instead.
"I'm Joseph King, but everyone calls me Joe."
Or perhaps we could have heard him announce to the whole room in his great, booming voice,
"Ladies and Gentlemen; Ivor Biggen."

Anyway, back to the book; I've been considering the setting; wondering if I should use my fictional county of Tenhamshire from my first two novels or perhaps using a real place. I've decided on real. That way I can keep my purely humorous novels separate in Tenhamshire and my crime ones probably set around the East London and Essex area; places I know and can therefore describe well.

Oh well, back to it then; time to start thinking like a killer. Perhaps I shouldn't answer the front door to anyone this afternoon.

Another week another change. No, not my underwear my next novel.

Although my private detective was coming along nicely I felt something was missing. Only yesterday I concluded it was the amount of humour.

For those that have read my previous blog posts you'll remember I recently had an agent take an interest in my second novel, Nothing Ventured; only to decide in the end that they didn't quite feel it commercial enough for them.

I've allowed that decision to eat away at me ever since and realised that the novel I was planning out was to try and please them rather than myself and that's only going to result in a sub-standard product. I write comedy and enjoy doing it. If you enjoy doing something then you do it well and continue to learn from it.

So I'm back on a humorous crime novel rather than a crime novel with a little humour in it. I'm actually combining aspects from the last two ideas I've been working on. The characters from 'Serial for Breakfast' will actually fit well into the crime/mystery idea I've worked on most recently; with just a few adjustments.

Maggie Reynolds has lost her psychic abilities now and instead will be an ex-policewoman (did she leave or was she pushed?) and her team at the hair salon will move across quite easily to being the staff at the café that she now runs. (Yes, I'm taking back my title from several blogs ago; the next novel will indeed be called 'Crime and Nourishment.')

The setting is moving back to fictional Tenhamshire and, with that and the characters all fully-formed I'm pretty much ready to start writing the first draft.

If I have to self-publish this one too then so be it. I think there's a good market out there for humorous fiction, it's just a case of getting the novels noticed...and read...and reviewed...and recommended...

Another week passes and third novel, Crime & Nourishment, is coming along nicely.

I've spent most of the last seven days trying to make my clues to discovering who the murderer is work. Each idea raises more questions and every time I have to consider why an amateur investigation uncovers something a police investigation wouldn't. It might be a humorous novel but it still has to be accurate and believable.

One of the first questions I had to ask myself was why my main character, Maggie Reynolds, left the police force in the first place. It's no spoiler to mention that she was involved in a car accident but did I want to make that the entire reason for her leaving. Was she forced out by injury? How severe would it need to be? Are we talking the loss of a limb or would being blinded in one eye be sufficient? What about a debilitating illness?

It's not exactly pleasant, trying to maim someone, but then that's what writers do; play God with their creations and a crime novel, no matter how humorous, is going to explore the sinister side of life; more so than say, one set on a coach holiday.

Not that my coach holiday novel, Driven to Distraction was exactly bereft of sadness. As the characters' lives were revealed not all of them had had a jolly time of it. Even within the humour, characters suffered. Poor old Colin found himself in a number of sticky situations, quite literally in a couple of cases.

I particularly remember creating the character of Emma, the rather over-enthusiastic guide at the nature reserve. She had a tough time of it showing the coach party round; bashing her eye on her telescope, twisting her foot in a hole and getting stung rather badly. I actually started to feel really sorry for her, even though she was an entirely fictitious person.

J K Rowling said, when writing The Order of the Phoenix, that she cried after killing off a character and I can understand that. (We all know now that was Sirius Black...don't we? Haven't you read it? Oops, sorry).

For me, humour and tragedy are two sides of the same coin. A friend of mine texted me after reading second novel, Nothing Ventured and said that she'd laughed and cried at it. That's exactly what I wanted to happen. That tells me the characters are as believable and real to the reader as they are to me and although I sometimes have to hurt them, it all makes for a great read.

Oh, and by the way; you'll be glad to know Maggie Reynolds is still in possession of all four limbs and left the police force after becoming despondent with the job. Perhaps that's not macabre enough for some of you but don't worry; I'm killing off other characters.

I read an article this week that said having a second blog could be a good way to increase book sales. The idea behind it is that all writers are writing about their books and career, so a second blog, on a completely different subject; could be a good way to get noticed by a new audience. Adding a link onto the second blog about the novels would then get this new audience noticing the author's work.

The theory is good but I don't think I have anything particularly interesting to say about anything else. If I had more going on in my real life would I be spending all my time writing fiction?

Sitting here trying to think of another topic to write about, I'm transported back to my primary school.
"Now class, I want you to write a whole page about 'Things I like doing.'"

Okay so perhaps 'drinking red wine' wouldn't have been on the list back then. It's not something I think I could write a whole article on anyway.
"Yes I like that one...and I like this one. Aroma? I'm getting grape. Taste? I'm getting grape."

There's also the question of how many people would find a subject interesting although, judging by some of the shite I see on social media, I don't think everyone ponders that before sharing.
"Yes that is a large amount of fries on your plate and I agree, the marbling of the fat in the steak does resemble Jesus; but please, just eat it before it gets cold."

Finding things to write about once a week regarding my own writing career isn't always easy. There's little I can reveal about novel number three, currently being written, as I want people to read it once it's finished; not know the whole plot beforehand. (Mind you, at the moment; I don't even know that).

I'm five chapters in, on the first draft and I think the story is coming along nicely. I feel I'm getting the building of suspense right and I'm enjoying adding in little clues here and there regarding the murder case. Not sure I've quite got the tone of the humour right yet and that joke about a woman's Giant Schnauzer might not make it into draft two.

So, a second blog? Probably not for me at present. I did once consider writing one from one of my character's viewpoint; but I think 'Shauna's Blog' (Driven to Distraction) could end up in a big pile of lawsuits.

Well I've been out and voted this morning. I'll be glad when the General Election is over. There's so much reference to it on social media and some people are getting really passionate about it and obviously hate certain parties. Personally I don't think someone on line telling other people who to vote for does any good. We all have our own minds and should decide what issues are important to us, read up what the parties offer (and discount about 90% of it which won't happen) and then vote accordingly.

Having someone say, "If you vote for <-----> you're a XXXX" isn't particularly helpful; although it would raise a few eyebrows written down the side of one of the campaign buses.

The whole of the election in England just seems to be about three people as far as I can make out. We have Jeremey Corbyn and Diane Abbot for Labour; who both remind me of school teachers; he teaching Geography and she trying to teach maths but all the kids mess about in her class and they confuse her; and Theresa May for the Conservatives; a woman whose naughtiest things she's ever done are to trespass through cornfields as a child, and to name her breasts 'Strong' & 'Stable.' (or have I got that a bit mixed up?)

Anyway, by this time tomorrow it will be over and we can all move on with whatever the result is.

I'm getting on well with my first draft of CRIME & NOURISHMENT. I'm about 20k words in and there's still so much that's got to happen. I don't think I'll have any trouble with length (ooh Vicar). It's so much easier to take bits out of a story than add them in. I was short on my first novel, DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION and had to add a couple of days to the holiday and create a few more characters. With hindsight I can't believe Colin or the wine-tasting excursion weren't in the first draft.

I'm enjoying writing the third novel even though I've given myself quite a challenge; trying to combine the mysteries of the crime story with the humour of my first two books.

'Maggie Reynolds left the police force eighteen months ago after she was knocked down in a hit and run accident. With the death of her mother, Maggie took over the running of the family café.

When the man found guilty of the last murder case she worked on is himself killed in prison, Maggie finds herself plunged back into the world of investigation. Was Robert Flowers the killer of his girlfriend or did the police put an innocent man behind bars? Maggie had her doubts at the time, but who else could have killed Samantha and is that person ready to kill again?

As an ex-copper, Maggie has contacts but not access to all of the case information. For that she'll have to start her own investigation which puts her own life in danger. Was her accident, eighteen months ago, really an accident after all?'

Hopefully that's whetted your appetite. The humour comes from other characters in Maggie's world; especially her best friend and work colleague; Sarah; who's currently suffering side effects from her medication and is feeling horny all of the time.

I received a lovely, five star review on Goodreads today for NOTHING VENTURED. That always perks up my day. Goodreads advises not to respond to reviews; which makes sense. If you respond to one you have to respond to all; even the bad; but it's difficult not to when someone has taken the trouble to write. I'd just like to say here that I appreciate every review/rating I receive. It always helps highlight the books, so thank you very much.

The new book, CRIME & NOURISHMENT, hasn't progressed as much as I'd have liked it too in the past week but I am pleased with the scene I've just written set at a Retirement Home where local Baronet, Sir Jasper is a resident. He's a bit of a dirty, old man really but gets away with it due to his age. He pretends to be sweet and innocent so that young ladies give him a hug or a kiss on the cheek which he really gets off on. He's the type of man that thinks a smack on the bum should be a compliment to a woman.

I only mention him and the Retirement Home here because they were both going to feature in my sequel to DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION before I decided to shelve the project. In that story Margaret, whom Derek met on the coach trip, has moved to Tenhamshire and runs the Home where Derek is gardener and her mother, Dora reigns supreme. Sir Jasper was going to be Dora's partner in crime.

Although I felt the book wasn't going to work after writing the first draft, the entire experience was by no means wasted and here I am using the main setting and one of the main characters of that story in another one. It pays to keep notes of things that may prove to be useful in the future.

I have a notebook where I write down ideas I have for stories and I also note down amusing situations or even just funny one-liners that may prove useful someday. If someone tells me about a funny situation they found themselves in and it resonates with me, it goes in the notebook. If I use it I will embellish the story and change it about.

Off the top of my head, Lauren's waxing stories in DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION came from a friend and the horse riding incident was basically my own experience. In NOTHING VENTURED, Diana getting club card points from paying for her husband's funeral with her supermarket credit card was also originally a friend's story.

I'd never use something that could potentially hurt or embarrass somebody but still, I'm guessing after reading this; my friends may be telling me a lot less in the future...or worse; want a percentage of my sales!

I've never been more glad to work from home than I have this week in this hot weather. The thought of the commute into London on hot, stuffy trains while wearing a suit; I really don't miss that.

I'm not one of those people who complain that it's not hot enough in England because this is what you end up with when the temperature rises; a hot, stuffy, damp heat. I'm much happier when it's about 12 to 15 degrees and you can wear a jacket. That's always the other thing. When it's this hot and I don't need a jacket then I have to find somewhere else for my wallet, phone & asthma pump and end up with large bulges in the trouser area...and not in a sexy way!

I'm sitting in my office now with the window and door open and a fan on. It's still hot but at least I can wear shorts and t-shirt and know that the fridge and cold beer aren't too far away.

I've just been reading through what I've written so far of my first draft of CRIME & NOURISHMENT. Most of the advice out there says to just keep writing the first draft until you've finished before checking it and I did that for my first two novels, but now I find I like to do a bit of editing as I go along. I've just added a new opening to the book so it seemed silly not to read through and amend parts that I've now written about in the prologue.

I must admit I'm very pleased with the result. I've found that the humour has taken over from the crime side of the story and I'm quite happy that it has. The story is still a murder mystery but now the main character gets into a lot of funny scrapes as she investigates it. I reached one point and for a split second thought to myself, 'I wonder how that bits going to pan out' before remembering that really; how it pans out is up to me.

I like not knowing where some bits are going. Usually I prefer to be in control but if a character wants to go down a different path then I let them go that way and see what happens. I'm introducing a new character in the next chapter (14) and having read through the draft, I've realised I've been building her up all the way through so now she needs a big entrance.

I guess I need something more than just writing "Ta-Dah!" when she appears.

I know, the heading doesn't bode well for the content of this blog. Sometimes the weeks pass by so quickly and it's a shock to realise it's been seven days since the last entry.

I start asking myself questions as I ponder the previous week: -

So what's new?
Well there are lots of things.

Okay, so what's been of interest?
Hmm, interesting does narrow it down. There's the dentist appointment tomorrow with the possible dead nerve in the tooth. How about that?

Surely you want to save that exciting nugget for next week?
Sarcasm?
Of course it is!

I'm really enjoying writing the first draft of novel number 3; CRIME & NOURISHMENT. There's nothing better than coming up with a new idea that will create more intrigue or move the story along a different path.

I'm pleased that it's now become a humorous crime novel, rather than a crime novel with humour. It's helped me get to know the characters better and the book will sit nicely with the first two.

The strangest thing I've found with this novel is that I'm not consulting my notes as I write it. With the first two I kept going back to the notes to ensure I'd put in everything I wanted but this one (which undoubtedly has a more complicated plot line with a murderer to find) my brain seems to have retained the information. It's amazing really as yesterday I went to put dirty plates into the washing machine rather than the dishwasher!

Perhaps it's because I spent more time at the planning stage and researching different aspects of the story. I'll keep that in mind when I start writing number 4. I like that I still learn so much from each new book.

Actually, mentioning number 4 (sorry I can't be blasé about this - Number 4?! I'm talking about a fourth novel?!! Wow! - Okay, I'm back in the room) it's quite possible that I'll go straight on to another crime one featuring the characters in CRIME & NOURISHMENT. I've mentioned a crime series before but that was for a previous idea that I shelved. When I began writing this I was looking at it as a one off. Now that I'm further in I've found myself thinking how certain characters could develop in the future. I was going to have a rather scary detective sergeant in this novel; Helen Cheung; a woman her inspector describes as being turned down by the Marines for being too aggressive. I've decided she'd be better appearing in the next one instead, where I can develop a very frosty relationship between her and my protagonist, Maggie.

For me, thinking about a sequel already means I know I'm on the right track with the current novel. A lot has happened already and there's still so much left to play out. It's all here in my head. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to put a Ready Meal in the tumble dryer.

I read some useful information this week about using HTML codes in my online book descriptions. I'm no genius when it comes to the latest technology. (A phone is something to make and answer calls on and a Tablet is something you pop in your mouth when you're not well) but I've used computers for many years.

The coding is actually pretty simple. It's just a case of putting the right letter between the 'less than' and 'greater than' symbols. For example, placing 'i' between '<>' at the start of the text and '/i' at the end of it will turn it into italics on Amazon. Using 'b' will make it bold etc.

It's a small and quite simple thing to do but it makes a big difference. Personally I think my book descriptions look a lot more professional on Amazon now that I've added in bold headings and quotes in italics.

My first novel's been on Amazon for fifteen months and only now do I realise I can adjust the text.

This is where information can help a writer. I must admit I've got pretty fed up recently of reading articles with titles that say, 'Ten ways to improve sales' and realising I've already tried all of the items on it but there are still bit and pieces out there that prove to be useful and writing & marketing is a continual learning process.

When it comes to marketing my third novel, CRIME & NOURISHMENT I'll be trying something that's new for me and will start advertising it before it's available for sale. I might even splash out on having a professional design the cover for me and perhaps get them to redesign covers for the first two as well so that all three link together (hopefully that would be a special deal!)

Anyway that's a bit of a way off yet although the first draft is coming along nicely. Maggie Reynolds is deeply involved in the investigation of the murder of Samantha Jacobs, but is the killer responsible for another two murders; or possibly even three? And just maybe there's about to be one more...