Writing Ruminations: How Do I Cozy?

Many years ago--about 10, to be precise--I decided to try my hand at writing fiction. I cut my teeth on short stories while I learned about the three act structure, hook lines, characterization, sub-plots and sub-text. I read craft books, attended writing conferences, perused writing magazines and even took some online courses. I put my writing in front of anyone who might read and offer critique. 

via GIPHY

Finally, Voila! I had written a novel. And then I even wrote a second one. Granted that one took a whole lot longer to finish, but that's another post.

I started thinking about my next novel and realized that I wanted to try something a little different. It was time to try...a cozy mystery.

via GIPHY

I turn to all the experience and education I'd gathered over the last ten years. I try to organize myself. I try to characterize. I try to plot. I try to figure out exactly what the heck I'm supposed to put into a cozy mystery. I check blogs. I check books. I create spreadsheets. And still...

via GIPHY


It feels like I'm starting over at the beginning all over again. Same sense of not having a clue and not really knowing where to go to get the answers I need. My spreadsheet has helped, but even though I've been able to meet my goals for the basics (character development, setting development, etc...), when I get ready to start plotting, I feel a little lost.

via GIPHY

Luckily, I follow several people on twitter, including Elizabeth Spann Craig and Kellye Garrett.

Elizabeth Spann Craig has a great blog series about the basics of writing cozy mysteries. It's helped me to see the general process and she has a ton of links to other resources on the internet.

Just last week on Twitter Kellye Garrett shared a book she used to write her award winning Detective by Day mysteries. It's called Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron. I'd actually seen it a couple of weeks ago at the Barnes and Noble in Lincoln, but didn't purchase it at that time because I wasn't sure it would be helpful. After Kellye Garrett's recommendation, I made sure to stop by the Barnes and Noble this past weekend when we were in Lincoln picking out a cello for Boy 1 and grab the only copy.

So far it has been enjoyable to read and the exercises at the end of the chapters are practical, definitely doable and helpful for clarifying what I need to be doing to plan the novel before actually writing it. Since I'm a plantser, this very much appeals to me.

I plan to keep to my spreadsheet goals, but use the book to help me fill out the plotting part, most especially. I may switch to completing chapters by a deadline, but haven't really gotten deep into it to decide.

What do you do when you need guidance? Do you have a trusted person who is your go-to? Or do you prefer to utilize books and blog posts?

**Quick note: I STILL can't access my comments. I don't know what to do, but I wanted to say thanks to Joe and Cindy for the nice comments!!

Things You Might See While Playing Pokemon Go - July Edition

Was your July satisfying and awesome?

I have to admit my July was rather normal. I took three days off work for vacation and then Boys 1 and 2 started de-tasseling corn, so we couldn't go on any significant trips! They had one day off while I was off work as well, so we went to Eugene T. Mahoney State Park for the day and enjoyed the treetop ropes course and the paddle boats. I think we all imagined being Jedi as we were hopping from platform to platform and then zip lining to the ground.

That's me in the photo, with Boy 2 behind me. Please forgive my hair, but it kept raining off and on. We did play a little Pokemon Go at the park, too. 

Found a Pikachu on the Fourth of July!

Proof I've been working on Growing Old is Murder! This was taken at the library, which has a Pokestop right outside the window on the left. That's my husband reading across from me, and gathering as many pokeballs as he can!

The next two pictures were taken at the airport. It is a tiny airport, but there's a long drive that has a Pokestop by the airplane. I take Revan, our Labrahound, on walks there in the morning and harvest Pokeballs and Pokemon.

I just really like this tree. There are several in town, and get big white flowers on them. Does anyone know what they are? I haven't a clue!

Below is but one section of a mural that spans several buildings near our downtown area. I'll share more each month. I chose this section for this month because it's interactive with the building. I love how the people are painting the building and the man is holding the window like a picture frame.

The next two pictures are taken in one of the many parks in town. The amount of trees and vegetation here (as opposed to Wyoming) is soothing to my soul. I'm starting to think I was either a bird or a tree in a past life. If I'm feeling upset or stressed, just get me outside and I can breathe again.

Yes, I even played Pokemon Go while donating blood. (There was a Pokestop at the church where the blood drive was held.) I included the picture as a reminder that blood donation doesn't take much time and  truly saves lives. Consider getting in touch with the American Red Cross in your area to find out where you can donate. If you happen to be overseas, I have no idea how that works for you, but I still encourage you to donate today!

Last but not least is Revan. Part of why I got so into Pokemon Go is due to needing to walk him, and he often is in the back seat while we drive to the college or a park to make the rounds to the different Pokestops.

When I saw the picture of him on the shelter website I knew he was our dog. It's amazing how well he has fit into our family and how much richer our lives have been since he's become a Schiffbauer. If you're thinking about getting a new pet, I encourage you to peruse your local animal shelter. Speaking from experience, there are some fine animals there, just waiting for you.

All righty! May you all have a great week and I'll see you in August!

Random Stream (of Consciousness) - Politics

I was looking at my Twitter feed earlier today. As I scrolled through my profile, I realized that many of my tweets are retweets of political information. Not long ago it seemed I'd reached some kind of milestone when I was called a "liberal Progressive turd" in response to one of my more widely viewed comments.

Pre-Through the Fairy Ring, I kept my political opinions to myself. I didn't want to offend anyone (meaning readers) who might have views different from my own. It didn't feel as if my voice on such things was important, anyway, because I have always lived in very conservative states and my puny liberal voice doesn't carry much weight in politics.

I started writing Through the Fairy Ring during the election cycle of the 2012 election. I was disillusioned with politics in general and decided to explore the theme of leadership as part of Hazel's continuing story. When I'd written the book I'd tried to think of the worst a leader could do to demonstrate their self-centered and power-hungry ambitions. I am dismayed at how similar current events are to my story.

Part of the story is Hazel learning to have a voice and speak up for those without a voice; learning that people can do many crazy things for power and because of greed, but then standing up for what is just and loving, solely because it is the right thing to do. I can't say whether I successfully accomplished my goals or not, but I do know after the 2016 elections, I can't keep silent about my beliefs. I may offend some people (obviously I did the guy who called me a liberal turd - or he was a bot, in which case I'm rather proud), but sometimes you have to stand up for what is right, regardless of what other people may think. Being silent is being complicit.

I also have begun participating more in our political processes. I'm teaching my children about advocacy and encourage them to speak up for people who have no voice. We even attended a political rally in Omaha as a family.

I try to moderate what I retweet on Twitter. I try to ensure what I share is reputable and not a bot-made inflammatory meme. I try to include light-hearted posts and retweets too. I try to keep my posts level headed and not emotionally charged. When scrolling through the feed, it's a weird eclectic mix, but it's the things I worry about and want others who may look at my timeline to know. And then some humor to try to lighten things up, because daaaang!! I swear the world has gone dark and crazy. We have to try to have some balance, right?

I don't really have a way to end this post. I was busy the last couple of nights being a mom and am falling asleep writing this, so I guess I'll just say "the end." 

Do you share your views on the world at large on social media? Why or why not?