IWSG: "and I further deduce!" he exclaimed

Hello! Whoever is reading this you already rock :) it is time for the Insecure Writers Support Group post again and I feel as insecure as ever!

I never imagined myself writing a mystery. Well not generally speaking, my novels naturally do include mysteries and puzzles, I love these kind of things.

What I mean is detective stories. A killer who provides the book with body mass and a sleuth who outwits him and catches him in the end, woopy! the hero won, fireworks, party everyone!

I write about deaths and several crimes and secrets in fantastical situations, whether in futuristic or historical worlds, yes magic is involved to clear the mystery but I promise NO unicorn affect. However, this time it’s different, I got this novel in my head, it’s a mix of sci fi & fantasy, I’m saving it for NaNoWriMo, one of my three main characters likes to solve crimes for fun cause he’s genius and why not.  But every time I think about the details of the crimes and the evidence and leads he should be following my brain turn into a black hole where everything is lost forever. I cut breath. My limps freeze with fear.

I can’t do this.

I have always enjoyed a good mystery, Sherlock books, Detective Conan animie series and CSI NY only to name a few, and I’m forever ready to be wowed by the clever mind. But when it comes to actually writing such a book what do I know about it? Police work and detective strategies were never my gig.

I read many reviews about such novels and how reviewers pick on each incorrect information or easy to find detail. Some of them say they guised the killer way before the last page and it sucked the joy out of the rest of their reading experience.

There was once that book on goodreads I found it’s premise intriguing, the killer seemed really vicious like he’s going to give the hero a headache, but I read a review stating that the whole crime wasn’t that great and all was poorly executed, I know all this is subjective but it made me feel terrible, and I thought "I’m never going to write a detective novel". The writer of that book is quite talented and he seems to do fairly well with his sci fi series, his detective books though seem to lack behind, so maybe it isn’t his thing. And what if it isn’t my thing either? What if I’m making a huge mistake? *gasp* wasting  my time?

And Dan Brown people, have you seen the work that man pulls? He’s a freaking genius! Having said that, Dan has an infuriating twist he likes to use with each and every book (the majority anyway) every time he introduces this admirable character who tries everything to aid the protagonist in his quest only to reveal at the end that said character is the actual killer, Oh come now!  it became typical for me when reading one of his books that  whenever a character seems glamorous enough I’m all like yup that’s the one, and I’m always right.

It doesn’t make his books suck, but it’s just the pain I as a reader have to endure when a favorite character of mine turns out to be the rotten apple and so dies or goes to jail and who gives a damn anyway right? God I hate that about Dan Brown! 

And now I hear you ask:

Captain! That is a very well known plot twist in the world of crime fiction and Cinema, how dare you defy it?

And I say yes! I tend to strive to make my bad guys sympathetic, who am I to judge?

Ok, It’s not that I can’t write such a book, it’s just that I have a strong feeling that the final product will not meet standard. And the more I think about it the more I find myself in an unsecured position as all those tiring questions surround my head, what do you know about crimes? No amount of research will make you pull this one out, why? Cause those writers are smart and sharp and you’re stupid! I bet the readers will guise your precious killer right from page one. Also it’s a sci fi, tell me how will all this work in the future? And what if nobody gets it at all? You’re notorious for being vague and mysterious in a very unpleasant way. and remind me again why not stick to your strengths instead of pointing your weaknesses to the world? Enters the most frightening question: what if you reach a dead end and abandon the story all together?! 

I have a very short span of interest you see, I gave up on so many great projects in the past and it stings till today.

my Baggins boys with Sting

I know, I sound all crazy and frantic in this post, for all I know I may not even write the darn thing and yet here we are. Still, at the end of the day one knowledge stays the same; that I love my idea. I genuinely think the book will benefit from a detective character with a criminal mind to peruse and I don’t want to give up on it…well at least not before I try. It’s a new challenge on a very high level for me, and there’s nothing wrong with stretching my writing muscles. I’m never going to specialize in crime fiction but I really want to give it a shot.

Besides, it’s enough looking at these lovely creations to give me the impetus I need.

Those I did not explore yet, unfortunately, but the originality of the premise and the mixing of different genres is what calls on me, and for it I reverently bend my head.

See You Later