Wednesday, March 5, 2014

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

10 comments:

  1. You can do it! Get a notebook and decide what your lot will be...who will be the bad guy. If you know all the specifics, then when you come up with the rest of your story, you can add in the red herrings and the twists. I think you can do it. If you can read them, you can write them. Just take your time and plot out your plot like you would build a house. Start with the base and work up...then write.

    Thanks for the visit to my blog...your comment made my day!

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    1. Aw! Thank you for the encouragement Elizabeth! Right now you are my hero, I really don't want to give up on this one, I'll try my best to pull it. And your welcome, I'm only good at pimping others up, myself? well you've seen for yourself what a nutcase I am.

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  2. The manuscript I'm working on now seemed daunting and beyond what I could do. I'm making an attempt anyway. You should do the same, because I bet you could pull it off.

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  3. I personally think mysteries are the hardest genre to pull off. Today's readers are so jaded from all the plot twists, just like you mentioned. But why not go for it? Nothing worth having comes easy, and what have you got to lose? Good luck!

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  4. Writing mysteries are tough, but sooo worth the effort. Good luck!

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  5. It's always good to try something new...and you may get your best ideas halfway through. What's a little rewriting when an epiphany that makes the whole book arrives? You never know until you try. Best of luck!

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  6. Alex J. Cavanaugh, writing can be really terrifying sometimes.Thanks for the encouragement
    Holli Moncrieff, your right, at the end I have nothing really to lose, except some time and we writers know that all writing is worth it and never a waist of time.
    Julie Musil, God isn't it! mystery books are so fascinating.
    Michael Pierce, your words are wisdom, I think I'll just be brave and give it a try.

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  7. Oftentimes it is easier to just give up than to try but if the rewards are worth it and you enjoy doing it in the process, why not give it a go? Maybe only a handful of people will like it. Maybe some people will find something wrong with it. So what? It happens even to the bestselling authors. You can't please everyone but by answering to the call, you open the doors for yourself and your writing. Good luck!

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  8. If you want to write a book, go for it. Even if there are challenges along the way, there will be rewards too.

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  9. I feel the same way about two book ideas of my own Criminal Identity and Obession. The former because it is full of strong sci-fi elements which I don't usually write as well as crime and Obession which deals with a teen who becomes obsessed with an actor and delves into Hollywood which I'm not very familiar with either. Right now I have lots of other ideas higher on my list (mostly fantasy which is my jam or dystopia which I can definitely write) but I understand your nervousness completely. While I might not be toughing these ideas with a ten foot pole right now I saw go for it. You love the story and are willing to try. That's loads to start with. And Almost Human rocks. Fox has a great line up with Sleepy Hollow and Almost Human. Before I practically didn't watch Fox channel at all.

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