Mystery Writing

Can Writing a Novel Help Your Career?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

I believe the answer is yes.

Without clear communication it’s hard to get things done in our world of team work, offices in different locations, cities or countries, partners working time zones hours away, and the multicultural workplace.

Much of our communication happens via the internet or intranet, making written communication extremely important.

Using interesting, concise and clear communication will help you get your job done, convince others to work on your project, and highlight your intelligence.

Think of the time you save if you only have to send a memo once and not answer questions about it.

Over the last few years, I’ve improved my writing skills by writing several novels. The more time I spend writing, the better I get at it. As they say, whoever they are, practice makes perfect.

So if you think spending time writing a novel that might never get published is a waste of time, think again. Writing a novel will improve how you communicate by the written word.

Have you found this to be true, too?

Thanks for reading.

Scene of the Crime Writers Festival: Genre Talk

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

This year Scene of the Crime brought us Barbara Fradkin, author of the Michael Green Detective novels. Barbara led the morning workshop at writers festival on Wolfe Island in Kingston Ontario.

Barbara Fradkin, Andrew Pyper, Ian Hamilton, Gloria Ferris, Erika Chase, Janet Bolin
Panel discussion by: Barbara Fradkin, Andrew Pyper, Ian Hamilton, Gloria Ferris, Erika Chase, Janet Bolin

Fradkin talked about the difference between cosy mysteries and hard-boiled mystery.

If you’re writing a cosy, she suggested:

  • no swearing
  • limited violence – could be off screen
  • sex mostly off screen
  • set in a tight community, village or club
  • write in a genteel pace

But if you’re on the other end of the spectrum you can write whatever you like.

I think my writing falls somewhere in the middle. What about you?

Thanks for reading . . .

Nicknames for Characters

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

It is okay to refer to a character using more than one name?

In life, we’re often referred to by a nick name, a family name or a full name depending on who is talking to us.

I call my niece, MoMo. She calls me TiTi. She’s the only person who does that.

At work or formal situations, I go by Kristina.

My family and close friends call me Tina.

But no one calls me Kris. It’s not a short form of my name I like. If a person uses it, my brain doesn’t even register I’m being addressed.

But in a novel, is all this fair game?

I think it depends on the writing.

In the last case, a character could refer to another by a name they don’t like. This would tell you something about the character. Maybe he is socially inept. Maybe he is trying to be irritating.

Short forms make characters close to each other. There is an intimating between them that wouldn’t be there without the endearing name.

A character insisting that others use her full name could be giving a message. Maybe she doesn’t like the person she’s talking to so insists that person be formal and kept at a distance. Or maybe she is  trying to appear professional.

My only caution is the nickname must be clear. The reader needs to know who is speaking or being spoken too. If too many forms are used too often, the reader may become confused or annoyed and stop reading.

And none of us want that.

Do you have any tips on using more than one name for a character and is it worth the risk?

Thanks for reading . . .

Top Ten Reasons to Blog . . .

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

If you are an Author, published or unpublished, here are 10 reasons to create a blog and stick with it.

  1. Build an audience for when you’re ready to sell your novel (or continue to sell an already published one).
  2. Practice writing.
  3. Practice proofreading.
  4. Develop your voice.
  5. Learn about social media.
  6. Share your knowledge with others.
  7. Connect with others world wide who have similar interests to you.
  8. Promote the work of authors whose work you admire.
  9. Get motivated to write: any kind of positive feedback encourages me to keep trying.
  10. Prove to a publisher that you can build and maintain a platform.

Why to you blog?

What motivates you to comment on other blogs?

Thanks for reading . . .

Top 5 Reasons to Write with Pen and Paper

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Summer is here, and I love to be outside. Even, or maybe especially, when I’m writing. I don’t want to take the beautiful days for granted. Now some of my friends laugh when I say that because I spend winters in the Bahamas, but I grew up as a Canadian conditioned that summer days are precious and not to be wasted. Do we ever forget lessons drilled into us when we were children?

The computer is usually my place of writing. The words may work their way onto a piece of paper, but somehow the scene doesn’t seem written until I type it in. Maybe that’s weird, but hey, everyone should be allowed a little weirdness now and then.

Top 5 reasons to write with paper and pen:

  1. Practice spelling – no cheating with spell checker.
  2. Create scene descriptions through doodling and drawing.
  3. Make notes in side margins when an idea strikes.
  4. Don’t get interrupted by social media – no announcements of email, FB messages, etc to distract you.
  5. Burn paper if writing is really terrible – this is particularly satisfying.

Does your imagination get sparked by using a new medium?

Thanks for reading . . .

How to Get a Free Manuscript Critique

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

The value of blogging hits home. I’ve been following Joan Edwards for a while now and here’s what happened.

Joan posted an offer of a free manuscript review just for commenting on her blog. So I commented and I won.

I sent the first 1000 pages (oops – I meant words)  of my novel Avalanche to Joan. Joan assured me complete privacy and got straight to work.

What Joan did:

  • She sent me a covering letter describing her overall strategy and what her highlighting meant .
  • She gave me high level comments before reviewing each line in detail.
  • The critique included story line, grammar and punctuation comments.

It’s exciting to receive professional feedback that will help me improve the quality of my story. She included areas for improvement and highlighted sentences she thought were good. Now I have to get to work and make this better. It’s amazing what a second pair of eyes can do for a manuscript. I wish I could have Joan review my entire manuscript. Thanks Joan. You are a star!

If I didn’t blog, I never would have had this opportunity. This comes right back to Authors Helping Authors.

Thanks for reading . . .

Grammar: How to Learn What You Don’t Know

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

This is what I did.

In 2008 I attended the Humber School For Writers correspondent course. Joan Barfoot was my mentor.

The course is designed so a professional writer works with the student on a manuscript.

I thought I knew all about punctuation and grammar until Joan pointed out I didn’t know how to use a comma.

In my mind, I was using the pesky little mark correctly. But how would I know unless someone else pointed it out to me?

My point. You need someone your trust, who knows grammar and punctuation, to give you an honest review of your talent.

Then . . .

STUDY STUDY STUDY

Perfection doesn’t come for free.

Do you have any tips for figuring out what you don’t know?

Thanks for reading . . .

Authors helping Authors

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Are you interested in helping authors get the word out about their books?

I am. If I read a book I like  or see a notice from an author I like about their new book I try to help.

I put the word out on the following social media sites.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Smashwords
  • Goodreads
  • Pinterest

Why do I do this? I love to read. I love to promote reading. And this is an easy way to encourage others to read and help an author at the same time.

Are there other ways you help promote authors?

Thanks for reading . . .

Scrivener and Scene Summaries

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Do you keep track of your scenes? Do you summarize what’s in a scene. I used to use a spreadsheet exclusively to do this until I discovered I can use Scrivener. (I still use a spreadsheet for a more complete list that I can sort.)

In Scrivener, for each scene I note:

  • Chapter Number
  • Name of Scene
  • Point of View
  • Point of Scene
  • Tension
  • Revelation
  • Hook – ask yourself: why would a reader keep reading?
  • Character introduction and description
  • Date and Time of Day
  • Scene Description
  • Scene Dependency
  • Other – anything I want to remember. This could be a scene I want to add later. A description that needs updating. Just little reminders I still have word to do.

How does this relate to Scrivener, you ask?

I created a template in Scrivener by copying the relevant cells from and Excel spreadsheet and pasting them into a newly created template in Scrivener.

Then for each scene I insert the template underneath and to the right of the scene so I have the template linked to each scene. As I review each scene, I fill out the template. If I can’t fill out a line then I know I have work to do.

You can choose to compile the scene template with your novel or leave it out. If I’m printing a draft version, I might print the scene template so I can work on paper for a while. If I’m compiling and I only want the novel, I unclick the Include-In-Compile button.

It’s fun to discover new techniques to work with. Always, always learning . . .

Do you have information you keep track of for each scene that helps you make the scene better?

Thanks for reading . . .

I wrote a blog with my review of the Scrivener software that might help…

Writing a Series

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 16 Comments

Keeping track of details in one novel can be an overwhelming task. My handy-dandy spreadsheet does the job for me.

But what happens when one novel becomes two and then two become three? And then you make a change in one . . . and it has to be updated in two and then three.

This is enough to drive a person crazy or at least keep them entertained or maybe keep them from sleeping. Who knows?

My solution. As always my spreadsheet. I have now added a new spreadsheet to my collection. I keep one spreadsheet per novel and have found an extra one for details that need to be remembered from one book to the next helps.

I can remember the big details, but what about the ones like an address, a description of a room, a character’s sibling.

Without a spreadsheet I am lost.

Any tips that might help me?

Thanks for reading . . .