Mixed Genre Puzzles

It’s a difficult task writing a crime/thriller in first person, especially when the protagonist isn’t the victim, murderer, witness or part of the investigative team. You could argue that the writer who attempts this is rather stupid. To me, it was a puzzle that needed to be solved.

 

I’ve had to think long and hard about which novel to take forward for submission. It would have been easier to concentrate on Ghost Towns, because the issues from the first draft have been resolved and it’s ready to move onto the next stage. However, I felt compelled to review my first person, crime/thriller novel. Into the Snicket deserved another chance. In its original form it received agency representation and was sent to publishing houses, which is no mean feat. Eight out of sixteen publishers responded, but the consensus was that it lacked the pace required for a crime/thriller genre. It required an overhaul and this would take time, but I couldn’t shelf a project which had got this far.

 

This task necessitated a certain amount of determination, but I have all the right attributes. When I couldn’t fathom out how to complete more than one side of a Rubik’s cube, I wasn’t one of those cheats who peeled off the stickers to glue them back into the right place. Neither did I dismantle it, piecing together the same coloured squares - taking the easy way out. Instead, I made a resolution to keep clicking at that bloody cube until it was done without the aid of adhesive or a geeky friend. Forty years later, I’m still working at it. I’ll win in the end, but unpublished writers don’t have time for trivial games. I’ve had bigger fish to fry, namely, the mixed genre puzzle, which blighted Into the Snicket.

 

The matter was finally resolved. It was simple really. So bloody simple, I don’t know why I didn’t do these things in the first place! To create pace, I’ve built up the tension in the first ten chapters. Also, I deleted characters that were getting in the way of crucial elements - such as the murder, the body and the murderer’s identity. However, I knew that it lacked a certain something else.

 

I couldn’t pinpoint the problem until I attended an Off  The Shelf event in Sheffield. Here, Mark Billingham said that crime writers don’t stick cuddly kittens into their books and if they did they’d kill them! How true! His endearing words made me even more of a fan. Then he spoke about the importance of dialogue and I realised that this was the missing link. I should have told him that he’s my hero. Instead, I was star struck, unable to speak, stuttering and blushing unable to explain that his advice has saved my book. Into the Snicket was resuscitated with dialogue. The additional voices allow more perspective: a bigger picture, which enables the reader to take part in the investigation - ticking the crime/thriller box.

 

It was important that my protagonist’s vulnerable voice doesn’t grate or bore. This isn’t a cute book - it’s about domestic violence for goodness sake. So I took MB’s advice and added more dialogue, planting subtle clues within conversation. This enabled me to delete the clunky murderer’s voice, which had originally made an appearance after every fifth chapter. Now, the murderer’s viewpoint is in the prologue only – serving as a device to show that there has been a murder.

 

Into the Snicket is ready for agent submission. I know what they are expecting: a synopsis, three chapters, chapter outlines and a letter. Something tells me that I've got a theme for the next blog.....

 

Confusion

Continuing on the same theme as my last blog, I will try to demonstrate the daily trials of an unpublished writer using the self-builder as an allegory. It is no secret that I have amassed a portfolio of unfinished projects and need to focus on successfully completing one. Therefore, I’ve returned to an old property with intentions to spruce it up for re-sale.

 

The revised plans are kept under lock and key in my study, which for the purpose of this allegory will be referred to as an on-site caravan. There are days when I sit within those flimsy four walls, frozen to the bone, wondering if my work will ever manifest into the stuff of dreams. I often wonder why I’m putting myself through such stress - up to my knees in rubble and mud, with nothing to show for my labours; except the bags under my eyes. I’m slightly overwhelmed by the task ahead - losing sleep – worrying that my grand design might not even pass the building regs.

 

The self-builder can assess their profit margin, whereas the unpublished author has no way of knowing the value of their work-in-progress. When and if they get published, they’re expected to work for free while promoting their book. Quite rightly, Philip Hensher has recently refused to write an introduction to an academic’s book for free. In the light of this news, many authors have expressed similar frustrations, which is understandable considering they have already spent many hours working for nothing in order to get a book published in the first place.

 

An unpublished author is required to master their craft by attending workshops and creative writing classes. Then they will need to copper up more money to pitch their work at conferences and festivals. It is also highly advisable to enter numerous competitions, which all require entry fees – of course. And, if the bank has not already stopped their Mastercard, they will be compelled to increase their debts by buying other people’s books to check out the competition. In fact, the unpublished author will build up a vast collection of literature including a ton of guide books and manuals that claim to know the secret of slush pile avoidance. All this expense will be accumulated before they’ve even got around to sending their first three chapters to literary agents. Inevitably, once the unpublished author reaches this stage they must be prepared to suffer the heartbreak of rejection - followed by more rejection - over - and over again. All this sorrow will inevitably come at a cost, not only to the mental health of that person, but also, a small fortune will be frittered away on printing ink, stamps, brown envelopes and SAE’s for receipt of bad news. If the unpaid/unpublished author is fortunate enough to get a contract with an agent, they will have to embark on the daunting task of attracting an editor. This whole process from idea to final publisher submission can take years. I’ve notched up a total of five years and haven’t had a sniff of an advance.

 

Therefore, I return to my cold caravan to wade through paperwork. I will weigh up the costs that have been incurred against income that may never come my way. I’m growing weary, sinking into unstable ground – subsiding at a rate of knots - in urgent need of some serious underpinning and nerves of steel.