Okay, I sent off my latest R&R. Now comes the waiting period. Probably four weeks, maybe longer. Ugh.
But after I have my self-congratulatory piece of chocolate, I’ll be printing up my newest manuscript to give it another edit. And it’s not YA. Nope. This one is a murder mystery for adults. Yeah, it’s completely different. But not too different. I like to read YA and MM. Both tend to be plot-oriented. Since I’m committed to do my part in being published, it seemed to me that the best way to do it is to cast a broad net. You never know what an agent/editor is going to be looking for (I’ve already had an agent ask me to send her a query and sample pages). Plus, I’ve always wanted to write an MM. So this was the perfect time to do it. Once you have a contract, you’re committed to that genre (with notable exceptions) and to build a following within that genre. I didn’t want to think in five or ten years, “Gee, I wish I’d written a MM.” And then, I got “The Idea,” which I’m pretty sure hasn’t been done before. And The Idea poked, prodded, and generally made itself a nuisance until I wrote it.
It’s been fun. A lot of work*, but fun. After all, to paraphrase Rick Castle, “There are two kinds of people who spend their time thinking about killing people, psychopaths and mystery writers.” My kids already think I’m crazy (who else talks about their characters lying to them) so it wasn’t much of a stretch.
*If there are any wannabe mystery writers out there, the best books I’ve found are How to Write a Damn Good Mystery by James N. Fry and Don’t Murder Your Mystery by Chris Roerden.
NOW I understand the characters lying to you thing you were telling me about. In a MM that makes so much sense. Almost like you're solving the mystery as you're writing. In fiction, that didn't make as much sense to me -- at least not how my fiction goes. (Not usually a mystery.)
ReplyDeleteThat's so cool that you're writing an MM! Good luck! And good luck on the R&R!
Characters lying to you--now that's funny. I haven't tackled a MM, and don't know if I have the smarts for it, so my hat's off to ya.
ReplyDeleteYou know I'm praying about the R&R!
You know, I think about killing people and I'm neither a psychopath, nor an MM writer ( stick mostly to SF/F)...
ReplyDeleteCongrats on sending it off and all of the interest (I'm jealous!)I hope that you get good news soon. The waiting part is so hard!
Do you already have a book in print? I would really like to read something you have created.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo!! I hope your R&R is accepted!!
ReplyDeleteActually most of my main characters (antagsonists and protagonists) lie to me at some point--whether it's the MM or any other book. I think it may be because I'm a seat-of-the-pants writer and I discover my characters as I write. So they have the opportunity to lie.
ReplyDeleteOooh. A post about MM and today is Agatha Christie's birthday! Hey, what a coinkydink.
ReplyDeleteHehe well, I am reassured you're not a psychopath. Have fun working on the next stage of the new project!
ReplyDeleteI think about how to kill people, but I'm pretty sure it's a residual effect of Sunday nights playing Mafia. :) I'm so excited about both of your books...good luck with them!!
ReplyDeleteNo, Karen, I think your a psychopath.
ReplyDelete. . . "you're" a psychopath.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your R&R! We all know the waiting does suck, but whatever happens, you'll still have a stronger manuscript than before, which is awesome.
ReplyDeleteIt's so cool that you're writing a mystery! I remember seeing you say something on Absolute Write re: "Don't Murder Your Mystery" and I bought it straight away since I'm working on a draft of my very first mystery, too. It's been really useful, so thanks for recommending it!