THE LAST PAGE FIRST by Delia James
So, as I was trying to decide what to write for this post, I took a very
unscientific and short poll of the people around me. I asked; What’s one question you’ve always
wanted to ask a writer?
The results were…interesting.
You see, unlike a lot of full-time writers who work from home or coffee
shops, I’m lucky enough to have a co-working space near my home. Co-working is a relatively new concept where
people who are freelancers, or who spend a lot of time telecommuting, can have
access to a shared workspace outside the home without the expense of trying to
rent a whole office. I know, working
from home sounds fantastic, but after awhile with no one to talk to but the cat
and the fridge, it can get a little lonely.
And the laundry can start to seem more important than meeting the
deadline.
On top of that, there are fewer people you can consult when it comes to
questions for blog posts.
The question my co-workers agreed on was this:
Do you start at the beginning, the middle, or the end?
That one’s interesting for me, because it’s entirely different when I’m
writing mysteries than all the other kinds of writing that I do.
I’m a multi-genre author. I have at
one time and another written Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and
Romance and a few things that cross the boundaries between them. I love them all, but I have to admit, mystery
has a special place in my heart. I’ve
always read mysteries and loved mysteries.
I grew up on Sherlock Holmes, of course, and there was this strange
story my dad gave me called The Nine Wrong Answers by John Dickson Carr that I
must have read a dozen times. I
discovered Agatha Christie browsing the shelves at my grandmother’s house in
the country. I found Dorothy Sayers in
college and I was recently introduced to the wonder and delight that is
Josephine Tey.
But when I’m writing mysteries, I do the one thing I don’t do when I’m
reading them. I skip straight to the
end.
Okay, maybe not straight to the end, but pretty darned close. I will sketch out a few beginning scenes to
get an idea of who I’m “talking to” and where things are happening. There will probably be some research at this
time, and, if I’m writing about someplace like Portsmouth, say, where I’ve
visited (and loved), but don’t live, there’ll be a lot of time with Google
Street View. Of course, there’s always
going to be something new about the means, the motive or opportunity that has
to be — you will forgive the expression — dug up.
But as soon as I’ve got some names and faces, I flip through straight to
the end, and I write those chapters, solidly and in detail.
Why? I don’t do this with anything
else I write. In fact, I kind of can’t.
But mysteries are different. For
every scene in a mystery, there are actually at least two scenes. There’s the scene on the page, where all
(well, most) of the characters know is going on in front of them. Then, there are the invisible scenes, which
are just as important, if not moreso.
The invisible scenes are the ones that are happening inside the
characters, based on the things only they as individuals know. These scenes
underpin the entire book, and drive the plot.
The only way I can write them properly is if I know where the plot is
going. This means I have to have the ending solidly fixed in my head before I
can write the beginning.
I suppose it makes sense, though. I
mean, what is the first, and last question in a mystery?
Whodunnit?
If I don’t know that, how can I tell you my story?
Delia James writes her
magical mysteries from her home near Ann Arbor, Michigan, assisted by her
loving husband, Tim, her magnificent son, Alex, and her vocal cat, Buffy the
Vermin Slayer.
A Familiar Tail is the first
of her Witch’s Cat mysteries. To hear
more about the series and read a sample, you can go to
www.darciewildemysteries.com, where you’ll be able to seen the latest news,
order the latest book, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.
A FAMILIAR TAIL (Witch’s Cat #1)
Unlucky-in-love artist Annabelle Britton decides that a visit to the
seaside town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is the perfect way to get over
her problems. But when she stumbles upon a smoky gray cat named Alastair, and
follows him into a charming cottage, Annabelle finds herself in a whole
spellbook full of trouble.
Suddenly saddled with
a witch's wand and a furry familiar, Annabelle soon meets a friendly group of
women who use their spells, charms, and potions to keep the people of
Portsmouth safe. But despite their gifts, the witches can’t prevent every
wicked deed in town....
Soon, the mystery
surrounding Alistair’s former owner, who died under unusual circumstances,
grows when another local turns up dead. Armed with magic, friends, and the
charmed cat who adopted her more than the other way around, Annabelle sets out
to paw through the evidence and uncover a killer.
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