oh my god, I love how you cracked the problem with your novel! I need to get on a plane STAT and solve this latest. Also, I always love hearing other writers who scrap full drafts. I feel like such a bonehead every time I have to do that, but try to remind myself it's part of the process not something that stands in the way of the process. And thank you for the shout-out for CWM! xo
I've been thinking about why watching the Vera Stanhope detective shows are so fabulous, even though they're always versions of more or less the same thing. In part they are master classes in containment, urgency, and intimate monsters: the culprit is (almost always) someone in the web of the victim's relationships, sometimes the death is a mistake--but not always. I almost never figure it out b/c ... well, I don't know why. But. Tana French is also a great example of keeping monsters close, I think....
Oh yes, intimate monsters, especially in a small town! And I'm glad you mention accidents. It seems like British suspense novelists and TV writers set up more accidental situations--OR banal situations in which a person does something merely foolish (and believable) and then gets stuck in their own mess. (In Dark Corners, the mousy British protag sells some dangerous iet pills to a friend and the friend dies, which triggers the blackmail by the person who knows what he did.) I haven't watched Vera Stanhope (yet!) but I LOVE Happy Valley, and my favorite "bad guys" are the ones who didn't mean to be bad but accidentally hurt someone or gave in to a temptation and then things get worse and worse. In those cases, I relate much more to the characters. Let's see now. How would I "accidentally" murder a person? Hmmmmmmm!
oh my god, I love how you cracked the problem with your novel! I need to get on a plane STAT and solve this latest. Also, I always love hearing other writers who scrap full drafts. I feel like such a bonehead every time I have to do that, but try to remind myself it's part of the process not something that stands in the way of the process. And thank you for the shout-out for CWM! xo
WHAT BOYS LEARN sounds amazing! And the behind-the-scenes story is so inspiring. Thank you for sharing it!
I've been thinking about why watching the Vera Stanhope detective shows are so fabulous, even though they're always versions of more or less the same thing. In part they are master classes in containment, urgency, and intimate monsters: the culprit is (almost always) someone in the web of the victim's relationships, sometimes the death is a mistake--but not always. I almost never figure it out b/c ... well, I don't know why. But. Tana French is also a great example of keeping monsters close, I think....
Oh yes, intimate monsters, especially in a small town! And I'm glad you mention accidents. It seems like British suspense novelists and TV writers set up more accidental situations--OR banal situations in which a person does something merely foolish (and believable) and then gets stuck in their own mess. (In Dark Corners, the mousy British protag sells some dangerous iet pills to a friend and the friend dies, which triggers the blackmail by the person who knows what he did.) I haven't watched Vera Stanhope (yet!) but I LOVE Happy Valley, and my favorite "bad guys" are the ones who didn't mean to be bad but accidentally hurt someone or gave in to a temptation and then things get worse and worse. In those cases, I relate much more to the characters. Let's see now. How would I "accidentally" murder a person? Hmmmmmmm!