Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Almost Missed Me Completely

Here I am halfway through the day before I remember... not that I forgot. It was on my weekend to do list. And my Monday one. But Tuesday rolled around and I had social commitments and my mind left me entirely.  But I'm here now!

Welcome friends to the first Wednesday Insecure Writer Support Group!!! My writing life has been on hiatus of late, but The Burrow, my writing group, is at least talking about writing again, so that's something. I've also been reading a lot. Erm... and binging on too much television...

As for this month's question... What do you love about the genre you write in most often?

I suppose for me that boils down to suspense. I write YA, dystopian, mystery... the common thread is I like a twisty tale. The thing I love is laying out the threads and then pulling them all back together again. My very favorite stories are the ones that elegantly pull several strands back into place that you haven't even noticed were anything more than description at first. Sometimes I do this intentionally (like with murder clues)--I always try to have my major plot points mapped--but the part I REALLY love is when I suddenly realize I have a solution where part of the pieces were just included organically. There is this rush of satisfaction with it.

What about you? What is the favorite thing about your genre?  And now go visit some other insecure writers!

19 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Always nice when things fall into place on their own.
Attempted murder - that is hilarious!

mshatch said...

Yes, I love when something I thought I randomly planted turns out to be key to a dilemma. If only I could tap into that genius more often!

Chrys Fey said...

Twisty tales are the best tales. All of my stories have some level of suspense to them because I adore it. I love things to start on the first page and to build from there.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I like twisty tales also. Hope you get back into the writing groove soon. TV has been blah for me lately. Wish I could find something to binge.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I think that just shows how well your mind works even when you're not trying.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I love a good twist! And that "attempted murder" pic totally cracked me up. :)

Karen Baldwin said...

Your photo has me wondering...were the blackbirds watching an attempted murder? Or plotting one.

Liz A. said...

It's always cool when the story comes together at the end, especially when it does so organically.

The picture made me think of the Terry Pratchett line. I'm not quoting exactly, but it went something like, "You needed three witches to make a coven. Two witches make an argument."

Botanist said...

I always struggle with the tangled plot lines at first, but it is satisfying when things come together.

Stephen Tremp said...

Hello Hart, long time no see.

I love that rush feeling when writing and progressing through a novel. Its is an emotional roller coaster ride that is addicting.

February 2018 IWSG Co-host
www.stephentremp.com

Helena said...

Do two crows mean it's only manslaughter?

Twists and switchbacks and crazy u-turns are indeed thrilling to read when done right (and you do them very right!), but on the rare occasions when such a twist pops into my head, I get goosebumps.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Ah, suspense. It's important in so many different genres. And who doesn't love a twisty tale?

Michelle Wallace said...

You are very good at laying out the threads and then pulling them all back together again!!
Twists and turns in a story? I enjoy planting them... now the trick is to get them to all come together nicely.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Hart - as the others have said ... at least your mind is still working ... the grey cells are functioning. Good luck with getting back to writing soon - yet the group is still there ... cheers Hilary

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Twists are fun to read and to write! Glad the Burrow is talking about doing some writing soon. I've been doing a lot of reading lately, too!

H. R. Sinclair said...

Twists are a rush to plot out--they are also a joy to read.

Crystal Collier said...

You're a puppet master. ;) Nice. I love those moments too, when suddenly your characters surprise you and you're like, "What?!? But yeah, it was totally always that way."

CA Heaven said...

I'm not so much into particular genres. I like a lot of different ones. When it comes to reading, I've been consuming a lot of Swedish noir recently

Cold As Heaven

Terra said...

Attempted murder, LOL. I write nonfiction and read in most genres, my favorite author is Anthony Trollope and also many mystery series authors like Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, Alexander McCall Smith and Laurie King. I have had a dry spell for writing in 2017 and am hoping to jump back in.