School’s Never Out by Lucy Burdette

LUCY BURDETTE: When I read my girlfriends’ posts about getting their masters in creative writing, I feel a sharp yearning in my gut. What a pleasure and a luxury it sounds like to spend two years focusing on the craft of writing!

By the time I figured out I wanted to try writing fiction, I’d already spent a lifetime in school and earned two masters degrees and a PhD. The chances of going back were not high. Even so, I took every class I could get my hands on, online and off, attended conferences, and hired independent editors. Writing was hard and I wanted to be good at it, so I took—and still take—all the help I could get!

Over the past ten years, I’ve also started to teach a little. One of my favorite events happened last weekend at the Seascape Escape to Write weekend workshop for writers of commercial fiction (mostly mystery and paranormal.) A small group of students submits their work ahead of time and we critique each one in depth from three perspectives—character, opening scenes, and scene structure. And then we run other classes, and one-on-one sessions with the 3 instructors (Hallie Ephron, Susan Hubbard, and Roberta Isleib--that's the other me), and tons of discussions to process what we’ve learned. We spent the last hour this past Sunday talking about what kinds of “aha!” moments the students had over the weekend. I’d thought I’d share a sample of the list with you—this helps me realize that as much as I might have wanted to pursue an MFA, there are many great ways to learn about writing. We were so proud of these guys!

Wisdom from the students and teachers at Seascape 2011:

- The key to a good opening: make me want to read more
- Sometimes really good writing can mask plot issues
- Bring conflict into the very first chapter
- As a writer, I need to know what happened earlier to my characters--stuff I'm
not going to put into the book
- The criticism you least want to hear is the one you knew yourself
- Lavish as much attention on making the sleuth interesting as the victim
- Put the characters in the driver's seat
- Try not be constrained by stuff that really happened and that inspired your
plot
- Conflict can be emotional, not just action. Conflict keeps the pages turning.
- Synopsis isn't dramatic
- It's all about character
- It's possible to fall in love with the wrong characters, ones that aren't
relevant to your plot
- Ask yourself: What would I do in this situation; make it believable
- Polishing isn't revising, and structural changes aren't as daunting as they
seem.

- Sometimes you just have to hold your nose and write
- I CAN FIX ANYTHING!

Lucy Burdette is the author of the Key West food critic mysteries, debuting in January with AN APPETITE FOR MURDER. You find her on her website, or facebook, or follow her on twitter. As Roberta Isleib, she wrote 8 mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime.

Steering the Course

By Roberta Isleib and Lucy Burdette

Our trusted blog leader suggested that one of the themes this session might be a chronicle of last year's highs and lows. For some reason, that brings nautical analogies to mind--maybe because my new character lives on a houseboat?

I once imagined that the life of a published writer might feel like sailing on the forward deck of an ocean liner--sun shining, glassy seas, a tropical drink beside my lounge chair to toast the newest book. But it didn't take long to learn that a sail on the publishing ocean is anything but calm. One minute my vessel is perched high on the peak of the wave, the next moment she falls with a dizzying drop deep into a trough. This past year was no exception! I'll show you...

TROUGH: After two years of diligent writing, agent suggests the book I finished last year may best be suited for a drawer at the bottom of my desk. Okay, maybe she didn't say it exactly like
this, but I swear the words "reputation" "mine" and "yours" were all used in the same paragraph.

PEAK: Same agent pitched my proposal for the Key West Food Critic mystery series to an editor at NAL. The series is accepted and A TASTE FOR MURDER, written by me as Lucy Burdette, will be published in January 2012.

TROUGH: Trusted writing friend says about my short story drafted for a Mystery
Writers of America competition: "I have to be honest, I don't love it."

PEAK: Same trusted friend offers excellent suggestions for revision. After
rewriting, this same short story "The Itinerary" is chosen for inclusion in THE RICH AND THE DEAD, an anthology edited by Nelson Demille to be published by Grand Central in April.
TROUGH: Editor suggests the name I was born with and have clung to through two marriages must be peeled away.

PEAK: I will be reincarnated as my wonderful, artistic grandmother who died too young: Lucy Burdette.

TROUGH: Every other day it seems we get more bad news about publishing--Borders is in bankruptcy, Barnes and Noble has fired all its buyers, writers are getting new contracts that don't specify there will ever be a "physical book."

PEAK: Writers are writing and readers seem to be reading more, rather than less, whether it's on e-readers or whether it's paper copies.

Personally, I think we're in for some big swells in this business for a while. I keep reminding myself that the only thing I can control is my writing. My plan for 2011? Trim my sails, find true north, hang on to that wheel and let Lucy go.

Roberta Isleib is the author of eight mysteries. Her books and stories have been nominated for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. Lucy Burdette's first mystery will be published in 2012.

A Great Big Hello from Roberta Isleib!

ROBERTA:  Hurray for Karin Gillespie and this brand new Girlfriends Book blog! I'm so excited to be a part of a grand and ongoing celebration of women's fiction.

I write murder mysteries--and that started because (cross my heart) I was playing so much bad golf that I had to figure out how to make something of it! So five of my books feature neurotic but lovable professional golfer, Cassie Burdette. In real life, I'm a clinical psychologist so my next series stars psychologist, advice columnist, and amateur detective Dr. Rebecca Butterman (DEADLY ADVICE, ASKING FOR MURDER). She's also a fabulous cook--which is great fun to write! I had some exciting news recently--my short story, "The Itinerary", was chosen to be included in the next Mystery Writers of America anthology, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD. The collection will be edited by none other than Nelson DeMille! Meanwhile, my agent has two books she's trying to sell, and I'm working on another.

Enough of all that. Besides writing, I love, love, love to read. Last year I chaired the Mystery Writers of America committee that chose the best crime novel of 2009, so I've been resting a little from reading mysteries, instead concentrating on women's fiction. Here are a few books that I've read and enjoyed this summer.

THE RED THREAD by Ann Hood. From the jacket: "After losing her infant daughter in a freak accident, Maya Lange opens the Red Thread, an adoption agency that specializes in placing baby girls from China with American families." The book takes us through the stories of six couples who are waiting to adopt through Maya's agency. As the adoption date draws near, the lives of these people begin to unravel and Maya is forced to face her own tragic history with her daughter and her husband. Ann Hood is an expert about getting into the minds of her characters so they come alive on the page.

RED HOOK ROAD by Ayelet Waldman.  Two families in Red Hook, Maine are joined by a marriage and then shattered by a tragedy almost as quickly. As their grief unfolds, the tension between the families does too, bringing cracks to light that were not visible before the wedding. Waldman started her writing career with a mystery series, the Mommy Track mysteries--her books have only gotten better and better.

THE STUFF THAT NEVER HAPPENED by Maddie Dawson. Dawson is Sandi Kahn Shelton's new identity. I've loved her other novels, which are set in my neck of the woods in Connecticut. STUFF wanders through the long marriage of Annabelle McKay, from its unusual beginning to its major hiccups to the warm and wonderful ending. The book asks the question: "What if you were married to a wonderful husband for twenty-eight year but in love with another man?" An excellent read.

And my last recommendation, SPOON FED by Kim Severson, is not fiction at all. But if you follow the food articles in the New York Times, you'll have seen Severson's byline. In this appealing book she profiles seven cooks who've had a big influence on her career and her life. You'll get her inside scoop on Alice Waters, Rachel Ray, and others, and you'll be drooling by the time you finish. I interviewed Kim on my group blog, Jungle Red Writers, so go over and check that out when you're finished.

Okay, that should keep you busy for a few days anyway! And you can find me on Facebook, my website, or Jungle Red writers. And can't wait to hear what my other girlfriends have to say....