Hello and welcome to Fashion Bites.
I'm Ellen Byerrum, author of the screwball noir Crime of Fashion Mysteries
featuring Lacey Smithsonian, a fashion reporter in Washington DC, The City That
Fashion Forgot. At this point in time I have written eleven mysteries, one thriller, a
middle school novella, a ghost story, and a dozen or more plays. Most were written
while holding down a full-time job as a reporter in Washington. In some circles
this output would brand me a slacker! Some "super writers" produce four or five
books a year. (Quality may vary.) It's not something I can do and write books that
I'm proud of, but you have to listen to your own drummer. Why am I talking about
this? Someone suggested that I should discuss how I write my books. Why? I don't
know, but why not? This is my writing process. I'm sure everyone's process is
different, but there are probably commonalities. Unlike some writers, I
don't go into a trance, the book doesn't write itself, it doesn't fly out of my
computer like a magic trick, and by the way, I use a notepad and pen, as well as a
computer. Actually two computers. I think both methods use different parts of my
brain. I find ideas flow better with a notepad through my hand and fingers and
onto the paper, particularly during the beginning stages of a project. Everything
starts with an idea, and questions: What if? How about? I wonder? For my Crime of
Fashion Mysteries, an idea will undoubtedly include a fashion angle,
whether it's a robbery at a boutique, a suspiciously bad haircut or a young
designer who goes missing. Capturing the wild idea. As an example, my idea may
include a hatpin. In reality people don't generally use
hatpins to dispatch their foes anymore. Hatpin murder methods are more popular
in vintage fiction. Still, there are questions I could ask: How old is this
vintage hatpin? Who did it belong to? Could the pearl be real? Are these
authentic gems? Was it stolen? Could that dark color on the end of it be
blood? Was it from a pinprick or something more sinister? One idea leads
to another, And one thing you should know is that ideas have an annoying habit of
showing up when you're just about to fall asleep or when you're in a meeting
or when you're trying to listen to a politician. When they happen after the
lights go out, I might think, This idea is so great I'll remember it in the morning!
I'm too sleepy to write it down, but no problem, I will remember this! WRONG. I
have learned that I must write the idea down. If I don't it will bother me and I
won't get any sleep, and worse I won't remember it in the morning, I'll only
remember it was great and I lost it. I try to keep a notebook by the bed. I
might not be able to read my notes in the morning, but I gave it a stab.
Multiple ideas make a story. One idea is not enough. There are characters, setting
and action to consider. Two or three or five or ten thoughts converge to create
a scenario for a story or a book. Now, sometimes I can work on a story idea
immediately, but most of the time I can't. Why? Because this story has to get in
line behind a lot of others. The idea goes on the back burner and simmers
until it boils. The concept is back there and often has to share space with other
ideas that I parked on the burner. The ideas and the plot simmer and simmer,
sometimes for years, until they boil, resulting in something I am ready to
write. Explosions can be messy! The weird thing about writing is that I want to
write something, I am dying to write it, but something stops me. I have notes here
and there, I have ideas everywhere, messy messy! It's as if I can't physically put
words on paper. It might be that I'm trying to finish up something else, but
the new story is still simmering, and finally there comes this boiling point.
It explodes to where I cannot wait any longer and I must write this particular
story. The relief of finally writing it down is
wonderful. What about writing an outline? Some people live and die by the outline,
and when I was traditionally published I had to turn one in with every book,
because that is how the contract was structured. They withheld part of my pay
until I turned it in. It was a monumental drag and I suspect most editors never
looked at it, they just ticked off a box. But my contract with myself requires no
outline, nor does my current editor. I always have a sense of my story and
where it's going. I always know the beginning and the end;
the middle is the road I discover while I'm writing. I may pick up additional
suspects, I may take a new and unexpected trail. That's the fun part,
the unexpected part. I personally find that outlines suck the energy and fun out
of a project. You have spent so much time on the outline you already feel like
you've written the book and you don't care to go further. And I never want to
be bored by my book. Research: compelling and potentially dangerous. Research is
always ongoing during a project. No matter how much I look into something I
have to check on things or interview someone else while I'm writing. But I
can't write a book without having a base of knowledge. Sometimes I have it because
I have been involved in a subject for years. For instance, I wrote much of THE
MASQUE OF THE RED DRESS based on my history in the theater as a playwright.
When I wrote SHOT THROUGH VELVET I visited the last velvet factory in
Virginia during its last week of business. I interviewed the manager and
toured the facility and I learned a lot of ways to dispatch a victim. Last summer
I attended a beekeeping event and was able to interview the beekeeper for my
upcoming book, which is set during World War Two.
Sugar was rationed during the war, so honey was popular. However, the beekeeper
gave me an unexpected angle that could introduce some deadly moonshiners into
my plot mix, giving me another storyline and more potential suspects.
Research can give you that AHA moment, and that's wonderful. So how could
research be dangerous? I've known people who are so in love with their research
they never write the book. Their excuse: There's always one more book they need
to read, one more battlefield they need to visit. And then we get to writing it
down. The actual writing begins. It doesn't necessarily go well. I
generally write the early sections by hand, then revise on computers. Some
writers want absolute silence when they write. As a former reporter I don't get
that at all. Reporters have to work on a deadline in a noisy newsroom and produce
a story, while what you really want to do is be listening to the next guy's scoop.
You have to attend loud press conferences and sift out the relevant
facts. The question someone else asks is not necessarily your question, but it
might be a good question. Finding the ability to write through all that is an
essential skill, in my opinion, so I like to be out and about in the world and not
shut away in a "Cone of Silence." So where do you find the time? So many people say
they'd write a book if they could just find a moment and sit down. If sitting
down is all it takes, here's a chair! Go for it! I get it, it's
not easy. Sometimes you have to come up with a workaround. When I worked a
full-time job I would go to the library or a coffee shop or a bookstore after
work. I established that time for writing by hand for a couple of hours, then I
could go home and key it in and edit at the same time. I still go to libraries to
write, it gives me both a sense of community and calm. Now, if you are the
type of person who feels burdened by housekeeping and a million undone chores,
as I do, my best piece of advice is have somebody clean your house. Take away that
nagging chore. Besides, if you invest in a cleaning person you are investing in
yourself, giving yourself the time you need for writing. (Having to pay for it is
an extra incentive to write.) Writing is hard! As part of my writing
process, I say out loud, "Writing is hard!" about a hundred thousand times per book.
I say it to my computer, my notebook and my husband. I swear I can feel the very
spot in my brain that gets tired when I try to come up with ideas. It's in the
middle of the middle of my brain. And sometimes I don't feel up to the task.
What then? Solution: Naptime! What happens when you're exhausted? You can't think of
anything else. I have a suggestion: Take a nap! It might
be the thing you need. I love napping, I am a champion napper.
Give your brain a break. Or take a walk. Stop thinking about the writing, let
other ideas come. You could walk in the park, you can walk in the mall,
depending on what kind of stimulus you need, or you can take a shower. Often the
water running over my head loosens ideas.
Beware the 75% point! There always seems to be a point about three-quarters of the way
through where I am convinced that whatever I am writing is awful!
Not just awful, but the worst piece of scrawling that has ever been committed
to paper. This is the place where I want to give up. I want to throw it out. I
wonder how I could ever consider asking people to read my work. This is the
humbling point. For some writers it could come quickly, about a third of the way
through; for others it's halfway through the book. I have named mine The 75%
Point. Having written a number of books and plays, I know this point is
coming, I know I can get through it, I know the only way to defeat it is to
continue on, to say, Okay, this sucks! It is the worst thing ever! I'm going to write
it anyway. And you know what? It never is the worst
thing ever. Finally, never give up! There are so many times I want to give up, but
I keep coming back to it. I follow this process through, and through the
subsequent writes, rewrites, proofing, editing. That's how my books get written.
And editing is a subject for another day... That's all I have for now. If you want to
know more about me or my books, check out my website at Ellen Byerrum dot com.
I'm also on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this video, please hit the LIKE
button, and consider subscribing to this channel. That way you won't miss any. And
feel free to share. This isn't a secret society. Bye.
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