Killzoneblog.com
Kay DiBianca
“I think it’s fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we’ve ever created. They’re tools of communication, they’re tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.” –Bill Gates

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I’m not sure I can agree with Mr. Gates about PCs being “the most empowering tool we’ve ever created.” There are a few other foundational things mankind has invented that are pretty good: the wheel, the printing press, indoor plumbing 😊. But Bill Gates isn’t the only person wired about the use of personal computers. You can find plenty of other quotes to store in the same file. For example:

“The digital revolution is far more significant than the invention of writing or even of printing.” –Douglas Engelbart

Whether you soar to such heights of computerized adoration or stay with your hands firmly fixed on the keyboard, there’s no doubting the obvious. Personal computers have revolutionized the practice of writing books.

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For example, Elaine Viets wrote a TKZ post a couple of weeks ago about typewriters that took us back to the days of mammoth Underwood machines, carbon paper, and whiteout and made us appreciate even more our personal computers and software.

“I am thankful the most important key in history was invented. It’s not the key to your house, your car, your boat, your safety deposit box, your bike lock or your private community. It’s the key to order, sanity, and peace of mind. The key is ‘Delete.’” –Elayne Boosler

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So it’s only right that we celebrate August 12 as IBM PC Day since that was the date in 1981 when IBM released its first personal computer, the 5150.

IBM was late getting into the personal computer market, arriving after Apple, Commodore, and Tandy had already grabbed a share of the new users. But given the opportunity for growth in that field, IBM jumped in and developed the 5150 in just one year.

In order to get to market quickly, IBM contracted with a little-known software company named Microsoft to supply the operating system for the new PC.

The reaction to IBM’s entry in the personal computer domain was immediate. According to Wikipedia,

Reception was overwhelmingly positive, with analysts estimating sales volume in the billions of dollars in the first few years after release. After release, IBM’s PC immediately became the talk of the entire computing industry. Dealers were overwhelmed with orders, including customers offering pre-payment for machines with no guaranteed delivery date. By the time the machine began shipping, the term “PC” was becoming a household name.

Sales exceeded IBM’s expectations by as much as 800% (9x), with the company at one point shipping as many as 40,000 PCs per month.

The phenomenal success of the IBM PC changed the face of personal computing and created a watershed moment in the history of writing.

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Although the ability to record words has been around for thousands of years, the strides made in the last fifty years have been dramatic. Along with the advent of the personal computer and word processing software, a host of applications have arisen to help authors get their books written well and published quickly. Thewritepractice.com lists ten of the best software apps for writers:

Scrivener

Google Docs

Dabble

Google Sheets OR Microsoft Excel

Vellum

ProWritingAid

Publisher Rocket

Atticus

Freedom

Microsoft Word

These advances (and more) help us write and deliver our books in a timely manner. But they are just tools for the writer. The real work comes from within as noted by JK Rowling below:

“I wrote first 2 Potters by hand and typed them on a 10 yr old typewriter. All a writer needs is talent and ink.” –JK Rowling

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So TKZers: How have PCs changed your life? What was your first PC? Do you use any of the software listed? What other apps do you use to help you get your books written and published?

It’s the twenty-first century. Cassie Deakin learns that cops may have sophisticated equipment, but it still takes clear thinking and hard work to corner a murderer.

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

In anything, there has to be that moment of fasting, really, in order to enjoy the feast. —Stephen Hough

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Here on TKZ, we occasionally make reference to life style choices that affect our writing. We talk about the kinds of food we eat, the hours of sleep we get, and the types of exercise we do. However, there’s one behavior I don’t think we’ve covered here: fasting.

Although I don’t fast frequently, I do a 24-hour fast once a year, and I’ve occasionally tried shorter term fasts. (Translation: not very often.) Although I’m certainly not an expert on fasting, I’ve noticed a couple of things.

Besides being uncomfortably hungry, there’s another facet to denying oneself food: the effect it has on the brain. I have noticed a clarity and focus that comes with fasting that may be a benefit to authors, and that can be accomplished even with shorter, intermittent fasting.

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting (IF) isn’t about what you eat. It’s about when you eat it. There are different approaches. Some people don’t eat between say 8 p.m. and noon the next day. That’s a sixteen-hour fast. Others may eat regularly five days a week and eat only one meal on two non-consecutive days.

A Little Background

According to Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Mark Mattson

“…our bodies have evolved to be able to go without food for many hours, or even several days or longer. In prehistoric times, before humans learned to farm, they were hunters and gatherers who evolved to survive — and thrive — for long periods without eating. They had to: It took a lot of time and energy to hunt game and gather nuts and berries.”

So, it seems our bodies are programmed for intermittent fasting.

The Benefits of IF

But why would we want to deny ourselves the pleasure of food? First, there are some pretty compelling health benefits associated with fasting, including weight loss, protection against type 2 diabetes, and reducing inflammation.

A 2019 article in The New England Journal of Medicine adds to those benefits.

“Until recently, studies of caloric restriction and intermittent fasting focused on aging and the life span. After nearly a century of research on caloric restriction in animals, the overall conclusion was that reduced food intake robustly increases the life span.”

Living longer means having more time to write! But there’s even more good news from that same NEJM article.

“Studies in animals show that intermittent fasting enhances cognition in multiple domains, including spatial memory, associative memory, and working memory [emphasis added]; alternate-day fasting and daily caloric restriction reverse the adverse effects of obesity, diabetes, and neuroinflammation on spatial learning and memory.”

Enhancing cognitive ability is an added bonus to the long life.

How Does IF Work?

According to the New England Journal of Medicine article cited above

“Glucose and fatty acids are the main sources of energy for cells. After meals, glucose is used for energy, and fat is stored in adipose tissue as triglycerides. During periods of fasting, triglycerides are broken down to fatty acids and glycerol, which are used for energy. The liver converts fatty acids to ketone bodies, which provide a major source of energy for many tissues, especially the brain [emphasis added], during fasting.”

Pushups for the gray cells!

The Effect of Fasting on Writing

A recent LinkedIn.com post features the experiences of author Gin Stephens and makes the case that IF is good for writers for several reasons, including

Sharper Brain Function

Noteworthy is the biological impact of IF on brain function. Fasting promotes neurogenesis—the growth of new neurons—which is linked to improved cognitive function and creativity. Moreover, the state of ketosis achieved during fasting periods can elevate mood and brain function, providing a fertile ground for creative thought. This biological edge can be particularly beneficial for writers seeking to push the boundaries of their imagination and innovate within their work.

Discipline and Structure

The discipline required for IF can spill over into writing practices. For creatives, structuring their day around a fasting schedule can bring a sense of order and discipline that benefits their work. The routine of an eating window encourages better planning and prioritization, skills essential for both successful fasting and successful writing.

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Note: I’m not advocating any type of fasting for anyone. You should do your own research and talk to your doctor before making any change to your routine. But the research is interesting, and there is a veritable smorgasbord of information online to feast on.

So TKZers: What do you think about intermittent fasting? Have you ever tried it? If so, does it help your writing? Do you think you might give it a try?

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Hungering for a good read this summer? Satisfy your literary taste buds with Lacey’s Star: A Lady Pilot-in-Command Novel.

On sale now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

Clue – noun — anything that serves to guide or direct in the solution of a problem, mystery, etc.

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According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary

‘The word clue was originally a variant spelling of clew, meaning “ball of thread or yarn.” Our modern sense of clue, “guide to the solution of a mystery,” grows out of a motif in myth and folklore, the ball of thread that helps in finding one’s way out of a maze. ‘

The “ball of thread” mentioned in the M-W etymology refers to one of my favorite stories in Greek mythology.

The Clue of Ariadne

It all started when there was a war between Crete and Athens. Crete won the war, and the rather sadistic King Minos of Crete exacted a horrible punishment on the Athenians. He required that the king of Athens periodically send seven young men and seven young women to the Isle of Crete to become dinner for the horrible monster, the Minotaur.

The Big M was housed inside a labyrinth constructed by none other than the ingenious Daedalus. The labyrinth was so large and complex that it served as a prison for the Minotaur. When the poor Athenian sacrifices arrived, they would be forced into the maze. At some point in their wanderings, they’d encounter the Minotaur, and things wouldn’t go well for them.

After this horrific nonsense went on for a few years, a young man named Theseus, the son of the Athenian king, decided enough was enough. He vowed to put a stop to the awful goings-on by sailing to Crete, entering the labyrinth, and killing the Minotaur. That was a noble plan, but it had one problem: the labyrinth was so complicated, he probably wouldn’t find his way out.

That’s when our heroine, Ariadne, entered the picture. Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos, and she fell in love with the dashing Theseus. He promised to marry her if she could figure out a way to get him back out of the labyrinth after he offed Mr. M. (At this point, I feel compelled to say that without Ariadne, Theseus was clueless.)

I truly love simple solutions to complicated problems, and I especially admire people who come up with them. That Ariadne was a problem-solver for the ages. She handed her true love a ball of thread, known as a clew, and told him to unwind it as he wandered around in the labyrinth. Then after he killed the Minotaur, he could just rewind it as he followed it out. Brilliant. And it worked!

Sounds like a Happy Ever After kind of ending, eh? Unfortunately, that scumbag Theseus broke his promise and didn’t marry the beautiful Ariadne, but I think she won out in the end. She got to go down in history as the very first mystery solver, and that’s endeared her to millions of readers through the years, whether they knew her name or not.

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Clues in a modern mystery are a little more sophisticated than a simple ball of thread, and detectives do more (at least we hope they do) than just wander around until they find the culprit.

However, there is one major similarity in our mysteries to the story of Theseus: the detective and the readers are led into a labyrinth. Only this one is constructed by the author. The answer to the mystery is within the maze, but the detective needs to know which clues to follow and which are red herrings.

I liked some of the clue categories listed on zaraaltair.com:

Physical clues: A gun or knife left at the scene of the murder. Maybe a button torn off. Of course, the villain can plant a clue at the scene to misdirect the detective.

Biological clues: Strands of hair, DNA, fingerprints.

Psychological clues: Profilers try to identify the type of person likely to commit a murder, but the detective uses his/her own knowledge of human nature to decide on suspects.

Timing clues: This is one of my favorites. Alibis are established based on the time of death, but clever villains might be able to manipulate that piece of evidence. A smashed watch is always a good clue that might be a red herring.

Clues of Omission: Another favorite. Something should be evident, but it isn’t. There’s a famous example from the Sherlock Holmes mystery “The Adventure of Silver Blaze” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes (naturally) notices something everyone else has missed.

Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?

Holmes: To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.

Gregory: The dog did nothing in the night-time.

Holmes: That was the curious incident.

I don’t know about you, but if I can include clues in such a way the reader finishes the story and slaps him/herself on the side of the head, thinking, “I should have seen it,” then I’ll be happy.

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So TKZers: How do you decide what clues to have in your mystery novels? What clues have inspired you?

In Lacey’s Star, there’s only one clue to the murder, but it’s just a child’s note. It couldn’t be important. Could it?

Lacey’s Star is a Silver Falchion Award Top Pick (Cozy Mystery) at Killer Nashville.

On sale now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

Deuteragonist – noun — the actor next in importance to the protagonist.

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We all know what a protagonist and an antagonist are, but I had never heard the word “deuteragonist” until a few months ago. It comes from the Greek word “deuteros,” meaning “second.” But a deuteragonist is not just a secondary character, he/she is the secondary character.

Wikipedia tells us that ancient Greek drama originally had only one actor, the protagonist, and a group of dancers, the chorus. But then the playwright Aeschylus introduced a second character, the deuteragonist, in his plays.

Aristotle explained it in his work Poetics.

“Thus, it was Aeschylus who first raised the number of the actors from one to two. He also curtailed the chorus and made the dialogue be the leading part.”

So we can thank Aeschylus, who lived 2500 years ago, for the addition of the second character in drama, an innovation which enabled dialogue and conflict.

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“The more complex you make your secondary characters, the more lifelike and involving your story will be.” –Donald Maass

So how is the deuteragonist different from the other secondary characters in today’s fiction?

According to studiobinder.com

“A deuteragonist is the second most important character in a story. This person is also known as the ‘secondary main character.’ While the protagonist gives us our primary point of view of the story, the deuteragonist often provides a different, but often similar, outlook.”

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The deuteragonist can serve different purposes, depending on the author’s goals. But whatever role the deuteragonist plays, he/she should complement the protagonist in a way that affects the main character’s arc in the story.

One possibility is as a supporter, friend, or assistant to the protagonist. Dr. Watson is a famous example of this type of deuteragonist in the Sherlock Holmes books. Watson not only narrates the stories, his gentlemanly compassion contrasts nicely with the purely logical Holmes.

The deuteragonist can also be a love interest. An example of this could be from the movie “Titanic” where Jack Dawson (Leonardo DeCaprio) plays the main secondary to Rose (Kate Winslet). In the movie, Jack shows Rose there is more to life than the suffocating high society she’s being forced into.

Villains are always useful in helping protagonists overcome their shortcomings and face down danger. An example of this was the film “Die Hard” where the protagonist John McClane (Bruce Willis) matches wits with the villainous deuteragonist Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman.)

So there you have it. A deuteragonist can add spice and complexity to a story while enhancing the protagonist’s character arc.

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“The three things that matter most in a story are characters, characters and characters.” –Bob Gale

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So TKZers: Are there deuteragonists that you like from books or films? Have you used a deuteragonist in any of your stories? Do you plan to? Tell us about them.

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Protagonist Kathryn Frasier trains for a marathon, deuteragonist Cece Goldman rehearses for a play, and antagonist murderers hide in plain sight in The Watch Mysteries, an ebook boxset of three complete novels available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books. (Today is the last day of the 99¢ sale.)

A little perspective, like a little humor, goes a long way. —Allen Klein

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My first two novels were written in third person. Each scene had one POV character and the verb tense was consistent throughout the scene.

But when I began my third novel, Time After Tyme, I decided to try something new. I gave one character a first-person POV in her scenes. The rest of the scenes were in third person. I discovered the power of first person in that novel, and I fell in love with it.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” –Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird

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I enjoyed writing first person so much that my fourth novel, Lacey’s Star, and the fifth (a yet-to-be-published middle grade effort), are written in first person from the main character’s POV. To me, first person is especially effective because the narration is a conversation (albeit one-sided) between the narrator and the reader. The narrator relays the story in his/her own words.

But there’s something else that’s special about first person that I think connects the reader to the story in a unique way. It’s a topic that I don’t recall having been discussed here on TKZ, so I’d like to raise it now. It has to do with verb tense.

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Example 1 from the classic by J.D. Salinger.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

“They kicked me out. I wasn’t supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all. They gave me frequent warning to start applying myself—especially around midterms, when my parents came up for a conference with old Thurmer—but I didn’t do it. So I got the ax. They give guys the ax quite frequently at Pencey. It has a very good academic rating, Pencey. It really does.”

Did you see how the author switched from past tense to present so the character can move from telling the events of the story to offering a personal opinion? It’s as if the character wants to share a little detail with the reader, so he turns directly to the audience and hands out some extra information. This ability to offer side comments in the character’s voice seems to me to be unique in first person, and it shows an aspect of the character that may not work if the author stays with past tense.

When I was working on my first-person novels, I didn’t realize I was using exactly this technique, but someone with editing experience reviewed some of my work and told me the tense had to agree all the way through each scene. I didn’t see it that way, so I went looking for examples that used the first-person past / present approach. In addition to The Catcher in the Rye, I found lots of other examples, and they convinced my friend this was a valid approach.

Example 2 from a highly-regarded Middle Grade novel.

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

“Once upon a time, it was hot and I was sweaty. It was about five months before my thirteenth birthday, give or take. We were someplace in Oregon. Honestly, I don’t even remember the name of the town, but I know it was on the dry, hot side of the state, away from the ocean.”

Example 3 where John D. MacDonald gives his main character, Travis McGee, so many opinions to share in present tense that I had a hard time deciding which one to pick.

The Deep Blue Good-By by John D. MacDonald

“The next morning, after making laundry arrangements, I untethered my bike and pedaled to the garage where I keep Miss Agnes sheltered from brine and sun. She needs tender loving care in her declining years. I believe she is the only Rolls Royce in America which has been converted into a pickup truck.”

Example 4 from an American classic.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

“After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead a considerable long time; so then I didn’t care no more about him, because I don’t take no stock in dead people.”

And finally, Example 5 from our own JSB.

Romeo’s Justice by James Scott Bell

“Which is why I owed her that blasted thing called honesty. I never want Sophie to have any illusions about this piece of work called Romeo.”

So, there you have it. Examples of past and present tense, each within one paragraph, and all from masters of writing. Novl.org has a nice summation:

“We use tenses every day naturally as part of speech. While consistency is key when maintaining narrative voice, it’s important to remember that you can play around with tense for interesting narrative effect. Whatever you do, just make sure you choose the option that best serves your story.”

“Whatever you do, just make sure you choose the option that best serves your story.” I like that.

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So TKZers: Do you write in first person? Have you noticed the use of both past and present tense in first person narratives? Will the two tenses work in third person? Any reflections on the examples above?

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Private pilot Cassie Deakin offers a first-person opinion right from the get-go in Lacey’s Star:

“I do not like handsome men… Like the one sitting in the passenger seat of my Cessna 172 while I did the run-up prior to takeoff. Frank White.”

Buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance. –Virgil

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Writing a novel is often compared to running a marathon, and my experience dealing with the unexpected in the London Marathon in April 2010 was a good rehearsal for my later efforts in writing.

I’ve never been a good marathon runner. I’m better suited for the half-marathon. But in 2009, having completed three marathons (San Antonio, Vancouver, and Toronto), I decided I’d go for just one more. And I wanted to run one of the big marathons for that once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I told my husband I’d like to celebrate our anniversary in 2010 with a trip to the UK where I would run the London Marathon in honor of our marriage. Then we could spend a week or so vacationing. Frank was supportive, and for some unknown reason, I was convinced everything would go my way.

Hmm.

The major marathons are so popular that they can’t admit everyone who wants to enter. If you’re a very good runner and can meet the qualifying time for your age group, you’ll be entered. But if you’re like most runners (me, for instance) and can’t meet the qualifying time, they’ll put your name into a lottery and it’s just a matter of chance.

So when they opened the online registration in April 2009, I jumped in and registered along with 150,000 other runners. Although only about a quarter of those would get places, I was ridiculously confident. Around October, I received an email from the London Marathon notifying me that I wasn’t chosen. Rats.

But they held out another possibility. I could run for a charity. “That’s even better,” I thought. I could do a good deed as well as run the marathon. So I applied to several of the charities that I thought I’d like to support, and a few weeks later, one of them called. With about four months to go, I had cleared the first hurdle. I was in the race.

I was sure that from then on everything would be smooth sailing. (You can smile now.)

My running buddies at work were all excited that I was going to run the London, and that made me even more determined to do well. When they asked what kind of time I was planning on, I spouted off a near-impossible-for-me number. But if everything went perfectly, maybe I could make it.

Everything did not go perfectly.

Our treadmill, on which I was doing almost half of my training, broke. We needed a new one anyway, so we bought a bigger, better model. A few days of training lost.

I injured my knee in a tempo run. A couple of weeks of training lost.

I had stumbled over those first hurdles, but my excitement continued to ramp up as the days ticked closer to the race. Since I suffer from jetlag on international trips, we planned to fly to London six days prior to the marathon to allow my body to adjust to the time change before the race. But then…disaster.

A few days before our scheduled departure, I woke up to the news that a volcano in Iceland had erupted, volcanic ash was drifting over western Europe, and airports were closing. Heathrow was one of them. Our flight was cancelled.

You can overcome a lot of obstacles. But a volcano? Time to throw in the towel.

But then the winds shifted, and airports reopened. We managed to get on a flight that put us in London in the early morning hours of Friday before Sunday’s race day. Okay, so my jetlag would be a problem, but the excitement of the race would probably overcome that. (Are you laughing yet?)

I dragged myself out of bed on race day after just a few hours of sleep to discover there were more obstacles: the weather was warm (not good) and it was drizzling rain (super not good). Frank and I agreed on where we’d meet after the race, and he walked me to the starting area to join the other thirty-seven thousand people who had paid perfectly good money to punish their bodies for 26.2 miles.

But at least I had made it to the starting line. Now all I had to do was finish.

The London Marathon is unique. It’s a big party, and many of the marathoners wear costumes. One guy was dressed in a full suit of armor and someone else was carrying a huge replica of the Angel of the North sculpture on his back.

As time ticked down to the start, you could feel the buzz in the air. After an entire year of waiting, hoping, training, and planning, the starter’s pistol fired, and we were off.

I wish I could say everything went well.

For the first time ever, my GPS watch malfunctioned. Bad omen.

Another first: I got a side stitch. At least now I can describe in a book what it feels like to be stabbed just below the ribs.

As the miles went on, fatigue set in, and I realized I was getting a blister on one of my heels.

By the time I got to the eighteen-mile mark, I was starving. I guess the time change had messed up my body clock. Honestly, if I had seen a child holding a sandwich by the side of the course, I probably would have snatched it out of the kid’s hand and run away before anyone could catch me. But there were no sandwiches, my back and foot hurt, and I was run-walking so slow that I knew I was going to turn in a terrible time.

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That’s when I had THE THOUGHT. I could quit. I could just step off the course, find a volunteer to give me a cart-ride to the finish, and it would be over. I wouldn’t suffer the embarrassment of a poor showing. I’d just tell everybody I was injured and couldn’t finish. I could bandage my foot and take an Advil and eat a steak dinner and forget this stupid marathon. The whole thing was wrong from the start. Why hadn’t I seen that? Why did I have to be so stubborn when there were just too many problems to overcome?

That little exercise in self-pity and frustration got me through the next mile or two. Then I had the SECOND THOUGHT. I would cross the finish line even if I had to crawl. Even if I was the last person across. Even if they had taken down the banners and all the volunteers had gone home and I didn’t get a medal or a T-shirt. Even if my feet were bleeding so profusely that I was leaving a trail of blood behind me on the course. (Self-martyrdom can be useful in certain situations.)

And I knew no matter how long it took, Frank would be waiting for me, and I knew exactly what he’d say when he saw me. After all, this was the race to honor our marriage, not to show off my great (ha!) running talent.

Those reflections got me through another mile or two, and then I was within just a few miles of the finish, so it didn’t make sense to quit.

I crossed the finish line. I didn’t crawl, and I wasn’t the last person in the race. There were still a couple of thousand people behind me, including angel sculpture man and the guy in the suit of armor. A volunteer hung a medal around my neck and someone else handed me a T-shirt that said “LonDONE 25.04.10.” Then I walked into the meeting area and saw Frank waving. As I limped toward him with my hair frizzy from the rain and my clothes damp with sweat, he jogged over and put his arm around me. “Great race, honey.”

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So yeah. Writing a novel, especially a first one, is a lot like running a marathon. You start out with all this enthusiasm and confidence, but then things get hard, much harder than you thought. There are unexpected challenges, and it’s discouraging when agents and publishers don’t immediately see your genius and rush to sign you to a life-long contract.

That’s when many people give up. They hit the wall and decide it’s not worth all the pain and disappointment. According to selfpublishingus.com, only about 3% of people who start writing a book actually finish it. And of those, even fewer have their book published. But for those of us who stay in the race, there’s a satisfaction of accomplishment few have known.

I learned some lessons from the London Marathon that I believe apply to my writing.

Life (and running and writing) is more about what you put into it than what you get out.

It’s more about fighting the good fight than winning.

It’s more about the journey than the destination.

You value what you earn more than what someone gives you.

And in the long run (pun intended), whether it’s running or writing or living, endurance is more important than talent.

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This has been a very long TKZ blog post, and if you made it to the end, you deserve a medal. Maybe you should consider running a marathon.

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So TKZers: Have you ever run a marathon?

Have you faced obstacles when writing your books?

How do you deal with the setbacks?

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Kathryn Frasier is training for her first marathon, but murderers keep getting in her way.

Run with Kathryn in The Watch Mysteries. The ebook boxset is on sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

“Having knowledge but lacking the power to express it clearly is no better than never having any ideas at all.” –Pericles

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I recently had cataract surgery on my right eye. The left eye gets its turn later this week. Prior to the surgery, I was accustomed to viewing objects with a slight blur to them, and that’s not bad when you’re looking at the world in general. As a matter of fact, maybe it’s preferable. But it wasn’t a great method for reading, and the font size on my iPad was getting close to max, so I finally agreed to undergo the procedure. Within a couple of hours after the operation, the world suddenly came into perfect focus, and I could see details I had been missing for years.

All this made me think about writing. No surprise there, but it’s not about seeing the words on the page, but rather seeing the story you want to tell. That kind of sight is what every author aspires to, and one way to obtain it is to understand the theme of your book.

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In his book Story Engineering, Larry Brooks writes

“Not to be confused with concept, theme is what your story is illuminating about real life.”

I like that “illuminating about real life.” Theme is the fundamental message you want your readers to get. It’s the lens through which they will view your story and understand the deeper meaning within it. And when that happens, the reader will walk away with a memorable experience.

But how do you choose a theme?

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“To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.” —Herman Melville

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Writers.com lists some of the common themes in literature. These include

Coming of Age

Faith vs Doubt

Family

Fate vs Free Will

Good vs Evil

Hubris

Justice

Man vs Nature

Man vs Self

Man vs Society

Power and Corruption

Pursuit of Love

Revenge

Survival

War

A few of the novels mentioned on the writers.com site were Jane Eyre (Coming of Age) by Charlotte Bronte, The Iliad (Hubris) by Homer, To Kill a Mockingbird (Justice) by Harper Lee, and 1984: A Novel (Man vs Society) by George Orwell.

They didn’t mention All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, but that is the book I would choose for its powerful theme of War.

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Some authors decide on a theme before starting a new work. Others may work on their novel for a while before seeing the theme take shape. In any case, having an underlying theme for the story leaves the reader with something more than a good reading experience. It’s a message to carry with them beyond The End.

As a mystery writer, the theme for my books is always that truth will be found and justice will be served. But my last novel, Lacey’s Star, took it one step further. It was based on the theme that finding the truth may depend on who you decide to trust.

My stories also reference the importance of faith and family and emphasize the need for endurance. “Never give up” is an underlying message in every book.

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So TKZers: Do you identify a theme for your books before you start writing? Or do you “discover” the theme as you go along? What themes have you used in your books? What memorable themes have you taken away from books you read?

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“The truth is bitter, but with all its bitterness, it is better than illusion.” –Ahad Ha’Am

2024 Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Award Finalist

2024 Eric Hoffer Mystery/Crime Award Honorable Mention

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

A word fitly spokenis like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

–Proverbs 25:11

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A few months ago, James Scott Bell posted Micro Fiction for Your Writer’s Brain on TKZ. It was about writing fiction that was less than 500 words long. (I’ll wait while you go back and review.)

That post gave me an idea for writing about even shorter form fiction, and I came across a few types that are both fun and challenging.

The Clerihew

The clerihew is a form of poetry that was invented by E.C. Bentley, the author of Trent’s Last Case and other novels. Bentley’s full name happens to be Edmund Clerihew Bentley. I guess when you have a middle name like Clerihew, you may as well come up with some clever and inventive use of it.

Here’s the definition of clerihew from Wikipedia:

A clerihew (ˈklɛrɪhjuː) is a whimsical, four-line biographical poem of a type invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley. The first line is the name of the poem’s subject, usually a famous person, and the remainder puts the subject in an absurd light or reveals something unknown or spurious about the subject. The rhyme scheme is AABB, and the rhymes are often forced. The line length and metre are irregular. Bentley invented the clerihew in school and then popularized it in books.

Here are a couple of examples:

Sir Humphry Davy

Abominated gravy.

He lived in the odium

Of having discovered sodium.

Did Descartes

Depart

With the thought

“Therefore I’m not”?

Here’s my humble attempt:

Albert Einstein

Had a very great mind

While in his prime

He relativized time

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The Haiku

Back in 2021, Steve Hooley and his sister, Joyce, wrote a wonderful TKZ post on haiku poetry.

Dictionary.com defines haiku as

a major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and employing highly evocative allusions and comparisons, often on the subject of nature or one of the seasons.

Here are a couple of rather famous ones:

“A Caterpillar” by Matsuo Basho

A caterpillar,

This deep in fall –

Still not a butterfly.

“A Poppy Blooms” by Katsushika Hokusai

I write, erase, rewrite

Erase again, and then

A poppy blooms.

And another one by me:

Azalea blossoms

Pink, but ragged on the edge

Tomorrow’s lovers

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The Limerick

Here’s what Britannica.com has to say about this poetic form:

Limerick, a popular form of short, humorous verse that is often nonsensical and frequently ribald. It consists of five lines, rhyming aabba, and the dominant metre is anapestic, with two metrical feet in the third and fourth lines and three feet in the others. The origin of the limerick is unknown, but it has been suggested that the name derives from the chorus of an 18th-century Irish soldiers’ song, “Will You Come Up to Limerick?” To this were added impromptu verses crowded with improbable incident and subtle innuendo.

Here’s a non-ribald example.

A tutor who taught on the flute

Tried to teach two tooters to toot.

Said the two to the tutor,

“Is it harder to toot, or

To tutor two tooters to toot?”

Personally, I love limericks. I occasionally compose one in honor of politicians or other strange creatures. 😎 I won’t share any of those, but here’s one I made up just for today:

My computer decided to die

Just as the deadline drew nigh

When the publisher screamed

I knew I was creamed

So I kissed my contract good-bye

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So TKZers: What do you think about these poetic short forms? Pick one or two (or all three) and astound us by entering your work in the comments. Include something in your poem about one of your books if you’re so inclined.

* * *

There once was a pilot named Cassie

An intrepid sleuth was this lassie

She flew into danger,

But it didn’t change her

And she found the murderer fastly.

A 2024 Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Award Finalist

Buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” –Walt Disney

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I love the book club I belong to. With a diverse group of women from different backgrounds and experiences, we have robust discussions about the books we read and the lives we lead. Although people come and go, we’ve maintained about twelve members consistently. Since we meet monthly, each person is responsible for hosting the club once a year, and the host chooses the book to be read. This is a wonderful arrangement because we read books I probably wouldn’t have chosen otherwise.

* * *

Book clubs have been around for hundreds of years. One of the earliest was a religious discussion group organized by Anne Hutchinson aboard a Puritan ship in 1634 as it sailed to America. According to minnpost.com, the interest in reading groups, lectures, and debates grew over the centuries as the new country developed.

In 1926 Harry Scherman founded the Book-of-the-Month Club, a subscription-based club that offered a selection of several books to its members each month Some of the books selected for distribution by its panel of judges were Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. According to encyclopedia.com, the BOTM club has distributed over 570 million books to its members in the U.S. since its inception.

Other 20th century book-related ventures were the Literary Guild founded in 1927 and the publication of The Great Books of the Western World in 1952.

In 1996, Oprah Winfrey started her own book club, and that began a new era. Online book clubs sprang up in the early 21st century, and they became essential meeting places during the Covid pandemic. Today it’s estimated there are more than five million book club members in the United States!

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Here are recent reading lists from several book clubs.

The Book-of-the-Month Club

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

Wellness by Nathan Hill

Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis

Paper Names by Susie Luo

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

The Half Moon: A Novel by Mary Beth Keane

Tomb Sweeping: Stories by Alexandra Chang

Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club

The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin

Bittersweet by Susan Cain

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

Wellness by Nathan Hill

Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

The Cherryhill Book Club

The All of It by Jeannette Haien

The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

South to America by Imani Perry

Memphis by Tara Stringfellow

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar

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So TKZers: Do you belong to a book club? Have you been invited to discuss one of your books at a book club? Have you read any of the books on the lists in this post? What book(s) (other than by a TKZ author) would you recommend to be read by a book club?

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Private pilot Cassie Deakin lands in the middle of a mystery and finds herself in the crosshairs of a murderer.

ebook on sale for 99¢ at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

“Creativity – like human life itself – begins in darkness.” –Julia Cameron

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April 8, 2024 The date of the great eclipse when a wide swath of the United States will be darkened as the sun and moon perform a heavenly pas de deux.

Memphis will see only a 98% covering, so my husband and I plan to travel with some friends to Arkansas to experience the full beauty of the show.

This will not be the first time we’ve observed a total eclipse. Way back in 1970, there was a total eclipse in my hometown of Savannah, Ga. I remember the experience well, but not for the reason you may think.

Unfortunately, the day was cloudy, but as the moon moved between the Earth and the sun, the clouds would occasionally break and give us a series of snapshots of the phenomenon. When the moment of totality arrived, the clouds once again opened, and we saw the black disk, then the bright flash of light as the moon moved on to continue its course. But that still wasn’t what astonished me.

It was the darkness.

Standing on the front lawn of my parents’ home, I looked down the street and saw a wall of black shadow racing toward us. It wasn’t like a cloud that covered the sun. It was a dark, menacing presence, rushing forward to devour the light in its path until it overtook us, and suddenly all was night.

Even though we understood what was happening, I had a sense of primordial awe that I have never forgotten.

* * *

Authors of mystery, suspense, and thrillers are well acquainted with darkness. It’s a symbol of the unknown, and that usually means fear, anxiety, loneliness, or panic will grip the main character and get the reader’s heart pumping a little harder.

“All great and beautiful work has come of first gazing without shrinking into the darkness.” –John Ruskin

A character walks out into a black night and senses a presence that he can’t see, or comes face-to-face with his own demons in the dark night of the soul when all appears lost. That heart-stopping look into the abyss rivets the attention and keeps the reader turning pages.

Here are a few examples.

* * *

We probably all studied Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven in high school. Fear and doubt consume the poet as he contemplates his own loneliness late at night. Then he hears a sound and thinks it’s a visitor knocking. He opens the door and sees … nothing.

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”

The murky setting on the moors gave Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles a sense of mystery and foreboding.

“As if in answer to his words there rose suddenly out of the vast gloom of the moor that strange cry which I had already heard upon the borders of the great Grimpen Mire. It came with the wind through the silence of the night, a long, deep mutter, then a rising howl, and then the sad moan in which it died away. Again and again it sounded, the whole air throbbing with it, strident, wild, and menacing. The baronet caught my sleeve and his face glimmered white through the darkness. ‘My God, what’s that, Watson?’”

A sense of impending doom in Dean Koontz’s Midnight builds as a woman goes for a run on the beach in the middle of the night.

“Suddenly, as she was passing a pair of forty-foot, twisted cypresses that had grown in the middle of the beach, halfway between the hills and the waterline, Janice was sure she was not alone in the night and fog. She saw no movement, and she was unaware of any sound other than her own footsteps, raspy breathing, and thudding heartbeat; only instinct told her that she had company.”

Last week Kris introduced us to the Edgar finalists in her post. The first sentence of All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby hints of a violent past returning to haunt a small town.

“Charon County was founded in bloodshed and darkness.”

* * *

So, TKZers, there you have it. The Art of Darkness. How do you represent darkness in your books? Do you have any examples from the works of others that illustrate either physical or metaphorical darkness? Have you ever seen a total eclipse of the sun?

* * *

I don’t know how much access I’ll have to TKZ during the day, but I’ll respond to comments whenever I can.

“Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness.” –Yousuf Karsh

Private pilot Cassie Deakin has a lot of opportunity to develop character while she hunts a killer.

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