tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post2959968316171227783..comments2024-03-27T20:39:04.792-04:00Comments on KILLER HOBBIES: Write What You KnowBetty Hechtmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14652848311122102223noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-70378062578553527402009-12-01T18:04:37.886-05:002009-12-01T18:04:37.886-05:00Thank you, Barb! I can't wait to read and revi...Thank you, Barb! I can't wait to read and review it.Janice Campbell from NAIWEhttp://naiwe.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-12466084082900698972009-12-01T09:20:33.482-05:002009-12-01T09:20:33.482-05:00Hi, Gail. I like my books to talk to me to. But pe...Hi, Gail. I like my books to talk to me to. But perhaps not as much as the Kindle in your story does...<br /><br />And Becky, that is such a sweet story that I'm speechless for something snappy to say back. Wow.<br /><br />Thanks to everyone who came around yesterday. The raffle winner is Janice Campbell. Janice please email your address to me (barb at barbgoffman.com), and I'll send you a copy of The Gift of Murder. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone for supporting the anthology and helping Toys for Tots!Barb Goffmanhttp://www.barbgoffman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-80678672695124939512009-12-01T00:00:59.473-05:002009-12-01T00:00:59.473-05:00Thanks for the good advice, Barb. Are you sure you...Thanks for the good advice, Barb. Are you sure you didn't write about things that really happened to you? I've read those stories, and I've had my doubts that they could only be "fiction." (Just kidding. You're an awesome storyteller.)<br /><br />I guess my Christmas story involves my first time home for that holiday in 19 years. My husband, two children and I normally visited Knoxville at Thanksgiving so the kids could be at home with their presents on Christmas.<br /><br />However about six years ago, my nephew got married on December 28, so we spent Christmas in Knoxville that year. We participated in all the traditions I'd heard about year after year and longed to be a part of, but I found that they weren't OUR traditions to enjoy. <br /><br />I also thought that my family and I didn't have too many traditions surrounding Christmas. But I realized we do. We wake up on Christmas mornings in our own beds and take it from there.becky hutchisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14207058540046363006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-61018824430066394212009-11-30T23:07:48.024-05:002009-11-30T23:07:48.024-05:00"Write what you know" makes perfect sens..."Write what you know" makes perfect sense to me. And I know my Kindle so well that I wrote a story about her. "The Kindle Did It" is one of the stories in The Gift of Murder. I won't reveal all the details. I'll just tell you that my Kindle is a clotheshorse. And she's very talky.Gail Farrellyhttp://www.farrellysistersonline.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-34771218575179994422009-11-30T18:38:38.750-05:002009-11-30T18:38:38.750-05:00Hi, Janice. So you learned young the beauty of hav...Hi, Janice. So you learned young the beauty of having gifts on hand that you can give at a moment's notice. An important life lesson indeed. (Also very helpful if you happen to be a person who enjoys shopping.)<br /><br />I hope your mystery writing goes well. Let me take this opportunity to put on my other hat: I'm also program chair of the Malice Domestic mystery conference. I strongly encourage you to attend. You can meet other readers and writers. While you wouldn't qualify for a panel if you're unpublished in the mystery field, I'm certain you would have a great time. Our next annual conference runs April 30 - May 2 in Arlington, VA. You can learn more at www.MaliceDomestic.org. You also can contact me privately for more info.Barb Goffmanhttp://www.barbgoffman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-61768922785359906212009-11-30T18:12:32.774-05:002009-11-30T18:12:32.774-05:00Great post! I believe in writing what you want to ...Great post! I believe in writing what you want to know. For example, I'm working on the first in a mystery series, and while I'm incorporating a lot of what I know, the planned volumes include a lot of what I'd like to know, as well as places I'd like to go (or to revisit, as the case may be). The more I write, the more I realize how much more there is to learn, and that in itself is an exciting challenge. <br /><br />For the raffle, here's my holiday anecdote.<br />When I was a child, our family didn't celebrate Christmas, and this worried some of my friends dreadfully. They thought I was really missing out. I think it was in second grade when one of my friends gave me a gift right before the holiday break. She'd wrapped it in yellow paper, and written in large letters, "This is for Janice, not for Christmas." I was touched by her sweetness, but remember being faced with the dilemma of hastily finding a reciprocal gift. There's a first year for everything!Janice Campbell from NAIWEhttp://naiwe.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-84968840295698721452009-11-30T14:13:11.008-05:002009-11-30T14:13:11.008-05:00Hi, Joanna. Thank you for having me here on Killer...Hi, Joanna. Thank you for having me here on Killer Hobbies today.<br /><br />You make an excellent point about emotional truth. We hear so much that people follow series not because of the plots but because of the characters. That happens when an author creates a character so real to life, so emotionally true, that the audience feels like they know the character. When an author can create a beloved character that readers want to follow from story to story or book to book, that indeed is a true success.Barb Goffmanhttp://www.barbgoffman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-51358759645235932992009-11-30T13:54:05.679-05:002009-11-30T13:54:05.679-05:00Barb,
I'm thrilled to be a part of this local ...Barb,<br />I'm thrilled to be a part of this local chapter, and I hope I'll be a part of an upcoming anthology with this group. <br /><br />We're glad to have you as our guest here on Killer Hobbies.<br /><br />I think we should write "what we know" in terms of emotional truth.<br /><br />JoannaJoanna Campbell Slanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01951637123269159053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-67080674170042555942009-11-30T10:12:11.906-05:002009-11-30T10:12:11.906-05:00Hi, Julie. That's exactly right. I haven't...Hi, Julie. That's exactly right. I haven't been a battered wife. I don't have a compulsion to wash my hands. And I've never tried to enact revenge against family members. Yet people who know me still wonder if my stories are based on my own past. Guess that means we're doing our jobs right.Barb Goffmanhttp://www.barbgoffman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-80847859343103627992009-11-30T10:00:58.435-05:002009-11-30T10:00:58.435-05:00I have said, over and over, (and over, and over......I have said, over and over, (and over, and over...) to those who've asked, "It's fiction. That means you make it up.) I don't know that anyone has ever really believed me. They must all think my life is waaaaaayyy more interesting than it is. And if all my books were true, I'd be a lot prettier and skinnier than I am!Julienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-41437472933161585972009-11-30T09:21:59.855-05:002009-11-30T09:21:59.855-05:00Hi, P.A. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I ...Hi, P.A. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I think the reason authors, particularly new authors, so often hear that they should write what they know is because it will enable them to get details right. That's the important point: getting things right, because you don't want your reader distracted by errors. That said, there's no reason a writer can't do research, thereby learning and knowing more. Want to write a scene with an arrest in it but you've never been arrested? Well, the answer isn't to not write that scene. And the answer isn't to just make it up. The answer is to do the research to get it right. Somewhere there will be a cop and a lawyer and whoever else from the jurisdiction in question that will help you make sure you know enough of the scene you want to show to be sure you get it right.<br /><br />I often like to set stories in towns I haven't been in or haven't been to in a long time. It makes it much more of a challenge because I need to do the research to ensure that I get the details right. <br /><br />Ultimately, how bland an author' work is will rest on his or her skills and his or her ability to do research. A good author will still be writing what he/she knows, after doing enough work so she knows more than when she started the project.Barb Goffmanhttp://www.barbgoffman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7731159552335760887.post-45413233180196009612009-11-29T23:44:06.710-05:002009-11-29T23:44:06.710-05:00I personally think the words 'Write what you k...I personally think the words 'Write what you know' is the single worst piece of advice a new writer can be given. I mean, come on, we write mysteries. Most, if not all, involve murder, sometimes things like forensics and police procedures, even in cozies. A writer needs at least a passing knowledge of those things and unless they're a cop or a forensic technician that means some research. As writers we shouldn't fear that.<br /><br />I for one would find most novels boring if all they contained were things the writers knew. Most of us haven't lived lives interesting enough to make great stories.<br /><br />My books are all set in Los Angeles, a city I haven't been in in years, and many of my characters are gay men, I'm female. But I'm frequently told how dead on both my location description and characters are. If all I wrote about was what I knew you'd be reading bland stories about middle aged white women who have never been involved in any major crime or even seen a dead body outside a funeral home. Which would you rather read? I know what I want on my bookshelf.Pat Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08824114343214016153noreply@blogger.com