Summoning all mystery enthusiasts and budding crime writers! Get ready for an engrossing conversation with Phoenix-based author, Claire A Murray. Armed with a suite of compelling short stories and novels, she'll reveal the secret behind crafting narratives that have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.
Ever wondered how to create dialogue that resonates with reality? Claire's insights will provide you the answer. Together, we venture into the art of developing realistic and persuasive conversations that only enrich your characters, but also drive your plot forward. We also examine the role of settings and atmosphere in amplifying the tension in crime short stories.
But that's not all! Claire also drops valuable nuggets on writing compelling crime stories while managing brevity, the significance of thorough research, and the pitfalls of relying on mainstream media for facts. We also touch upon common cliches to avoid, drafting engaging investigation processes, and even share some exclusive tips for publishing mysteries. Get set for a masterclass that promises to elevate your craft to a whole new level. Don't miss out!
Summoning all mystery enthusiasts and budding crime writers! Get ready for an engrossing conversation with Phoenix-based author, Claire A Murray. Armed with a suite of compelling short stories and novels, she'll reveal the secret behind crafting narratives that have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.
Ever wondered how to create dialogue that resonates with reality? Claire's insights will provide you the answer. Together, we venture into the art of developing realistic and persuasive conversations that only enrich your characters, but also drive your plot forward. We also examine the role of settings and atmosphere in amplifying the tension in crime short stories.
But that's not all! Claire also drops valuable nuggets on writing compelling crime stories while managing brevity, the significance of thorough research, and the pitfalls of relying on mainstream media for facts. We also touch upon common cliches to avoid, drafting engaging investigation processes, and even share some exclusive tips for publishing mysteries. Get set for a masterclass that promises to elevate your craft to a whole new level. Don't miss out!
Hi and welcome to the Writing and Marketing Show brought to you by author Wendy H Jones. This show does exactly what it says on the tin. It's jam-packed with interviews, advice, hints, tips and news to help you with the business of writing. It's all wrapped up in one lively podcast. So it's time to get on with the show. And welcome to episode 190 of the Writing and Marketing Show with author entrepreneur Wendy H Jones. And what a pleasure it is to have you here with me again for the 190th show and those weeks just flying past.
Wendy H. Jones:I cannot believe that in January it will be four years since I started the show. It's mind-blowing. Whilst I record this, I'm in Scotland, which can't seem to make up its mind, weather-wise, what it wants to do. I'm freezing cold one minute, having to put the heating on, and then the other the sun is shining and it's warm. So I can't keep up. But when you are listening to this, I will be in Virginia and I will be in baking in 100 degree heat. By the sounds of it. I like the heat, but that's hot even for me. But I'm very much looking forward to hitting the states next week and I'm recording several of these in advance. And as I have recorded this.
Wendy H. Jones:In the last episode I told you that my brand new writing magazine was now out that's Writers Narrative and I'm delighted to say that it's getting really rave reviews already and I'm so excited about that. So it's good to know that people are finding the magazine useful. So I've been having a great day really just watching what is happening with it and what people are thinking, and it's great to know that I've brought something out that will help other authors. The other thing I've done is last week I launched my writing and retreat business, auscotpublishingcom, which is Auscot Publishing and Retreats. At OsscotPublishingcom. That's A-U-S-C-O-T Publishingcom, and I'll put the link in the show notes. And, if you would like, a Writers Retreat in Scotland in February where it will be all it's called Missing Manuscripts. It will be all log fires and having a great time and learning your craft, but you'll also get to see some of Historic Scotland as well. So again, it would be lovely to see you there and I'll put a link for that and the Writers Narrative in the show notes.
Wendy H. Jones:Before I introduce Claire, I would like to say it's an absolute pleasure to bring you the show every week. I do so willingly and I enjoy doing it. However, it does take time out of my writing. If you would like to support that time, you can do so by going to. You can go to Patreon. c om/ Wendy H Jones and you can support me for just $3 a month, which is the price of a tea or coffee per month, and I would be very grateful. So thank you for all those who do support me. I appreciate it and I really find the support keeps me going because it lets me know you like the show and you want me to continue up to the four years and beyond. So what of Claire?
Wendy H. Jones:Claire A Murray is a phoenix is a Arizona author of short stories and novels who misses her native New England but loves her New Desert digs. She writes Crime, mystery, fantasy and Sci-Fi, not necessarily in that order. She is the lead editor for the forthcoming anthology so West Wrong Turn, which come out in September 23, and plans to release Play the Hand your Delt, a collection of her own short stories, in 2023 as well. A member of Sisters and Crime Mystery Writers of America and the Short Mystery Fiction Society, Claire writes full time, dabbles in painting and lives on a steady diet of zoominars for connection, inspiration and sanity. You can find out more about her at calm-writescom, where character, crime and mystery collide, and I will put the link for that in the show notes. And I'm going to be talking to Claire today about writing short stories, or crime short stories in particular. So, without further ado, let's get on with the show and meet Claire.
Wendy H. Jones:I have Claire with me. Hi Claire, how are you today?
Claire A Murray:I'm fine, wendy, thank you. How are you doing?
Wendy H. Jones:I'm very well, although I'm freezing to death here in Scotland. I have to say it's all apparently cold here. Are you in the middle of one of these heatwaves that everybody's having?
Claire A Murray:We are in a multi-week heatwave, every day over 110. It's 9.30 in the morning and it's 98.
Wendy H. Jones:Where are you?
Claire A Murray:Phoenix, Arizona. So we're in the desert bowl they call it the desert bowl and we have a heat dome over us that basically is keeping all the heat in.
Wendy H. Jones:Right, okay, would you like to send some in our direction, because we'd love some.
Claire A Murray:I would love to, and I'm sure major parts of the United States would like to do that as well. This has really been extended for a number of areas.
Wendy H. Jones:I know it has. It's crazy this weather, but anyway we can forget about the weather for five minutes and we can all be cool, calm and collected or excitable, because I'm very excited about the fact we're going to be talking about writing crime short stories today and, to be honest, the first question has to be asked is what exactly is considered to be a short story?
Claire A Murray:Short story is a story with a beginning, a middle and an end, and it runs to a max of about 10,000 words. Anything longer than that, it's either a novelette, a little longer a novella, longer than that a novel. Anything longer than that, it's an epic. So fantasies often turn into epics. Excuse me, I've got a tickle in my throat.
Wendy H. Jones:No worries, that often happens. I have to say. I did one entire episode where I was coughing, and so was the person who was I was interviewing, because we both had chest infections. That was right at the very beginning. So, hey, we take all in our stride here. Claire, you don't have to worry. But 10,000 words, that's a lot of words, because I mean, by the time you go up to 10,000, do you think I'd be like, well, I just make this a novel.
Claire A Murray:I've done 10,000 already, you know, so that Well, I took a 75, 7,400 word short story and decided to expand it to a novella which is about 20, maybe 30,000 words, and when I hit 42,000 words, I accepted the reality that it was a novel. It's now 73,000 words and I'm working on finishing it up.
Wendy H. Jones:Excellent. Well, I have to say, novels, stories, tend to do that with you. They take out legs of their own and just drag you along, maybe not kicking and screaming, but at least pounding the keyboard.
Claire A Murray:So yeah, and that's the high part with short stories is they sometimes want to be longer and you're trying to keep them short.
Wendy H. Jones:Absolutely. You need to keep them in their place. That's what I said Keep them in their place. I'm curious as to what elements are essential for crafting a grip and crime short story, because it needs to keep the reader on the edge of their seats from start to finish.
Claire A Murray:Well, there's no hard and fast rules, but this can help Start in the middle of the action rather than building up to it, because there's very little room for that buildup. That's my problem is I like to build things up and then introduce your crime or whatever. That's hard to do in short stories. You can have a setting that enhances the tension or suspense, and I'll probably mention setting again later as we go into other things. Tensions are bad for your protagonist and you have to make them worse. You've developed a bit of tension. You don't want to let it go too early, so you bring in another element of tension so that you're keeping the reader gripped to the story. But you do have to have some moments where you give the reader a chance to breathe, where you break the tension and then you build it back up again.
Claire A Murray:Another technique and this is good for long or short is to have an antagonist who is as smart and strong as your protagonist. Otherwise it's an unequal fight. Sometimes a duel of wits can be as gripping as an even more gripping than a chase scene. Use only those characters that are necessary to fulfill the story. You don't have room for a lot of extras on the set. Think of it as a play on a small stage versus a large stage. You've got to reduce the number of players. Limited point of view changes. A lot of times people tell stories in multiple points of view. In a short story you don't get as much chance to do that, although I did do one with five points of view, because there were four main characters who each had to have a short scene that introduced them and it connected them immediately to the story. Then there was only one scene from the antagonist point of view. I think it worked. I think it worked.
Wendy H. Jones:That's an exception. I know that you can manage to do five points of view in one short story. That's pretty impressive. That is skill. I hope so.
Claire A Murray:I hope people like it.
Wendy H. Jones:You've raised some really good points there. One thing I would like to touch on from it, which we mentioned, is crime stories. They often involve complex characters. How can writers develop multidimensional protagonists and antagonists that readers connect with an understand in a short story form?
Claire A Murray:Well, by having fewer characters, you get to devote more time to the ones you have, and if you can devote more time to them, you can play out their development.
Claire A Murray:One of the suggestions I give people is to write a scene with dialogue between the protagonist and the antagonist, even if you don't plan to use it, because in writing that scene where they interact with each other, you're actually helping develop their characters and their relationship. And then you know that information, you've locked it into your head. This is how they think about each other, and then that you know. You don't even use it in the story, but you're using what you learned as the author from it in how you deal with them in the story and how you have them think about the other and how they interact with other people. You know how some people get along really well and then one person will bring something up and is like, oh, don't even go there, I don't want to hear about that person. You know that kind of thing, but if you haven't written that little dialogue exchange between the two, you might not have thought to do that.
Wendy H. Jones:What a brilliant tip. I have to say, I think that's actually one of the best tips I've ever heard on the show in three and a half years. So, thank you, you're developing characters. I love it, thank you for that. And you've brought me nicely on to my next question, because I want to bring up dialogue, and it's crucial in crime narratives. So how do you create realistic and compelling dialogue that adds depth to the characters and advances the plot effectively? And, of course, we've got to bear in mind that you can't have the hello how are you? I'm fine, how are you? Because you're wasting words.
Claire A Murray:Well, you can if it's British. I mean, I took you Because they play off that well, very well, I think Monty Python you know. But you listen to people. Listen to people in the grocery store, the coffee shop, listen to people in places where their bosses or family are not around, because then you'll get how they really talk to each other you know, and you know, listen in on an argument between two people.
Claire A Murray:I know it's eavesdropping, it's impolite, but you can learn a lot because the language changes, the tone of voice changes, the body language changes when two people are really you know, they know each other well and they've gotten on each other's nerves and they're really tense about it. Because that helps you with dialogue, descriptions and everything else. When you have an interaction in yours and listen to people from different socioeconomic backgrounds and other cultures, because things differ, you're catching different slang. And it's not that you necessarily want to use the slang, it's more that how do people speak? Some people use contractions a lot, some people don't.
Claire A Murray:I was brought up in a household. My mother would never let us get away with saying want to, it's want to. You know she was stuck on proper English, proper grammar, and that has stuck with me my whole life. Certain things I don't abbreviate or if I do, I repeat it properly.
Claire A Murray:A few people, unless it's an interview, speak in long, complex sentences and paragraphs, and yet I see dialogue where it's a whole paragraph of someone speaking in long sentences and describing something and it's like this person's a private detective and ex-cop. Is he really going to speak that way, you know it'd be more like you know, listen to Lenny Briscoe on Law and Order and how he'll describe something versus how Benjamin Bratt would describe the same thing. They use different words for the same thing because they come from different backgrounds. So, and the other thing is is in dialogue people don't always answer the question that's been asked. They talk about something else completely. So if it's too much back and forth all the time, then you know, especially like couples. Couples will carry on a conversation and if you were to write it down, it looks like they're talking about something entirely different and they are, and yet at the same time they're letting each other know how they feel.
Wendy H. Jones:Yeah, no, again, great tips there really are, and it's true that you know, people speak differently and they speak differently depending on where they're coming from as well. For example, when I'm in London, some people there will say want to go to town, which means, do you want to go to town? Well, we would say no. I would say do you want to go to town? But everybody around there understands it because that's the way they speak locally and colloquially, you know me. The thing is, if you start putting that sort of thing in a book, people would give you bad reviews, saying you couldn't write a sentence because it's not go town, it's go to town. You know, it's just. It's just differences. So bringing that in can give it authenticity as well. So, thank you. Yeah, I agree, people speak differently, you know, and we've briefly touched on setting, but I'd like to unpick it a bit more. So how can writers effectively use setting and atmosphere to enhance the mood and tension in crime short stories?
Claire A Murray:I think you can use setting to mirror the story, the tension, the feeling, the attitude, or you can use it to oppose it and bring out the fact that it's different.
Claire A Murray:So, for example, if you, you know the sky darkening with advancing clouds, you know can set the tone for trouble brewing you know, because the storm is brewing At the same time, the sun bursting through the clouds can be the opposite of how the protagonist feels. And the protagonist or any character can say, oh yeah, it's a bright, sunny day, it's my life where it's sunny as that. And then suddenly you realize you've got that that build up there with the setting, is opposite the person's feelings, but it's allowed you to tell the reader what the what the feelings are, without saying, oh, she felt blue today, you know. So a stormy ocean can mirror the upheaval the protagonist or antagonist feels when a situation comes to a climax. And when I was thinking about that, I was thinking about that scene in the Harrison Ford movie, one of the one of the movies, where he's the analyst, cia analyst, and they're on the ocean and he's having a fight and it's really coming to the climax and everything has boiled up over.
Claire A Murray:Well, the ocean is boiling up over in that storm. It was. It was great use of setting. That's brilliant.
Wendy H. Jones:I've never thought about using it as opposing or using the setting to show the characters feelings as well. So again, excellent tips. I'm loving this because I'm learning so much and I'm sure my listeners are on the edge of their seat as well, agreeing with me because there's some really good tips and strategies here. And we can't get away with talking about short stories without saying they have limited word counts. So what are some strategies for delivering a compelling plot twist or surprise ending within the constraints of a shorter format?
Claire A Murray:Well, I'm going to break that into two parts. First, about the limited word count Just write the story that needs to come out and don't worry about the word count, because sometimes you can take a story that's a little longer and find a way to trim it to fit whatever the requirements are that you're writing for. I had a short story that I really liked, and I love the opening scene. It gave a lot of texture to the main character, who was a dog. But my critique group didn't think it was necessary, and that's really all they could say about it. They loved it, they thought it was great, but they didn't think it advanced the plot. So I waited months and months and months and then finally said, okay, I'm going to pull that scene out and just take one or two little incidents from it and move them into the new first scene. And so a few months after that I gave it back to the critique group for a final run-through and they were like I don't know what you did differently, but it works. So just write the story and then you can cut later. Keep it simple. If it's too complex, you'll lose continuity when you cut. Just try to keep the storyline simple and the character numbers down and if you have a lot of characters and you find two characters are sort of playing a similar kind of role, create one character out of them who fulfills both roles. That's really it. When you get to, after you've written it, then you need to examine it that's your first set of revisions or edits and examine each scene, for does it advance the plot or give us character depth or heighten the tension or suspense? If not, move it out. I never tell people to delete something. When I say toss it or move it out, I mean you move it to. I'm not going to use this here now, because I think you're written words.
Claire A Murray:Sometimes, when the words are flowing, it's a nice description, it's a nice something and you can use it elsewhere later. After you've gone through it that way, go down to the sentence level, examine each sentence. Does it slow things down or speed them up? Do you need so many words to say that? I find a lot of people. Just they make nouns out of verbs and use extra words. She took a sip of tea. Well, took is not the important verb. Sip is the verb, but you've made it a noun. She sipped her tea. Now you've shortened the word count, but you've also helped the reader move along. I tell people keep the subject and the verb close together. If you've got too much between them, you probably have a lot of filler words. So ask yourself do you need to use so many words to say that? Then go back and look at your descriptions of scene and setting and people Would the character have noticed all the details that are there in that description in a fleeting moment, or is this a long thought in their head that helps frame the story?
Claire A Murray:So I have one short story that opens with a woman in the restaurant. She's in the back corner of the restaurant watching people in line waiting to get in and she's noting details, not about them well, a little about them but also their interaction with other people. If you find out a few paragraphs later, she's an advice columnist. So this is her daily routine of people watching. But other than that, people don't think in long, complex sentences. So does your description frame the story, but write it the way they would notice it. So instead of a catalog description of the beautiful blue vase, it's just have the character Wow, the blue on that X Y Z vase. Maybe it's Ming vase or something they're in a museum would match my bedspread. Now, you know something about the vase and the character, but you haven't had a catalog description.
Claire A Murray:So, tie those things together and keep your descriptions. I had a critique partner. I had a scene where a retired police detective went into an empty room in a nursing home with multiple beds, because something had happened and she was investigating it and she had a complete description of the whole room in sentences. Each bed was fully made. Oh, and then in the corner was a teddy bear on the floor and one bed was unmade. And I said to her police detective is not going to think in those long detective long sentences, they're going to walk in and their police mind, even though she's retired, their police mind, is going to kick in and they're going to note Eight beds, seven made, one unmade object on floor in the corner, teddy bear. They're going to think that way and so we're in the character's head with her. So write it that way. So get into your character's head and write things the way they would notice them, even if it's poor grammar and this and that because you're in the character's mind.
Wendy H. Jones:They are brilliant tips. I mean, wow, this is stellar stuff really. And it's right, you know and I have to do that as well, because we all tend to be a bit wordy and then you have to think, no, get that down. They've not got time. They're trying to assess a situation as quickly as possible because of a killer to catch. You know, they've a murderer to catch or whatever it is. Whoever they have to catch, so they're not going to be thinking in long sentences, they're going to be thinking in contractions, and you know that's something that we should all learn more of. But all of it is sound advice, thank you.
Claire A Murray:I want to. How to apply it to your own writing? Yeah, absolutely, it's easy to see it in someone else's. It's harder to apply it to your own.
Wendy H. Jones:Absolutely, you know. But I can't edit my own work for toffee. You know what I mean. I always have to get somebody to look at it because I can edit everybody else's no trouble, you know. But I think all writers are like that, you know, because we see what we want to see in our own work.
Wendy H. Jones:That's right, and that's the case. I know that we have to do a lot of research for anything we're writing, but it's, I mean, it's important in crime writing because you need authenticity, but obviously you don't want to spend, you know, six months researching for one short story because otherwise you're never going to get short stories out, you know. So it's. What are some tips for conducting research and incorporating realistic details into crime stories without overwhelming the narrative?
Claire A Murray:Well, it's interesting because I was writing a short story for the anthology that's coming out in September and I began with one idea in my head and I began researching it and I wasn't finding the information that I needed that would support the story. But I became fascinated with where the research led me, which was, instead of a story set in the 1950s, it would take me back to the 1890s and when mining was really going strong in Arizona, and I thought, well, maybe that's the story I should write. And so I shifted my research focus on those earlier days of mining and the changes that went about and when certain changes were made and how that affected the areas here in Arizona, and then made my selection of what time period I would focus on, partly because of what I could find for actual. I actually found newspapers, reprints of the newspapers of the day and said, ok, so these two years here is a good time for focus, because I had details. I had how the newspaper described people. They were like a blog chat, you know. Oh well, so, and so visited town today and blah, blah, blah, you know, and I thought you know, and that was the newspaper you know.
Claire A Murray:So sometimes research can help you shift your direction a little bit, but I think it's important for the writer to know more than the reader at some point. But then you have to figure out what details to parcel out. So you get all the details, you write it down and then you pick out the details that the reader would need to know. So, for example, they don't need to know every instrument and every test that's going to be conducted at an, you know forensically, for an investigation. They don't need to know what the test is, but they might need to know. Ok, well, the blood spatter analysis was sent to XYZ lab and other evidence was sent to this lab where a different specialist would do it, and that's all the reader needs to know at that point. But the author needs to know more in order to figure out where certain pieces of evidence would have to go. So that's an example of using of gathering more information than you need to give the reader Another another good thing to do is to try to interview someone who actually does or has done that job in real life and have them read and comment on that section of the story.
Claire A Murray:But then they may add in more detail than the reader needs. So you need a non expert to read the same thing and say, does this make sense to you? And then you can figure out what from the expert added to put into your thing to help that reader understand it. So so it's a little bit more work. In a different way I say don't use TV and movies for your technical research because they get it wrong all the time, and Miranda rights are one example of this.
Claire A Murray:Somebody told me in a story that somebody had to be Miranda eyes the minute the police showed up or, you know, as soon as the police started talking to someone. And that's not true. In the United States the Miranda rights kick in only after you place the person in custody, which means they were arrested. Now they're under your control. When they're under your control, then you have to Miranda eyes them. The other mistake people make is that if you, if there's a mistake in the Miranda, the whole case will get thrown out. The only part of the case that gets thrown out is something that the person said before they were Miranda eyesed, but any other evidence is fine. You know so little things like that. Tv and movies go for drama over reality most of the time.
Wendy H. Jones:Yeah, that's so true, it's been again. It's authenticity and getting it right. But, as the police said to me here, because the police came round to my house and spent five hours giving me advice, you know, and then at the very end they went for haven't say, don't write anything we do, it's boring, just make it all up, you know. Which is much more exciting, you know, and, for example, the Scottish police are not armed. We don't have any guns.
Wendy H. Jones:The Scottish police don't have guns, but we do have a team that go out with guns if needed. So they can be armed, but they're not ordinarily. But of course, they said you just can't change your team into a brand new team at the end of the book, so just give them guns and say they're the team you know at that point. So you do have to, you've got to get it right, but you've also got to give some leeway for doing a compelling story that isn't going to bore the reader to tears, because you're doing exactly what the CID or whoever, or the police actually do in real life. So it's a fine balance. It's a fine balance.
Claire A Murray:Well, police work can be really boring.
Claire A Murray:Yeah, that's what they said, and that's why you know TV dramas compress it into an hour but but normally it would take you well, you know watch. A lot of people now are watching reality crime stories like 48 hours and this and that, where real police work and police officers and investigators are telling you. You know what it's really like and you see the amount of time it takes for things and and and and the frustration that can build up when you, when you think you have a solid lead and you don't. So at least, at least the reality shows are a little helpful.
Wendy H. Jones:Well, I went out on a ride along in the USA, in Williamsburg and Williamsburg has to be the most law abiding place in the whole history of the world and I spent hours with them and we did do a little bit and I can't tell you what because obviously I'm not allowed to, but there was a couple of bits. But on the whole he said we just drive round and round and round making sure there's nobody on the streets in the posh house areas, you know, so that if there is, if somebody suspicious is there, we just wind down the window and say, all right, there, you know, or whatever the American equivalent of that is, you know, and move them on. You can write a crime based on that, because you lose the world to live, you lose your reader in the first chapter.
Claire A Murray:Yeah, and I, like no one, would ever want to live in Cabo Cove, maine, because there's too many murders and you had. A small community like that is going to really have very few and precisely.
Wendy H. Jones:So, you know and what I discovered was that the police are lovely and they do a really good job. You know, I had a really good evening, as I say, but there was a couple of bits that we had to deal with, which was exciting, but on the whole it was just a quiet sitting in the car drinking coffee and drive around. You know, which was pleasant as well, because I got to ask the policemen all the questions I needed to ask about the American police, which was good, because I was doing one of my books was going to be based in Britain and America, so I got all my questions answers, which was marvelous. So there we go. The police are great. They're going to be all sorts of information. So, moving onwards from my route along in Williamsburg, which isn't really what we're here to talk about, I mean you've already mentioned one common pitfall about what the crime writers fall into.
Wendy H. Jones:But what are some common pitfallers? Are cliches to avoid when writing short crime stories, and how can writers approach familiar themes in a fresh and inventive way?
Claire A Murray:Well, you know, love triangles are a common cliche the amnesiac who wakes up from a coma and now must either be murdered or, depending on your point of view, saved from being murdered, the chosen one, which is the destiny story. You know, you have the gene that makes this work and you know you're the one who has to do it, what they call a two-dimensional heroine no flaws, superior at everything she does. You know. Just, you know, and I think a lot of authors today are doing a better job of dealing with that by giving their characters and this is really hard to do when you like a character a lot, you have to give them flaws, you have to give them self-doubt, you have to give them a habit that they're trying to break because it's not good for them, or something like that. Otherwise they're just like Captain America coming in to save the day and you know he's going to win and this and that Abusive or absentee parents, the first person narrator looking at him or herself in the mirror, you know, in the opening scene, and you know that kind of stuff. So those are common cliches. And what's her name? Ellen Byron, I think it's Ellen Byron or Hallie Efron, I can't remember which one said it Take that and just turn it around on its head, take the way it would normally end and change how it ends.
Claire A Murray:So what is it that works about a cliche is that it's familiar and comfortable and people want to escape in a book and so when they settle in and they see something familiar and comfortable, they feel like they know where it's going. So they come along with you for the ride. So you want to give it an unexpected twist and make it fresh or new again. So one way you do that is you write your own story, not someone else's. The story ideas are out there. Everybody's using the same story ideas. But what is it about your personal self, your family dynamics, your education, your social groups and even kind of the work groups that you're in and experiences you've had? That can make a difference in the use of that cliche. What's different about you? It makes it your story. So only you can tell your own. You know that story.
Claire A Murray:How do you make it a story that only you can tell? You have to bring a little bit of yourself into it and that's an exposure and a revelation that can be high for some people to do. There's a wall there you're breaking, what are your dreams, your fears, what's influenced you, and if you can imbue some of that into your character or characters. Now you've given the reader something a little bit unique and fresh and that makes it feel less like a cliche, for sensational stories can be tiring. So just take a simple story and add tension to it through the use of interesting characters. Three-dimensional characters make the crime less sensational and more intimate to the characters closer to them. A robbery can be traumatizing. It doesn't have to be a murder. I have friends who write very good and well-selling books with no murder. That doesn't have to be a murder. To make it compelling, to make it suspenseful, to make it something that people want to spend their time with.
Wendy H. Jones:Again, really good advice. And that's true. It doesn't always have to be a murder, although I have to say, in Scotland we're rather partial to a crime. If you haven't got a murder on page two, everybody's like what's this about? We're rather partial to murders in Scotland. I don't know why, but we are. It must be all those genes from when we were running around trying to kill the English or something. It must be something like that. It's terrible. But you're right, it doesn't always have to be. I mean closed-room mysteries with robberies and things can be just as equally compelling. You're right, we've touched on this a little bit, but again I want to pick something again just a bit more. But crime stories often involve investigations in detective work. In fact, they always involve investigations in detective work. So how can writers create an engaging and plausible investigation process but that keeps the readers engaged and guessing? Because of course we've already said that a lot of police work can be dreary.
Claire A Murray:Well, I don't write police procedurals so I avoid that whole aspect of following a detective or a police officer around doing their job. But that means your main character has to have a really good reason to be involved. What are the stakes the personal stakes for that character? And you can't always have your main character be the one accused of the murder, especially if you have characters that you use in multiple stories. So now you need to have another reason. There is a friend involved, or there's a family member involved, or there's a secret and you don't want that secret to get out. But the investigation of the crime might reveal that secret. So they're involved because they're trying to protect their own interests.
Claire A Murray:That might also be a good way to bring out the antagonist point of view. If you've ever written a story from it and I have one short story written from the serial killer's point of view so as it starts to get investigated he really starts to sweat, literally and figuratively. So you want to answer the questions that will be on the reader's mind, but only answer them when they should be revealed. So if you can hold off on the main character knowing certain information until closer to the end, then you've had a way to build suspense throughout, because they're searching for the answer to that and they haven't been able to find it because they're not in an official position to get it. The other thing, and some won't even be answered till the very end, so don't give it away too early.
Claire A Murray:There are blogs by two people, dp Lyle, who's an MD, and Lee Laughlin, and they have the credentials to provide solid forensic and investigative information for writers, and they do a wonderful job. And I know that this year was the last writer's police academy, but I saw online that there's going to be something different for 2024. So still check out Lee Laughlin's site, and DP Lyle also has some books out too, so that might be very helpful.
Wendy H. Jones:Excellent, thank you. And thank you for the recommendations I've heard of DP Lyle and yeah, that is very useful for anyone to read.
Claire A Murray:So Lee Laughlin's website, by the way, is called the Graveyard Shift because he used to work at Graveyard Shift as a policeman, as an investigator.
Wendy H. Jones:Brilliant. I like it. The Graveyard Shift. I'm writing that down so I remember the Graveyard Shift. Thank you, Lee Laughlin. What advice would you give to someone who wanted to write crime short stories?
Claire A Murray:Stattle the crime that is not too complex or complicated, because each level of complexity makes the story longer. So start with something simple. Pay attention to the news. There are a lot of crimes committed by people who are kind of stupid, but it can set your mind to thinking. I mean, there's this site that gives out the Darwin Awards for crime, and literally what they do is they find the stupidest crimes committed and they say, yeah, this one wins the Darwin Award. And I remember one one year was the person who stole an ATM by tying chains or rope around it to the back of his pickup truck and hauling it out to pull it off its back. It barriers. Well, you know, there's cameras there recording everything. And there's his license plate on the back of his truck. He didn't take it off first. So that's, you know, the Darwin Awards for stupidity. So join, you know, and play with those kinds of stories and then say, okay, now how can I, how can I make my antagonist a little bit smarter and make the crime a little less difficult, a little more difficult to solve? But you've got, you've got the basis there. You've got real things that real people have done. Now you want to just, you know, make it a little harder to figure out.
Claire A Murray:Join Sisters in Crime, mystery Writers of America or other writing groups because they'll help you develop your craft. And short story writing is very different from long story writing, and I know people who write short. They've written hundreds and published hundreds of short stories and they're tackling a novel and saying, wow, this is a whole different ball game, this is really hard work, whereas the rest of us, you know, write long and then we try a short story and we say, wow, this is really difficult, this is hard work. So some of some people write well long and some people write well short and and sometimes it's hard to shift from one to the other. Read Easeen it's online magazines there's and there's Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, ellery Queen Mystery Magazine two of the longest running and well known Mystery Magazines that publish short stories all the time. Read those stories, see the, see the styles they're used and see the kinds of things they write about. There's Black Cat Mystery Magazine. There's Mystery Weekly, so there's a lot actually out there that's available to. Plus, you know, hundreds of anthologies and short story collections to choose from.
Claire A Murray:And there's writer focused magazines and blogs, such as the Writer. Read Easeen Career Author, now Novel Writers Digest. They give out a ton of writing advice for free, and your you know these blogs are really, really helpful and I've used those in my critiquing. You know, when I when I see someone making the same mistake over and over and over and I realize they're just not understanding, I'll do some research and find a really good article that pinpoints exactly what they're doing and why they might want to shift it a little bit, and I'll put that in the critique. I'll put the link in the critique so that you know they've got the source. And, for your own piece of mind, stay safe when pursuing publication by staying updated with the Writer Beware blog. That's a site that can warn you off of bad publishers, bad agents and other scams and other things that go awry in the publishing industry. Any writer should stay on top of the Writer Beware blog.
Wendy H. Jones:Absolutely, I agree. Writer Beware blog should be a must read for every writer. I'm going to give you another must read, which is Writers Narrative Magazine. It only came out today. That was a new magazine. I'll give a plug for it.
Claire A Murray:Yay, congratulations.
Wendy H. Jones:Thank you, thank you. Yeah, so there's a new magazine on the block, as they say, but all the ones you've mentioned as well, outstanding, especially the you know, like Ellery Queen magazine, sherlock Holmes magazine I've never heard of Black Cat, but I'm going to be chasing that up as well. So, yeah, really good advice there. So I was going to ask you about WordCount, but I think we pretty much covered the WordCount issue and how we can write throughout the rest of it. So I think I'll just move on and ask you about your own anthologies, because you have been in a number of anthologies. Can you tell us about them?
Claire A Murray:Well, this four in particular that I'm really pleased to have been in. The first one I was published in, you know, as an anthology, was in 2017, 17 or 14, I don't remember Busted Arresting Stories from the Beat, and that included my story Chains, which is about a beat cop trying to save an abused woman's life, and that's from Lovell Best Books. And then there was Peace, love and Crime, crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the 60s. So my story Spirit in the Sky, is about a Vietnam vet 50 years later who's still looking out and protecting two members from his platoon. Then there's so West Love Kills, and my story, the Backpack, is about a man who kills his brother after a robbery gone wrong and takes off into the desert and then coming out in September.
Claire A Murray:So West's wrong turn includes Charlotte's Mining Days, and that's the story I was talking about earlier, where the research led me to the story, and that's where a young woman in 1890s Arizona tries to solve the mystery of who's stealing from their fellow miners after she's been accused of it. So each of those I mean a beat cop, a Vietnam vet, a bank robber and a female miner in vastly different tales, but they worked for different reasons and I have one story that's in submission. It's been in submission forever. There's just been delay after delay in the editor reading them and I really, really like that story. So I'm just crossing my fingers that he'll finally get around to finishing reading all the stories and making selections, because I'd like to see that published. So and that's set in New Hampshire in the dead of winter, and that's an assassin who's searching for her victim and trying to out with him.
Wendy H. Jones:Certainly eclectic stories. Amazing. You're an eclectic writer, that's for sure. So my very final question is where can my listeners find out more about you and your work?
Claire A Murray:Well, primarily, although I don't update my blog very often lately. I started out I was able to do it weekly for a year and a half, but life has gotten too busy and I don't update it much. But my website, cam dash writescom. C A M dash W R I T E S dot com. You can find me on Amazon is Claire A Murray and on Goodreads as Claire A Murray. So I think those are the and oh and on Facebook, of course, which is Claire Murray writes Right.
Claire A Murray:Okay so that's out there, without the A, without the.
Wendy H. Jones:A yeah, yeah, okay, thank you. Well, thank you very much for joining us, claire. This has been enlightening. It really has. I'd loved it.
Claire A Murray:Well, thank you very much, Wendy. This has been a fun time and it was fun to think about these questions a little bit and, and you know, put my thoughts, you know into into my thoughts, into words, because it it it always points out I have more work to go back and do on my own stuff.
Wendy H. Jones:Don't we all feel like that? I tell you the minute it comes out. You think oh, I wish it was too late, now it's out.
Claire A Murray:Yeah Well, thank you very much for having me.
Wendy H. Jones:And I'll see you in about an hour and a half's time for our next enthralling installment of yes, it's Tuesday, I'm writing. Otherwise known as the Claire and Wendy show.
Claire A Murray:Or the Wendy and Claire show. Wherever you want to look at it, take care, then We'll see you then. Thank you, bye, bye bye.
Wendy H. Jones:That brings us to the end of another show. It was really good to have you on the show with me today. I'm Wendy H Jones and you can find me at wendahjjonescom. You can also find me on Patreon, where you can support me for as little as $3 a month, which is less than the price of a tea or coffee. You go to wwwpatrioncom. Forward, slash wendahjjones. I'm also Wendy H Jones on Facebook, twitter, instagram and Pinterest. Thank you for joining me today and I hope you found it both useful and interesting. Join me next week when I will have another cracking guest for you. Until then, have a good week and keep writing, keep reading and keep learning.