Writing Bookworm Review: Obsession in Death

I am now obsessed with Obsession in Death by J D Robb aka Nora Roberts. If you haven't read any of the in Death series I highly recommend doing so. Obsession in Death is the latest release in this murder mystery, not taking no crap from nobody, series.

Part of writing is reading other writers. Studying their style and seeing what works. In this story you follow Lt. Eve Dallas of the NYPSD as she stands for the dead, even when the dead are people who have gotten in her way. Which is what happens in this book. There is a killer who has become obsessed with Eve, and kills for her claiming to be her True Friend and doing what she can't because of the rules of the system she must follow. The victims are those who have crossed Eve's path, but not in a good way.

The first victim is a defense attorney who went up against Dallas while defending one of the many bad guys Dallas caught. This attorney bad mouthed Dallas to the media, but things backfired and her client still got put away. The second victim is a junky who made incidental contact with Dallas during a fight and gave her a nice bruise. Eventually though, the hero must fall and the killer will turn on Dallas; and oh what a fantastic way does the killer turn on Dallas.

I love the characters Nora Roberts has created. It is torture to have to wait for the next story to see how Lt. Dallas and her partner Detective Delia Peabody will solve the next murder, and what crazy people they will run into. Lt. Dallas in particular has this style about her, her own way of looking at things that makes others wonder about their own way of doing things. For example, when Lt. Dallas tells one of her men how "it'll be like looking for the crazy needle in a stack of needles." (pg 137 - Obsession in Death.) Eve also warns her people not to say haystack; after all, what would a needle be doing in a haystack?

It's this challenge the norm and what we know type character that I love, and would love to write about in my own writing. The future setting is also imaginative, but not too far off that the technology they have isn't something I couldn't see us using. The piece I would love is the drying tube. No more toweling off when you get out of the shower, which means less things to wash. Or how about an auto chef. Just program what you'd like and out it comes. Need food fast? You'd no longer have to drive to a fast food joint, and you'd be able to eat healthier. Eating healthier however is not something Eve tries to do; she loves a good greasy pizza and has secret stashes of chocolate and cookies.

There is also a type of lingo used that I can't help think, why didn't someone think of this before? Today we have our LOLs and WTFs; in the in Death world there is mag, ult, and abso, just to give a few. I also can't forget some of the banter that goes on between some of the characters. Any shortened version I could post here would not do some of these conversations justice. But I'll try with a little taste of one, when on page 71 Roarke who is Eve's husband says "Why would I be pissed just because some murderous bastard's got a crush on my wife?"

This series has a lot to teach you. If you want to write for any genre, I would suggest picking up a few of these books. You won't be able to stop with just one. I will say this though, the first book Naked in Death is the most boring of the series, not that it's not worth a read. But if you read it first, know that it takes time to introduce characters, and you barely scratch the surface of some of the characters you will meet. I remember I started with Innocent in Death, and then loved it so much I had to go back and see how it all started. I've been hooked on this series ever since. The characters, the way they handle life's problems, and the things they say to each other; you can't wait to run into them again. And the writing actually transports you to the streets of New York and suddenly you are right with Eve chasing the bad guys and girls, and making the streets a little safer. I don't care if you want to write Fantasy or True Crime, you could still learn a thing or two.

Still Learning What Works

So, basically at the halfway point of my challenge to myself to write a novel in two months, and I'm not even halfway done with the story. In fact I'm just beginning.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I mostly picture scenes. Each one is different, using different characters. Then this past weekend, something happened. I started acting out a scene that had been bouncing around a while, and it expanded. I became one of the characters and could more clearly see the others.

I still don't know the names of each character, but at least I have an idea of where the story is going. Now I've begun outlining, and creating summaries for the characters I know about. I'm hoping that before the week is over, I'll be starting the first few pages of the story.

Have you figured out how you work? What do you use to get the creative juices flowing and stitch the beginnings of a story together? There is no right or wrong answer. Everyone is different. And I fear, I will soon have to learn how I work all over again. (That is a story for another post.)

Breaking Out

I gave myself a challenge that started last week. That challenge is to write a novel in 2 months. Do I think it will be ready to publish should I complete one? No. This challenge is just to write a rough draft.

Why did I do this? I've always been a writer, but I could never finish a story. I'd force it for school, but I was never truly proud of the stories I wrote for class. Now that I'm not writing for school, I find I don't have any complete ideas which makes it near impossible for me to complete a story. While it may work for some to let the story flow and to go where the characters take you; it has not worked for me yet. The characters go somewhere that makes me uncomfortable or bored, and I toss it.

The ideas I do have, are only short scenes. I imagine some characters blocking security cameras on the fly, or in car chases, or running for their lives. Why are they running for their lives? Why are they working together? And the characters I imagine are almost never the same, or if the same, not in the same teams. So if "Jamie" is helping "Joan" in one scene, I may imagine the same scene, but with "Jamie" and "Steve".

So, why did I give myself this challenge? A few reasons. First, lately I've been too worn down from working my office job that I am not in the mood to do much of anything when I get home. However, when I'm working at the office, there are times I can't help but imagine scenes and play them out. I wanted an excuse to help make myself do something about the scenes playing around in my head. Second, life seems to always get in the way. Even with this challenge going, I've had to take time to take care of our two Golden Retrievers. One couldn't get up 2 weeks ago and underwent some surgery to remove the issue. She is recovering and doing well, but has needed some extra loving. Our other dog just underwent surgery a couple days ago to remove a lump from his leg. I've also had to put more time in at work, even bringing it home sometimes. I'm not complaining about these things happening, I just haven't found the right balance yet. I'm hoping this challenge will help me to experiment with my time, and different methods to get the most out of my time.

The big one, I start writing and get distracted with thinking about how I'm going to promote the finished piece, and do I start a Facebook page now or wait until the book is finished, or.... The "what ifs" never seem to end. Now I can say, stop, I have this goal, it's out there for the masses to see online, I need to at least finish this thing or I'm going to embarrass myself.

Thus far, after almost 2 weeks into this challenge...I've written a few lines of some character outlines, and two lines into a story. If you can call two lines the start of anything. (I've also now written this blog entry but that doesn't count towards the story obviously.)

Stay tuned to see if I can turn this around.