Day number two!
Here I am again, writing my little heart out. I can’t say I’ll be this diligent in the future, I do have a life you know. Okay, yesterday I discussed my 50 page rule when reading mysteries. I guess I’m not alone, because both Jeanne and Diane have the same rule and asked, what keeps me reading. I’d have to say, curiosity. When an author writes a really good inciting incident, or opening, it’s gets me curious and I’ll keep reading. Of course, the story after the opening has to continue to peak my curiosity. You can’t write something intriguing, then drop it. That would be grounds for tossing the book at a wall. Oh, come on, you’ve done that, you know you have. Let me give you an example. My book, “The Colors of Death” starts out when a young woman answers the phone in a print shop. (They say write what you know, and I know WAY too much about the printing industry!) The man on the other end of the line is Joe, a recyclers who picks up waste paper from the print shop and recycles it. Joe tells our heroine, Cally, that he found a severed arm in the last barrel he picked up, and if they keep putting body parts in the barrels, he’s not coming by any more. Is this intriguing? I hope so - but more importantly, that severed arm is part of the ongoing mystery. (Shameless plug- you can upload that ebook soon and find out what happens.) I remember another opening in a book I read years ago. Can’t remember the name and this is a paraphrase: “Of the four men in the room, only one was dead.” Now, aren’t you going to keep reading to find out who, why, what the heck happened etc.? I did and remember is was a darn good book.
Okay, I guess that’s all I have to say today. Let me know what keeps you reading once you start a mystery.
