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Do you ever wonder where authors get their ideas?
It seems to be a reader obsession. Stephen King got the question so often that at one point, whenever people asked, “So where do you get your ideas?” he’d say, “Wal-Mart.”
(At least I think that was him… just got super distracted trying to track that one down, it’s probably in his masterpiece On Writing.)
(NOTE: If you just want the update on Murder Feels Crazy, jump down here.
How do you make murder funny? Or do you?
YOU MEAN IN REAL LIFE??? No! I mean stories. Murder mysteries.
How do you take something as horrifying as murder and weave it into a story that’s actually fun? Much less funny?
HMM. YEAH, THAT IS KIND OF WEIRD. Isn’t it? I mean, these are detectives trying to catch dangerous criminals who’ve killed people. No wonder so many mysteries are, well, dead serious.
Can you imagine getting the chance to ACTUALLY hunt a murderer?
Much less meeting a real empath? Someone who can really feel other people’s secret emotions and pain?
I don’t know about you, but I’d feel…
EXCITED!!
Scared, maybe, sure. Especially if you found them.
But at the start, at least … excited!
I’ve read so many mystery stories, sure (I even write them). But this, THIS would be REAL.
Hi! So I have this quick favor to ask you, two minutes tops, and I promise it doesn’t involve butterscotch.
(I’m not a huge butterscotch fan.)
(Okay, I loathe the stuff. One more reason this movie was so traumatic…)
I know, that pipe is full of chocolate, not butterscotch. That’s the best GIF I could find…
BUT BILL, I LOVE BUTTERSCOTCH!! CAN WE STILL BE FRIENDS?
Yes! Absolutely. I’ve come a long way on this issue…
Hi! So, I could try to be all clever and witty about this, but honestly, my word magic’s a bit tapped out just now. I have a good reason, though…
THE DRAFT IS DONE! I finished it a few hours ago! Huzzah!!
THAT’S GREAT, BILL. WAIT … WHAT DRAFT?
Murder Feels Crazy, of course! Book Three in the hilarious, yet gritty, yet heartwarming, yet utterly unique and possibly overhyped but still fantastically FUN mystery adventures of Mark the Empath Detective and Pete his devoted sidekick.
Writing a novel can sometimes feel like a slog through a jungle packed with land mines.
The good part is, they’re often filled with confetti.
But they still explode in your face.
Maybe I should explain.
YEAH, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
Research, my friend. Research.
So as you know, I’m working on Book Three in the hilarious mystery adventures of Mark and Pete – Murder Feels Crazy.
Hi! So this novel challenge update will be fairly short. And short, as you’ll see, is this week’s secret…
First off: THE DRAFT HAS BEGUN IN EARNEST.
Murder Feels Crazy, which is Book Three in the comedy mystery adventures of Mark the Empath Detective (and Pete the Goofball Sidekick), has begun to manifest actual pages that exist in the physical world. (Or at least on my hard drive.
Alas … Everything Has Changed.
I was gunning hard to finish the rough draft for the next Mark and Pete comedy mystery adventure by next Friday. It was tight, but still gloriously possible. Then… this happened…
The dreaded Sneak Attack. The gut-wrenching choice.
Turns out, there’s this crucial storytelling issue where everything we think we “know” is wrong. And for real, this ignorance could get you killed.
BUT FIRST, AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR EMAILS!
What if you could totally skip your first draft?
All that stress, all that angst…POOF.
Want to know how? My pleasure. It’s all about this secret extra step in the plotting process.
For instance, here’s my current status on the Murder Feels Crazy novel challenge: this novel’s got five acts, and I’m on the last act in the “scene beat”.
What, you haven’t heard that before? 😄
“SCENE BEAT”? WHAT’S THAT?
Hi! As promised, here’s my Quick Novel Challenge Update. Will I finish the rough draft for the next Mark and Pete comedy mystery adventure in time?
Last week, I took the plunge and committed to finishing the first draft for Book Three, Murder Feels Crazy, by Friday, July 13. Which, you may have noticed, is now only four weeks away…
So how was my first week of Super Intense Writing Mode?
I’m literally taking a deep breath before I tell you this…
(… in … out … is this even helping? Whatever.)
You know how I have this comedy mystery detective series about the Mark the Empath Detective and his goofy devoted sidekick Pete? You might have already read books one and two…
So I’ve been working on Book Three, Murder Feels Crazy. And I’ve been telling everyone that the book would come out “this fall”.
Have you ever wondered whether authors like having a blog? (Or Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Whatever?)
Some authors seem to love it. You stop by their site, and they’ve already posted this morning. While you’re staring at their huge list of posts, and glazing over trying to decide whether to start with the blow-by-blow of their latest book tour in Andalusia or their twelve-part series on how they made the Paleo diet work with their meat allergy , another new post pings to life before your eyes…