It Could be Raining...(My BIG Plotting Secret)

Celebrating my fun interview with Jean Henry-- http://tinyurl.com/d9mtss --and my dinner tonight with my pal Mary Buckham, who is doing a book plotting weekend here in The Lou, I have decided to post my BIG plotting secret.

Are you ready?

It can always get worse.

Yeah. See...that's how life goes and that's what can happen in a book. No matter how dark it is, no matter how horrible the situation, there's always a moment when you think, "Things can't get worse." Or in my family, we call it the "It could be raining" moment. We'll be in a crisis, and my dear husband David will look at me, and we'll say in tandem: "Could be worse. Could be raining." (And usually it is...so we both start to laugh."

We also like the "it went about as badly as anything could go barring loss of life and limb" phrase.

So if you are plotting (or plodding as it sometimes seems) along today, and if you are suffering from the dreaded "saggy middle" just pretend you are Lee Child, who is fabulous for creating situations where you think, "Jack Reacher will NEVER get out of this." Or Jeff Deaver who is the ultimate trickster, leading you to think "Okay, that character is su-unk." Or even those bright sparks who write "24," and give us fine moments where we're forced to admit "our entire way of life is DOOMED." That is, be a gloomy thinker. Decide what the worst is and let it rip.

Hint, hint: It doesn't have to be the WORST for your protag. It could be the WORST for someone your protag loves.

Tip: Ask yourself, "What would really upset the status quo."

And while I'm at it, I hope you don't read the Kirkus Reviews for Cut, Crop & Die (Book #2 in the Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series which will be released in June). I hope you don't because although Kirkus called the book "a nicely crafted cozy full of amusing moments, real-life insecurities and scrapbooking tips," they also gave away a really bleak time in Kiki's life. (Why, oh, why did they have to post a spoiler?)

Live from Love Is Murder

Whew, so many sessions so little time! And the hallways are packed with fascinating people, too.

I met up with Karen Syed for a chat about how she uses Twitter and MySpace. She's a genius about online social networking. Her advice on Twitter is to follow others who will often then follow you. How smart is that?

Then I heard Jeff Deaver talk about writing a suspense novel. Everything Deaver does is for the reader. Each time I'm around him, I am struck by how self-indulgent a lot of our writing is. And boy, is he a big believer in outlining.

Next, Steve Berry filled in for Alex Kava, who has a family medical emergency. (You're in our prayers, Alex.) Steve's message couldn't have been clearer: Write every day. Discipline yourself. When that big publisher wants a book every year, you'll be prepared to turn one out.

I had to leave his session early to participate in a panel on marketing. What did I learn from that? Um, can you say "Pingometer.com?" I can and I will.

Now back to the conference!

PS Big shout out to my buddy Rosemary Harris whose new book The Dirt Nap is making its debut here. Rosemary is smart and sweet and a joy to be around!