Hi there, guys and dolls! Well, my girls have me hard at work on Poppy Cove Mysteries book four and a funny thing occurred to them as they were writing.

As the authors of the tale, they know exactly what and how the murders and/or mayhem happens. Not only when, but who did it and why, even if it shifts and changes along the way. But they don’t only write about one thing, or in one direction. A writer has to wear many hats and have many theories and situations that come up. There are more than one character involved, and tales need to be multifaceted.

There’s the true story path, but also offshoots and trails rounding out the story and weaving the mystery. And all situations need to seem plausible and intriguing.

That means there’s always an element of the unexpected, a twist or turn that involves more than just the perpetrator and victim. It is reflected in the innocent bystander and suspicious witness. A clue that seems to be so vital may turn out to be nothing, and something so innocuous holds the key to the whole darn thing.

Keeping track and writing the stories can be as much fun (if not more) than reading them. At times, when coming up with details or re-writing a draft, the writer needs to suspend disbelief and truly be clueless from certain perspectives. There needs to be an element of intrigue where the story tells the reader the truth and the said reader will have at least one moment of, ‘Well, I didn’t see that coming.’

See what I mean? Sometimes it’s wise to not know everything. It’s how you discover what really happened along the way and truly learn. And you know I’m not just talking about reading and writing, don’t you ;-)?

Toodles,

Barbara Jean