Working a jigsaw puzzle uses a different part of my brain, allowing my creative side to wander, usually resulting in something useful for my writing. And the writing itself is somewhat akin to solving a jigsaw puzzle: putting all the pieces together to create a satisfying story.
When I start a new puzzle, I invariably work on the frame first, finding all the straight edges that will put a boundary around the developing image. I use a framework of sorts for writing the Gaby Quinn mystery series, mostly based on what I’ve enjoyed—or didn’t—in other books I’ve read, whether mysteries or popular and literary fiction.
I feel cheated if an author provides the key clue that will solve the mystery “off stage,” so to speak—not sharing what they know. It’s frustrating, especially since most readers of mysteries enjoy solving the crime alongside the protagonist. Even if a reader hasn’t identified the murder correctly, she should be able to recognize the clues and red herrings that the author dropped along the way. I’m all for the surprise ending, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of deliberately keeping the reader in the dark until the last page.
I enjoy books that teach me something I’m not familiar with. In the Gaby Quinn mysteries, I try to deal with some aspect of estate and probate law using laymen’s terms. I’ve had readers tell me one or another of the books has helped them unravel the issues in an estate they were administering. One even engaged in long-delayed estate planning after she read one of the titles where the deceased murderer had no will. But I also try to address something likely to be unfamiliar to both the reader and me. In my upcoming mystery, Woodson Falls: 3 Shadow Lane, I will be exploring the world of cryptocurrency.
I try to avoid a too-detailed description of characters, letting the reader visualize these folks themselves. I’m particularly irritated when an author spends a good deal of time describing what each character is wearing when this has nothing to do with the story itself.
I keep Gaby Quinn in contemporary time, without reference to such major events as 9/11 or the pandemic unless doing so is essential to the storyline. For me, most books should be timeless, unless the author is grounding the story in such an event, as Jodi Picoult did so masterfully in her recent book, Wish You Were Here.
Finally, in a series like that set in Woodson Falls, I strive to create stories that can stand alone, providing enough back information so a reader new to the series can follow the storyline without boring the reader who is continuing with the series.
Future posts will pick up on the jigsaw metaphor by discussing the pieces that go into creating a story and how they fit together. Stay tuned!