Changes

Today we're delighted to welcome Guest Blogger Barb Ross to Working Stiffs.

By Barbara Ross 

Even after all these years out of school, fall still makes me think of sharp pencils, clean notebooks and endless possibilities. This year that’s truer than ever. On July 26, three friends and I announced we were going to be the new editors of the Level Best Books anthologies. On August 5, the company where I was Chief Operating Officer was sold. And on August 18, my first novel The Death of an Ambitious Woman was released.

So here I am, headspinningly fast, soon to be unemployed, promoting my book, co-editing a short story anthology due at the printers, um, yesterday, and trying to finish the next novel. And I have never been happier.

In The Death of an Ambitious Woman, my protagonist is going through change as well. The novel opens the day Acting Police Chief Ruth Murphy finds out she’s won the selection process for permanent chief. In her six months in the “acting” role, she’s discovered that she loves the job. But there are times when the responsibility weighs heavily and she misses the camaraderie of peers.

So while Ruth climbs up her particular brand of the corporate ladder (the municipal ladder?), I’m at home. Trying to figure out how to manage my time now that I don’t have all those meetings to tell me where to be and what I need to know before I get there. For so long, the rhythms of my year were determined by the corporate calendar—sales meeting, user conference, industry conference, planning and budgeting. Do it again next year.

How will I find my new routine? How have those of you who’ve moved from structured to unstructured work done it?

Stephen King

“There are certain things I do if I sit down to write,” he said. “I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. There’s a certain time I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning,” he explained. “I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places. The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.

“It’s not any different than a bedtime routine,” he continued. “Do you go to bed a different way every night? Is there a certain side you sleep on?" -- Lisa Rogak, Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King

Gustave Flaubert

“Days were as unvaried as the notes of the cuckoo.” -- Frederick Brown, Flaubert: A Biography

The Death of an Ambitious Woman is Barbara Ross’ first novel. In July, Barbara became one of the editor/publishers at Level Best Books which has produced and anthology of crime stories by New England writers every fall for the last seven years. The eighth edition, titled Thin Ice will be released in November 2010. Barbara and her husband divide their time between Somerville, Massachusetts, and Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

Where Do Your Stories Come From -- Part 2

In Monday's blog "Virtually There," Gina Sestak asked the question: "Where do your stories come from?" Here's one man's answer:

By Frank Cook

Invariably when I go to writer conferences like the New England Crime Bake (Nov. 13-15 in Dedham, MA, with Sue Grafton as this year's guest of honor), one of the most frequently asked questions is “where do you get your ideas?”

And invariably the author’s answer almost always has something to do with some soaring experience or the depth of their soul. Some build their stories around a character they conjure, others fashion them after a recent event.

Those aren’t the answers I’m looking for. When I ask, “Where do you get your ideas,” I literally mean “where are you when you get your ideas?” Are you at the grocery store? In the shower? At the gym?

Whenever I write fiction, I start with the scene. I don’t start with “the character” or “the event.” I start with the surroundings.

The idea for my short story “Liberty” (Seasmoke anthology, Level Best Books) came to me while I walked my dog around my neighborhood. The triggering thoughts were, “What kind of crime could be committed here?” “If a criminal was doing exactly what I’m doing, what kind of crime would he commit?”

Since then, I’ve found that approach has worked time and again. After attending a few author readings at my favorite book store (RiverRun in Portsmouth), I started mulling, “what kind of crime could be committed here?” That question led to “The Greatest Criminal Mind Ever,” which will be published this November in "Quarry: Crime Stories by New England Writers."

Likewise, a spring morning and the annual ritual of cleaning out the basement led to frequent trips to the local recycling center. Those trips ultimately led to the story, “The dump at the Dump.”

My wife Pat Remick’s award-winning story “Mercy 101” (Still Waters anthology, Level Best Books), came from her frequent commutes on Highway 101 from Portsmouth to the state capital in Concord.

Again, first came the scene. Second, came the crime. After that, it’s matter populating the plot with the right characters.

The point here is that story ideas need not come from some grand place or exotic situation. Entertaining ideas come from the most mundane places. And let’s face it, we’ve all considered writing, “Murder at the DMV.”

But, awkwardly transitioning back to where I started, one of the great things about going to Crime Bake is listening to other authors talk about where they get their ideas and, of course, listening to experts suggest how to carry them out.

I have listened to Jeremiah Healy discuss the best way to stab people without getting blood on yourself, and I have learned as Chuck Hogan (Prince of Thieves) taught me how to rob banks. And I have been relieved to hear poison lady Luci Zahray assure, “Don’t worry, coroners almost never test for these things.”

It occurred to me then that the greatest criminal minds in New England aren’t in prison. They’re at Crime Bake.

It also occurred to me that the local SWAT team probably had the building surrounded.

Frank Cook is a short story writer, real estate and business journalist, professional development book author, a longtime mystery fan currently working on two crime novels, and the long-suffering husband of Working Stiffs blogger Pat Remick.