Fiction writers write fiction, there’s no doubt about that. But that fiction it it’s going to be read and appreciated, has to contain some kind of ‘truth’. If you have a character who has a certain job, for instance, you, as the writer, has to know enough about that job to make it seem ‘real’.
So learning about things, gaining a broad range of different life experience, it seems to me, is an important thing for the writer to do. Having an open mind, seeing various different points of view on many matters, these are important things as well. Remaining open to what life is all about, this is a good way for a writer to be, in my opinion.
In my fiction, I plan to be writing about a small town, and things that happen in that small town. One of the important places in the Talloola, the town, is, or at least used to be, the bowling club. The Talloola Bowling Club is now the Talloola Bocce Club, and there was a lot of small town politics that happened there.
Small towns have many stories, and I intend having fun with Talloola, exploring all of the incidents that go on, those small town political things … My main character, Meredith, is new in town, and she and I will be learning all about what makes a town like Talloola tick. Oh, and there will be murders …
I’m writing in the genre of ‘Cosy Murder Mysteries’, so of course people will be killed, and the killers be brought to justice. Meredith will be the person to do that, assisted by her sidekicks, Gert (the oldest person in Talloola), Travis (the deputy mayor), and various dogs around town.
Meredith has a special connection with dogs, an eerie understanding and connection. Dogs know and trust Meredith, she knows and trust them. Dogs are great at helping to sniff out clues, dig for evidence, and bring down those who would runaway from justice!
Writing these books will draw on my experiences gained in my almost 57 years, about small towns, and bowling clubs, dogs, and people, as well as a great many other things that happen in a well rounded and open minded life … I’m looking forward to getting stuck into this series of books – I have many titles and short descriptions written down, as well as around 10,000 words written.
I’ll need a lot more words than that though, so getting stuck into it will have to happen, if I’m to meet my goal of becoming known as the writing of excellent Cosy Murder Mysteries!
If you love this genre, please leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
Carolyn Cordon - Creative 