NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

A group blog featuring an international array of killer mystery, suspense, and romantic suspense writers. With premises and story lines different from your run-of-the-mill whodunits, we tend to write outside the box. We blog several times a week on all topics relating to romantic suspense and mystery, our writing, and our readers. We welcome all comments and often have guest bloggers. All our authors can be contacted separately, too, using their own social media links.

We find our genre delightfully, dangerously, and deliciously exciting - join us here, if you do too!

NOTE: the blog is currently dormant but please enjoy the posts we're keeping online.


Julie Moffet . Cathy Perkins . Jean Harrington . Daryl Anderson . Nico Rosso . Maureen A Miller . Sandy Parks . Lisa Q Mathews . Sharon Calvin . Lynne Connolly . Janis Patterson . Vanessa Keir . Tonya Kappes . Julie Rowe . Joni M Fisher . Leslie Langtry

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO by Kathy Ivan

You're a writer. Why do you do it?

Is it for fame?

Money?

Prestige?

I love to tell stories but I'm not good at doing it face-to-face. If I know you, I can pretty much talk your ears off on just about any topic. I'll tell you all about the books I'm working on, what I've finished, and even stories I want to write but haven't had the time. If I don't know you . . . I'm a virtual clam. Hard to pry two words out of me, much less have me tell you an entire story.

But I can write it down.

I'm free to tell you (the reader, somebody I've never met) everything that makes a story complete and whole. I'll tell you about the main character, who he or she is, what they do for a living, and why they're driven or compelled to solve the mystery. I can expound about the villain, why he or she is mean, horrible and unrepentantly evil and gleefully relate all the dastardly things they do to make the hero and heroine's lives a continual nightmare.

There may be fights, car chases, or bombings. There will definitely be romance, falling in love and probably some sexy times along the way before the end of the book.

I can guarantee a happily ever after. How? Because I get to tell the story my way, in my words, just the way I want it. Isn't that why we write?

I got a letter from someone I don't know. In it they said: I read both of your books this weekend and I am impressed. I don't usually read romantic books, but I totally enjoyed them. Your characters were charming and really came to life for me. Thank you for entertaining me!

They were entertained! As a storyteller, there's no greater compliment. And when all the smoke has cleared and the final "the end" has been written, isn't that why we do what we do?

5 comments:

Anne Marie Becker said...

Such a thrill to get a note from a reader like that! (And even more so since they don't usually read the genre!)

For me, writing is a cross between a compulsion and a calling. I love it, and sometimes I hate it. LOL But life is never boring when you're a writer!

Kathy Ivan said...

Anne Marie, I have to agree LIFE is never boring when you're a writer. There are only so many ways to "bury the bodies." LOL

Elise Warner said...

An enjoyable calling. We have friends and challenges when we write and Kathy, you are so right. Life is never boring when we write.

Marcelle Dubé said...

I'm with Anne Marie. Definitely a compulsion. I even tried to quit a few times, to no avail. I write because to not write is impossible.

Rita said...

How great is that? Just be careful where you talk about those stories. Wouldn't a LEO to come to you with gun drawn.

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