This Writer's Journey

Article two from my 2007 virtual book tour.  

I’d like to say that writing has been a life-long passion, but the fact of the matter is, my first love was art. From the day I could hold a pencil in my hand, I drew. I studied a wide variety of art forms in school; charcoals, oils, watercolors, ink washes, ceramics, sculpture—love it all. Later I studied graphic design and got hooked on it. Although writing and art are two vastly different creative forms of expression, I am the whole of my life experiences. The art discipline helped me to develop an observant eye and sharpened my senses to the subtle nuances of the world around me. I can visualize the details of a scene as clearly as if I were looking at it with my eyes. The challenge is to transform those images and other sensory messages into words. Is the scene vivid enough for the reader to smell the stench of death when Harper walks into the morgue; see the glint of light bouncing off a pool of water on the sidewalk, or hear the rain drumming onto a metal awning?

The literal beginning of my writing journey began on Thanksgiving morning 1985, six months after our eldest daughter passed away. She was born in October 1983, with a congenital heart defect. Words couldn’t express the ache or the emptiness I felt after her loss. I found console in my faith and in the journaling of my thoughts. That Thanksgiving holiday was especially difficult, yet in the midst of it, something happened that brought me peace and an understanding that I was spiritually not alone. I jotted my thoughts but quickly put it away knowing I couldn’t dwell on it for long stretches of time. “November Rose” took 19 years to complete in spite that it is only 500 words long. If you're so inclined, you may read it here: http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977180642

Time doesn’t heal but it does pass. Several years later, I read an article that briefly mentioned the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s. I was struck to read of the brutality inflicted on the Chinese people by the invading forces, but what was even more gripping was that those events hadn’t been mentioned in any of my high school or college history courses. I researched the topic for several weeks. The more I thought about it, the more inspired I became to write. Although I have a degree in journalism, I had not taken any creative writing courses. I didn’t know the difference between a beat and a tag, how to write dialogue, develop a character, or how to identify a point of view slip. I managed to get the first draft completed but was unable to move it forward. I joined several author groups, read the discussions, followed suggested links, and forged great friendships. I also bought every how-to book I could get my hands on and read each one from cover to cover. All this in an attempt to learn the craft and complete that first novel.

I was on a major learning curve for a couple of years. I set the novel aside and began to write shorts and flash fiction. Ironically though, I found I had a tendency to write much longer pieces than most publications would accept as short stories. Most of my works begged for more room to develop the plot. I experimented with different lengths and discovered that novellas were the perfect fit for my style; longer than a short story, but not as complex as a novel. I knew I had reached a pivotal point in my life. The writing bug bit—I was hooked.

Homicide Detective Sam Harper arrived on the scene:

The creation of The Sam Harper Crime Mystery series and its diverse set of characters go back to a fall afternoon in 2004. The books began as a set of novellas; I had written two and needed a third novella to meet the publisher’s minimum word requirements for a “novel-sized” piece.  I decided that instead of moving forward in time, I should focus on the beginning—an introduction of the Harper character. There was so much more to the Harper character than catching criminals, it was time to explore the driving forces in his life. The journey, however, doesn’t end there. I waited nearly a year without a response. Certain that the manuscript had been denied, I continued to work on “Silenced Cry” and expanded it into a novel.  

Perfect timing:

Weeks after the manuscript had been critiqued and all the edits completed, I received the “please send” from my publisher. Harper has his share of flaws. He doesn't always get it right, the evidence doesn't conveniently fall into place, and doors don't constantly open to reveal the answer. The deeper he digs into the case, the closer the crime gets nudged onto his doorstep. In this first book, he is consumed with suspicion, doubt, and a hatred that nearly destroys him, but every person he meets and each event he encounters takes him one step closer to the transformation into the man who emerges in the final pages of “Silenced Cry.”

The Sam Harper Crime Mystery series is (thus far) a collection of four completed novels. The second in the series will be released in the fall of 2008.  And what of that first attempt? One of these day’s I’ll dust that novel off and get it finished. My writing journey is far from over because each day brings new encounters and incidents to add to the treasure trove of life experiences I can infuse into my writing.