Writing Tip: Indulge Your Taste
If anything says more about a character than it has to be his indulgences. When developing characters, think about what your characters crave, whether it be an activity or a particular food. Welcome to National Caviar Day!
Think about it. A character that has a yen for caviar has mature tastes. Caviar, based on my own experience, is not for everyone. You have to go beyond taste to experience and mouth feel.
It is also a more mature taste in terms of actual taste and expense. How many people do you know would seek out, much less pay for a tin of caviar?
I can remember the first time I had caviar. I was at a fundraiser. The atmosphere was festive and gay. The spread was magnificent. I joined a few colleagues in some caviar with a nice white wine. I don’t remember especially liking it, but the idea of indulging was incredible.
You can use similar associations to say volumes about your characters. It doesn’t have to be something extensive. Just a little blini will do the trick.
Gone Fishing!
Every once in a while, you just need a break. Writing is such a cerebral activity that can frankly, be quite taxing at times. That’s why you need this holiday. Welcome to Go Fishing Day!
I’ve always equated fishing with gambling. It’s like playing the slot machine. You toss in the line, hoping for the big payoff. Sometimes you win, sometimes you pull up an old boot.
Fishing is the perfect break. You can zone out while you wait for the bobber to sink or you slowly reel in your Texas rig worm. The nice thing about fishing is that you are usually fishing the quieter waters, so you get get a real mental vacation.
Come the 18th, do you and your writing a favor. Take the day off to go fishing.
The Most Unselfish Gift
It’s an odd consequence of writing mysteries that you are more aware of the role of police, the presence of blood, and the range of human behavior. Today, take time to consider an unselfish act. Welcome to World Blood Donor Day!
I’ve given a lot of blood during my lifetime, despite the fact that I experience definite physical weakness after giving blood. I have a more uncommon type of blood, so I feel a certain obligation. To be honest, I have chosen not to donate my organs after death. I want my body to go to the afterlife intact for religious reasons. However, I am feel a moral obligation to give blood.
If you can and if you are able, consider the most unselfish gift you can give today. Your anonymous gift can save a life. Life is most precious. Wouldn’t you want to ensure everyone can partake of it?
Stay in Touch with Your Writing
Today celebrates an instrument of writing that maybe helped launch your career, but alas, is losing its popularity. Welcome to National Ball Point Day!
If you’re like me, you have your favorite pen with which you write. Heaven forbid, someone should swipe it or you should lose it. I’ve worked with people who put a tape label around their pen, declaring it as their property. We all have our quirks, I guess.
I currently have a favorite pen for tracking my writing. It’s nothing fancy, but I loathe the day the ink runs out on my disposable pen. I have to admit that this pen, like many of my pens, is a spoil of my habit. I’m a pen klepto. Don’t leave your smooth writing, good hand feel pens in my path. They’re likely to end up in my purse. I admit this unashamedly, unrepentant. I love pens.
If you write exclusively with a computer, today, just for today, get in touch with your writing roots. Certainly, there was a time you wrote only with a pen. Take up your ball point pen and experience writing at the physical level.
A Holiday with the Mystery Writer in Mind
As a mystery writer, you have to appreciate this bizarre holiday. Welcome to Name Your Poison Day!
Poisoning seems to have fallen into that realm of long unused causes of death. Occasionally, you read about the arsenic poisoning or the anti-freeze cocktail, but poisoning has seen its day as a the murder method of choice. It’s all good, mind you.
As Agatha Christie and others would have you believe, poison was the method of choice for women. No blood. No fuss. Just a few drops of rat poison in the soup and your problems are gone. It helps that modern forensics didn’t get in the way of your pursuit of a better life without the DH.
Back then, there wasn’t the pesky EPA with its host of regulations and labeling requirements. You mean I can’t safely ingest glycol phosphate? Oh, darn. That means I can’t add it to my husband’s tea too, doesn’t it?
I’m working on the plot for my next mystery. My editing for my first book is nearly done. The mystery of finding an agent is its next pursuit. I intend to use poison as my murder method for my next book. After all, there are a few rats that need taking care of.
Photo by drmatiz
Chill Out–Eat a Steak
All right, I have something of an interest in this month’s celebration. After all, my mystery is set in one. Welcome to National Steakhouse Month!
Really, what can beat a well-prepared steak seared on a seasoned grill? It’s the kind of thing only a true steakhouse can offer.
My dad taught me the art of a steak cooked properly. He cultivated a taste in the king of beef—filet mignon. It is the cut of steak I opt to cook for a special occasion or a date night dinner.
A steakhouse dinner is truly an evening out. Imagine it: the candles, the wine, the cloth napkins, and the pre-prandial cocktail. It’s all good.
I’m going to make it a point this month to immerse myself in the steakhouse experience. What better way to celebrate a national institution!
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