Let's Do Lunch! Guest Blogger Lonnie Cruse on Writing

Eeeek, J.B. Thompson has asked me to be a guest blogger right here on her blog. I obsess over coming up with a subject for my OWN blog every week day, and now I gotta find one for a guest appearance on hers? Hmmm, well, let's see. Shuffle, stutter, squirm.

Maybe writing would be a good topic for me to discuss? Writing mysteries? I have two mysteries published in my Metropolis Mystery Series, third due out soon, fourth written and sitting in my computer, one manuscript completed in a new series that a publisher is looking at, and the second manuscript in that series is in progress. And I confess, I'm currently trying my hand at romance, have one entire page written, and it stinks. To high heaven. Back to discussing mysteries.

The thing I love about writing (in any genre) is that there are only seven plots in the whole world, or so I'm told. I haven't actually bothered to count them. Shakespeare covered most if not all of those plots, so all of us are tramping the same ground he did, yet the stories are always soooo different from each other because the writer's vision, or voice, if you will, is different.

That's why I encourage new writers not to give up on their work in progress. Even if the current draft stinks, there is always a nugget of a story underneath there, somewhere. Generally the author just needs to hone his/her craft, take some classes, get into a good critique group, or maybe have a professional editor look at the manuscript. Stories can always be polished, but each author's vision for the story is different. Which is why we as readers keep reading them. And seldom get bored.

Stories take us out of our lives, into a new world. Often a world we just want to visit in our minds because it would be too scary to be there in real life. Think serial killer stalking you or riding a roller coaster 24/7. Which reminds me, anyone see that outrageous mini-roller coaster ride on top of the tallest structure in Las Vegas? No waaaay you'd get me up there. Where was I? Writing.

We each have a story to tell, whether fictional or real. Some take the time and effort to write their story down, polish it, and send it out for multiple rejections before finding a publisher. Others talk about doing it but don't make the commitment. And that, my friends, is what separates writers from non-writers. Being published doesn't make you a "real" writer, though that helps. But making the sacrifices to get the job done, that's what makes us writers. And if we're lucky, our stories will touch our readers, and our characters will stay alive in their minds long after we're gone.

Got a story in your head? Grab a notepad or sit down at the computer and start writing it. See where it takes you. Hmmm, wonder if I can salvage that awful romance?

Lonnie Cruse, Vice President of Sisters in Crime - Middle Tennessee, is the author of the Metropolis Mysteries and a Pushcart Prize nominee. She also runs an editing service for writers. Find out more about Lonnie by visiting her website.

Thanks for filling in today, Lonnie! And folks, be sure to hop over to Lonnie's blog for her interview with li'l ol' me!

=) JB