Crime Fiction Dossier

ThrillerFest Panel: David Morrell on Point of View

I attended a CraftFest panel yesterday, as part of the warm up for ThrillerFest. Thriller writer David Morrell talked about point of view, that element of the craft that has bedeviled so many writers.

David Morrell has been in the business for 37 years, so he knows a thing or two about writing. You probably know who he is. If not, go read about him on his website. (I will briefly note that in addition to be an enormously successful writer of thrillers, David was also a professor of American Literature at the University of Iowa for many years.)

What follows are David's thoughts, which I hastily scribbled down. I only captured the basic details of what he said and not much of the flavor. (He accompanied his discussion with many examples drawn from literature, including an impressive number of memorized quotes.) POV seems like a basic aspect of writing, but it's amazing how many authors still get it wrong.

Point of View

The decision of which POV to use when writing a novel is one of the most important a writer can make. POV is one of the fundamental tools of writing and must be chosen wisely. Regardless of which POV you choose, you should do so deliberately, knowing why you chose it and what you're doing with it. The wrong choice of POV can doom a project.

First Person:

• Written from the POV of the narrator, in the "I" form.
• When used properly, the first person is "a glory." But alas, it is usually not used properly.
• First-person is especially popular with new writers, because it seems so easy -- you just write like you're talking, right? Wrong. That's the pitfall. If you write like you talk, like you're telling a story orally, your writing will probably fail.
• The first person makes it easy for writers to fall into common mistakes:
  • it's wordy and rambling (just like the stories we tell orally)
  • it's too easy to tell, not show
  • it tends to rely almost exclusively on the sense of sight, leading to writing that is flat and one-dimensional
  • Morrell notes: It is not the writer's job to make the reader see what is going on, but to make the reader feel what is going on.
  • It's usually logically inconsistent -- Why is this narrator taking the time to sit down and pen a 300-page account of his/her life. Does that make sense?
• Some of Morrell's favorite books (Farewell to Arms, Rogue Male, Gatsby) are in the first person, but if you're going to do it, you'd better have a damn good reason and you'd better know what you're doing.
• To paraphrase Henry James, it's a "trap for the unwary."
• However, if you can pull it off, it can be brilliant.

Third Person Omniscient

• The all-knowing voice, a story told from a god-like perspective.
• Classic example: Dickens' Tale of Two Cities ("It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.")
• A style of storytelling that takes a historical perspective -- this is what happened, this is what people thought and felt and did.
• This was the standard form for much of the 19th century.
• It tends to lead to a story that is slow; not immediate. The story is told rather than being dramatized. Thus it can be hard for the modern reader to appreciate.
• Today, it is old-fashioned and seldom used except in parody.

Second Person

• The "you" tense. (E.g., "You walk down the street, not knowing what you're going to find around the corner.")
• Largely experimental and only used for a very specific kind of story.
• Used by McInerney in Bright Lights, Big City to show the character's drug-addled state.

Third Person Limited

• Told through one character's viewpoint, seeing just what that character sees and thinking just what s/he thinks.
• Can switch POV away from that character, but the story should only be told through one character's viewpoint at a time.
• The POV usually breaks between chapters, but can be done within chapters. However, the writer should give the reader a visual indication that POV is being changed -- just skip down a few lines or give some other form of break.
• 3rd person ltd is the most often used POV and the one that, by default, is the best choice for most stories.
• [I'm sure David had more to say on this topic, but he ran out of time.]

Bottom line: In Morrell's judgment, most first-person novels could be improved by a shift to the third person. First person is very hard to do -- harder than third person limited -- and should only be done with great care by the writer, and only when the story demands it. Otherwise, especially for new writers, they're probably better off going with third person.

For more of David Morrell's thoughts on writing, check out his excellent book The Successful Novelist.

Back from Bouchercon

Bouchercon in Baltimore wrapped up yesterday afternoon. It was four very interesting and entertaining days. I'm not going to write a lot about it, since I imagine I'd basically be saying the same things that other people are already writing. So just a few comments...

It was a very well organized conference with the big things done right and a lot of nice little touches that showed fine attention to detail. I thought the panels were a bit dull, but I almost always feel that way.

San Francisco was overwhelmingly chosen by the voters as the site of Bouchercon 2010. I'm already looking forward to it.

There was a lot of "flat is the new up" talk, but also a lot of pep talks from the publishers that the industry is doing okay and that there's no cause for panic at this point. There is still optimism that people will continue to buy books during challenging economic times (as has been the case in past contractions) -- people tend to seek out escapist entertainment and books are competitively priced relative to other media.

In terms of the organized programming activity, the highlight for me was Larry Block being interviewed by Charles Ardai. Block is, and has long been, one of my favorite writers so it was a pleasure to hear him speak again. The sad part was knowing that this might be the last time seeing him in a situation like this, now that he is semi-retired. (He said during the talk that he doesn't know if he'll write any more books.)

CFD didn't win the Anthony Award for Best Website, which wasn't much of a surprise given the quality of the competition. When my wife picked me up yesterday after the awards brunch, she asked, "Did you win?" I said, "No, Stop You're Killing Me did." She replied, "Oh, I love that site." I like it, too, and use it all the time -- so what you gonna do? They gave me a nice plaque for being nominated and that's good enough for me.

If you've never been to a Bouchercon, give yourself a treat and attend one of these days. You'll have a great time.

Bouchercon 2010: No contest

For the first time in living memory, two groups have submitted valid bids to stage the Bouchercon mystery conference in the same year. The year is 2010 (which even though it sounds like a far-off science fiction future, is actually only two years away) and the cities are San Francisco and Tempe, AZ.

You can read more about the proposals here:

San Francisco bid
Tempe bid

Having reviewed the information provided by both parties, I find that there really is no contest between the two: the San Francisco bid is superior. It's in a better location and it's run by people with a long-standing connection to the mystery world. (The Tempe folks have a lot of experience in the science fiction community, but apparently none in the crime world.)

I'm also somewhat non-plussed by the programming ideas put forward by the Tempe committee. Although they seem well thought-out, they don't strike me as being especially interesting.

As a result, I believe the San Francisco proposal has greater potential for resulting in a successful and entertaining conference.

(I should note that the committee chair for San Francisco, Rae Helmsworth, is an acquaintance of mine. I don't recommend the bid based on that connection. However, knowing her does favorably impress me regarding her ability to put together an excellent conference.)

The attendees at this year's upcoming Bouchercon in Baltimore will vote to decide which bid is accepted. I urge everyone who's going to be there to show up and vote.

Is ThrillerFest for fans or just authors?

I stopped by a discussion about ThrillerFest over on Murderati where one of the commenters wondered if TFest was a conference just for authors or if it was for fans as well. My two cents...

ThrillerFest is definitely a fun conference for fans to attend. Since ITW is still in the process of building up the attendance base of readers, there is incredible access to the authors for the ordinary fans.

People like Lee Child, Heather Graham, Kathy Reichs, Joe Finder, Barry Eisler and James Rollins (among many others) are just hanging out, standing in the corridors or drinking in the bar. And they'd love the chance to talk to readers.

They aren't constantly mobbed by huge groups of people as so often happens at signings or some of the other conferences. So it's easy to get books signed or take pictures or have a chat. (And they were giving away a ton of free books, so you could get those signed as well.)

Sure, it's expensive -- but everything is expensive. Combine it with a vacation to NYC and you can see the sights AND hang out with cool authors.

Advice I heard at ThrillerFest

One of the best parts of attending a conference like ThrillerFest is the opportunity to sit in on workshops and sessions where people discuss the business of writing and publishing in an open and honest manner. And then, if you hang around the bar long enough, you'll really get the scoop.

Not all of this advice is applicable to every author -- and not all of it is stuff that I necessarily agree with. But it's all worth thinking about and considering.

Communication:

• Establish a good relationship with your editor, publicist and other people at the publishing house. (This sounds obvious, but apparently a lot of people still don't do it.)
• Tell your editor what your expectations are and ask them what their expectations are. (This is also information it's essential that you relate to your agent.) Make sure that all of you are on the same page.

Internet:

• Have a dynamic website.
• Have a blog. (I'm dubious about this one, largely because of the time involved versus the payoff, but some people swear by it.)
• Use MySpace and other social networking sites. (I have similar hesitations about this one.)
• Web advertising is relatively cheap and can be very effective. Consider using a service like AuthorBuzz.com.

Reviews:

• Know who the reviewers are. Know which outlets review books like yours.
• Get to know the reviewers on a personal basis.
• Make sure those people get a copy of your book in a timely fashion.

Networking:

• Get to know other writers -- they can give you advice, contacts and blurbs.
• Get to know reviewers, magazine writers, their editors and other assorted media people.
• (For example: at ThrillerFest, there were two producers from the Glen Beck Show talking to people.)
• Conferences (whether ThrillerFest, Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, Love Is Murder, Romantic Times or whatever) are a great way to do this.

Promotion:

• Play to your strengths; if you're not good at something, don't do it. You'll probably just end up hurting yourself.
• A big tour might not be feasible (or affordable), especially for a newer author. But you can visit booksellers in your town and those close to your town. If you've got friends or family who'll put you up, maybe you can venture further out as well.
• Consider writing a short story for an anthology. (For example, ITW is currently putting together two of them, both of which will be very high profile.)
• Consider writing by-lined articles or book reviews.
• Most importantly: get your name out there however you can.

ThrillerFest Panel: Shaken Not Stirred: Plots with a Twist

These are the last of my notes from a ThrillerFest panel. The participants discussed spy fiction (in a very general sense) and then branched out from there to talk about writing and other things. Sitting on the panel were Joseph Finder, Barry Eisler, Gayle Lynds, Raymond Benson, Grand Blackwood and moderator Leslie Silbert.

(Note: I didn't take any notes on the discussion of spy fiction. What I wrote down was mostly writing craft stuff, which is what I'm including here.)

Barry Eisler (on the subject of violence): He writes about characters who excel at violence -- but people who excel at violence have troubled lives. They're not normal people and they're incapable of leading normal lives. So someone like John Rain, who is so adept in one area (i.e., violence), is basically inept when it comes to such basic things as sustaining a relationship with another person. Violence takes its toll on people like him and it's interesting to show that in fiction.

Gayle Lynds (on writing larger-than-life characters): Give the heroes flaws so that they don't become superheroes, and give the villains good qualities so that the reader can understand their motivations, if not actually empathize with them. The key is the make the characters three-dimensional. They can't just be cardboard cut-outs or the audience is going to lose interest. You should work just as hard at developing your villains as you do your heroes. Your protagonist must have a worthy antagonist in order to get the most out of your story.

Joseph Finder (on the kind of characters he likes to write): An everyman character who gets caught up in events that spiral out of control and take over his life. Finder likes to see how his character -- who's basically an ordinary guy -- reacts; how he behaves in that situation. Thriller readers want to read about experts; people who know what they're doing, who have extraordinary abilities -- but who are still ordinary people. So the trick is to make your hero(ine) exciting while not making them unbelievable.

Gayle Lynds: We often see stories that are "ripped from today's headlines." But what's most interesting is to take those stories and then put a fresh twist on them. If people are reading a story in the newspaper, chances are they're already familiar with it, if not tired of it. So why would they want to read it in a novel? So use that idea as a launching point to create something new and different of your own.

Barry Eisler: Your protagonist might do bad things, but by peeking into their heads -- knowing their goals and motivations -- the reader can understand their behavior. This makes the character realer and more accessible. The same can also be true of the antagonist. The reader needs to understand why the villain is doing what he's doing in order to make him an intriguing adversary.

Joseph Finder: The old saying is that "truth is stranger than fiction" -- but fiction had better be more exciting. Thrillers focus on the most exciting characters, in the most exciting circumstances, doing the most exciting things.

Grant Blackwood: The reader needs to understand the antagonist's motivation. By understanding the actions of the villains, by getting a peek behind the curtain, the reader's interest in the story will increase, as will the dramatic tension.

Joseph Finder: The "ticking bomb" makes for a great plot device -- a great MacGuffin as Hitchcock used to say. But in order for the reader to care about that scenario, the story must have compelling characters. The characters are what matter most of all. The fact that a bomb is going to explode in New York City isn't very exciting unless the hero(ine) knows it's going to happen. It's by seeing the scenario through their eyes that the reader becomes invested in the story.

Panel Question: What one thing does a thriller need?

Barry Eisler: Thrills.
Joseph Finder: A character you care about.
Gayle Lynds: Structure.
Barry Eisler: And sex.
Grant Blackwood: Larger than life characters.
Raymond Benson: Pace; forward momentum.

ThrillerFest photo

Barry Eisler, David Montgomery, Gayle Lynds, Otto Penzler

Photo is copyright Alan Jacobson.

(I didn't have a camera, but Alan was kind enough to send me this photo.)

ThrillerFest overview

Looking back on this year's ThrillerFest conference, I have almost all positive things to say. I think it was a well planned and well run event. The consensus of people I spoke to was that it was an improvement over last year's conference, which I would agree with. I think ITW is starting to get some of the kinks worked out and really building something nice.

There are still some areas that are less-than-ideal. It's very expensive (which there's not really anything you can do about. Yes, having it in NYC adds to the cost. But it's not like Bouchercon this year is cheap, and that's in Baltimore for crying out loud). There is the perennial challenge of how to produce interesting programs involving authors that don't involve panel discussions. (If there is a solution to that problem, I don't know what it is. Bottom line: 99% of authors can't do anything interesting other than sit on a dais and talk about their books. And a lot of them can't even do that.) And there's also the challenge of attracting more readers/fans and not just a bunch of aspiring writers.

For me, those factors were more than offset by the many positive aspects of the conference. The opportunity to learn about writing and publishing from so many top people in the business is invaluable. Where else do you have so many great and popular writers teaching classes and appearing on panels? Or have a chance to talk to top agents, editors, reviewers and other professionals? (Note that Bouchercon offers some of these opportunities as well, which is why I often attend it, too.)

Attending a conference like ThrillerFest is not something I'd say you need to do every year. But if you have a chance to make it to one, and you're interested in writing suspense fiction or you're a lover of the thriller genre, I think it's worth it.

ThrillerFest Panel: The Writer-Publisher Partnership

One of the more interesting panels I attended at ThrillerFest was on the Writer-Publisher Partnership, and it included some of the best people in the business: Simon Lipskar (agent, Writers House), Mark Tavani (editor, Ballantine), Meryl Moss (publicist), Linda McFall (editor, Mira), Roger Cooper (publisher, Vanguard) and moderator M.J. Rose (author and marketing guru).

The discussion was fast and in-depth and I didn't have the chance to take great notes. But here are some of the things I scribbled down:

Simon Lipskar: It's dangerous to assume that authors must be genius self-promoters. It's important to be a partner in the process, but you don't need to overdo it. Obviously it's great if you have the ability to attract 10,000 fans on MySpace or you can get TV attention or you're a glib public speaker or whatever. But you don't have to be able to do those things in order to be successful. Listen to what your publisher asks of you and be open to their needs -- and make sure you do what they ask.

Linda McFall: Authors need to do their homework before their first novel is published (and continue doing it afterward). You need to learn as much as you can about the process and the timeline of how things work. You need to talk to your publisher, have open and honest conversations, ask questions and listen to what they have to say.

Mark Tavani: Authors need to talk to their agents and prospective publishers about how each of them sees the book. Sometimes an editor will see the book in a very different way from how the author sees it -- and that's a recipe for trouble. (If you see the book as a breakout bestseller and they see it landing solidly on the midlist, neither one of you is going to be happy.) You need to be honest and upfront about your expectations, hopes and plans. And the editor should do the same. Communication is the best way to avoid problems.

Simon Lipskar: It's the agent's job to serve as an ambassador and diplomat for the author. The agent is the one who can ask the really tough questions and say the difficult things. It's not always best for the author to do those things him/herself. So don't be afraid to talk to your agent and tell him/her about your expectations.

(This notion of expectations, both on the part of the author and the publisher, came up a lot. Some of the biggest problems and bad feelings arise when the publisher and the author have different expectations of what the other is going to do. In order to avoid this -- in order for the writer-publisher partnership to work -- it's essential to have as open and honest of communication as you can.)

Meryl Moss: Although it wasn't always the case, publishers now generally welcome the participation of an outside publicist in the publishing process. (One paid by the author.) You should decide early on if you believe you need the services of an outside publicist. Talk to your agent and other authors and your editor to decide if it's best for you (and also who to hire). If you decide to use a publicist, bring him/her onboard early in the process and make sure your publisher supports what you're doing. (Without the support of the publisher, it's very difficult for an outside publicist to do her job.)

Roger Cooper: His company works with a different business model than the typical publisher. They are very selective and only publish one or two books per month -- and those books get their full attention. They don't pay advances. They pay a higher royalty rate, and they pay those royalties monthly. They outsource both editing and publicity. It's certainly not a model that would work for every author. But the publishing industry should be more open to trying new things, especially given how poorly the current model works.

Further thoughts:

• It is the book that counts most of all. The author's number one responsibility is to write the best book s/he possibly can. All subsequent discussions continue from the point at which we assume that the author has done his/her job.
• Most people seem to agree that there are too many books being published.
• It's impossible for every book to receive ideal publication (marketing, co-op, tours, reviews, etc.).
• If the author and the publisher are on the same page, it's likely that the experience will be better for both parties.
• If the author doesn't feel that his/her book is getting the support from the publisher that it deserves -- and virtually every authors feels this way -- there's very little that you can do about it.

(Note that I'm paraphrasing what everyone said. None of these statements should be construed as being direct quotes. But I think I got the sense of it down accurately.)

CraftFest Talk: What Editors Do After Your Book Is Perfect

Here are my notes on a second talk at CraftFest, part of the ThrillerFest conference put on by ITW. It was given by Neil Nyren, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Putnam. The topic of his discussion was "What Editors Do After Your Book Is Perfect."

Nyren broke down into three main areas what your editor will do for you: Timing, Packaging and Marketing.

Timing:

• It's the responsibility of the editor to ensure that the book is published at the right time.
• A book must be published at the right time in order to be successful.
• For example: a lot of books by big name authors are released in September-November in order to capitalize on the Christmas buying season. As a result, many books are moved up to August or back to January to avoid the juggernauts.
• Timing affects how many books are likely to be bought, how much co-op space is available and how much review space is available.

Packaging:

• Packaging includes the book's size, title, jacket (including color, image, size and style of the author's name and the book's title, author photo, etc.), etc.
• The editor oversees all of these.
• (Note: Neil discussed this point using a lot of visual examples, showing different jacket covers and explaining the different aspects of them and why they were done that way. But you'll just have to trust me on that one, as I can't replicate what he said.)

Marketing:

• The marketing for an author can't be allowed to grow stale. The formula must be updated with every book. What you did last time isn't necessarily what you should do this time.
• Some considerations are things like: the book tour (bigger or smaller), the type of media opportunities that you pursue, the types of advertising, the outreach to online booksellers or B&M booksellers.
• If you did it one way last time, you should do it a different way this time.
• The goal is to make the author appear fresh; make it new/different each time.
• Co-op (co-operative advertising, where publishers pay bookstores to promote their books) is the great "hidden" cost of publishing. It is very expensive and it is also essential to the success of a book.

Further thoughts:

• The dark secret of publishing is that even the professionals are surprised every day. Great books fail while crap succeeds and there's no way to tell when that will happen. Conversely, some sure bestsellers flop while real art flourishes.
• Book sales are tepid. The current state of publishing is described by the quip: "Flat is the new up."

Advice to authors:

• Work with your editor. Your editor is your connection to the rest of the publishing company and you need to work on having a good relationship with him/her.
• Do your homework, learn the business. Educate yourself.
• Then ask questions. Inform yourself and always communicate with your editor.
• But don't be neurotic. Don't be a pain in the ass. And don't harass your beleaguered publicist.

What do you bring to the table? (factors that influence what a publisher can do for you and your book)

• Do you or the book have an interesting hook? (E.g., FBI agent, topical story)
• Do you have an in with a magazine or newspaper or book review editor or media people?
• Do you know any booksellers?
• Are you TV friendly?
• Are you outgoing and a good speaker?
• What's your sales history like?

(I know this is disjointed -- my notes weren't great and Neil's talk was complicated. But maybe you'll find some of this interesting.)