Two and a half years ago, I started out on a journey to become a better writer. I longed to write cozy mysteries that were interesting, practical and cunning (well, maybe cunning is a bit strong, but I really like that word). I’d written a cozy mystery and sent it out into the abyss, but there didn’t seem to be interest from agents. Obviously something wasn’t working. I’m a pretty analytical person, so I figured there must be something wrong. Perhaps I should analyze why my book wasn’t being picked up?
First, I decided to research mystery writers I love. What was it about their books that I liked? Who were these authors you ask? The starting lineup of authors included: Victoria Thompson, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Dorothy Gilman and Patricia Wentworth. These were the top five authors that occupied the most space on my bookshelves and wrote the books that had me searching used bookstores, digging through boxes at garage sales and in my friend’s basements (don’t judge) looking for the obscure, out of print book that would feed my addiction. I read and reread these books and determined that apart from the really obvious stuff (they write well, build suspense, create wonderful characters, develope great plots, have interesting dialogue, are creative beyond belief and know how to tell a good story), there’s not much difference. Clearly I had a lot to learn. But, how do you learn to create a plot where everyone dies (including the killer), who’s mind works like that? How do you come up with a senior citizen who becomes a spy for the CIA or write snappy dialogue for an obese genius who grows orchids and rarely leaves his house along with his faithful side kick? My bookshelf was full of reference books that claimed they knew the ingredients in this secret sauce. Maybe they did know the ingredients. The problem was me. I didn’t know the right temperature, the order the ingredients needed to be added or the proper way to wave my magic wand over my laptop that would elevate my writing (It’s Leviosa not Leviosa?)
Then one day everything changed when I flipped to the back of one of the books and reread the author bios. That’s when I saw the answer. In the back of one of the Gaslight series books by Victoria Thompson, there was the answer I’d been looking for. I’d read her bio before, but I never noticed that she was, “an adjunct professor in the Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction Master of Fine Arts program” (actually, I learned later that she changed her bio to include this little tidbit – Readers take note, author bios can change, but I digress). To be honest, I had never heard of Seton Hill University, but thanks to Google, I found it. I already had a Master’s degree and wasn’t really interested in getting another one, but maybe I could take a class or two and learn to be a better writer. Greensburg, Pennsylvania wasn’t that far away (I was living in Southwestern Michigan at the time). Maybe, I could do this, learn from the best. In a fit of madness, I applied for the program. Imagine my surprise when the letter arrived stating, “Congratulations….”
So, I went. I learned. I rewrote my book from page one (yikes, oh the things I did not know). And, on January 14, 2014 I graduated with a Masters in Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction. Does this mean that my book has been picked up by agents and sold for a six figure deal? No. But, I now have the tools that I need to write and keep writing. I may never rise to the pinnacle of Mystery Writing success, The Edgar Awards (or a paycheck of some kind). But, with my new tool kit, the support and the knowledge I have gained, I have the confidence to keep writing.
