The Promise of Writing Yet Another Chapter

When it comes to most aspects of my life, I'm an impatient sort. Yet when it comes to staring down an idea until it finally pops, I'm an absolute Buddah! Why the ego separation? For one thing, I love writing. Love plucking just the right word to complete a sentence.Love binding concepts so that one idea flows effortlessly into the next. Love allowing room for the plot to unfold without use of my midwife skills. (This I mean in the most general of terms since I've never been in the health care field!)

Although I can't read other mysteries when I'm flush into writing my own, I have no problem listening to suspense novels while I'm driving back and forth to work. In that environment, I can anonymously observe the twists and turns of a well-plotted story. Then, armed with the proper tools to employ in my own manuscript, I can go deeper, flow faster, and capture the essence of yet another chapter.

Even Book Authors Experience the Blues

There I was, re-editing my third suspense novel for the zillionth time, when I realized I didn't know where to set my third to last scene. At this point in the story, my amateur sleuth is in the hospital after being attacked. She's just been visited by her best friend as well as interviewed by a police detective. She's about to come face to face with the one person who can unlock all the answers. However she needs a new setting for this encounter-- and she can't be recouping at home.

It's natural for a writer to peer over the precipice and wonder what lies beneath. At times there are a vast array of choices in which to paint the setting, at other times not nearly enough. This was one of those other times. Thus, the frustration.

Share your suggestion for a setting. We're talking straight mystery here, not fantasy, sci fi, or romance. If I use your suggestion, I'll put you in the acknowledgement section of the book!