Concealed in Death by J D Robb Provides a Masterclass

  


By Kate Phillips

   

As a reader, I always love finding books that appeal to me. As a writer, I am twice as pleased when the authors also provide masterclasses within their books.

        Masterclasses take place when performance artists and musicians work one-on-one with students. Writers don't generally have this option, but I have found some books to be masterclasses for characters, backstories, plots, settings, voice, and/or creativity.

 

        How many pages could you fill describing only one day for a novel? And keep readers not just interested, but engrossed? JD Robb surpassed any guess I would have made in her latest book, Concealed in Death.

        First, the parameters of a day need to be set: From morning until bedtime or 24 hours?

From mid-morning when the scene of the murders was first discovered until bedtime, the action filled 134 pages. Recounting the entire 24 hours, over 150.

To be clear, I did not take notice of the page count while reading this book. The investigation was moving too quickly. This is a bestselling page-turner after all. But once I finished and realized the entire novel took place in three and a half days, I went back to look at this master storyteller's timeline.

The second bedtime happened on page 248. The second 24 hours ended about page 289—although a case could be made that they ended on page 304 as we are never given exact times.

Bedtime number three occurred on page 366. And the novel ends at dinner time the next day on page 402.

Making this timeline work takes real craftsmanship. Dialogue is a given in a novel, but what keeps readers engaged in this series is attention to details—murder is a messy business—and the constant action: not only visiting crime scenes and the police station as well as tracking down leads, but also seeing the city—lights, pickpockets, car accidents and all—while characters are walking, driving, or traveling on public transport. Even when in her office, lead character New York City Homicide Lieutenant Eve Dallas is setting up the murder board, working on and/or slapping her computer, or replaying the crimes in her mind searching for clues.

The author always takes time to ground her work in reality. Her main characters have delicious meals described in detail as well as have sex, sleep, dream, shower, and dress. The plot still moves along as Dallas is usually, but not always discussing the latest case with her billionaire husband, Roarke, at these times.

Because the action is non-stop, I tend to read JD Robb's books in one sitting. Dallas always moves fast when it comes to tracking down killers. She knows her job. This is the 38^th novel in JD Robb's In Death series after all. 

Dallas has a supporting cast that makes this possible including her aforementioned husband, her partner, Delia Peabody, the detectives working in her division and other professionals from medical examiners to computer geeks.

For an overview of the In Death series, see my post "Reads for Writers: JD Robb/Nora Roberts" dated October 22, 2012. And yes, I only recommend reading the books in order so you can see the growth in the characters and their relationships which makes this whole series a masterclass. WARNING: Please note these books contain violence and adult themes.

Time flies in JD Robb's books, but in a grounded, high action, well written way.

 

Can you create a day that takes you 134 to 150 pages to describe?

 

 

Still Writing by Dani Shapiro

By Kate Phillips

 

        Writers need support which we don't always get from non-writing family members and friends. They mean well, but it usually comes down to numbers: How many books, articles, etc. have I published? How many people read my blog? How much money do I make? They never ask if I wrote a great sentence today or if I solved a plot point.

        So when non-writers ask about my life, I usually say I'm busy writing articles or editing. Things they can see for themselves when the magazines I work for are delivered. I don't tell them I wrote six pages in my notebook yesterday and three more today that led to idea for a post that took me another four hours to write, rewrite, and polish.

        They're not interested in the details of writing and that's okay. I'm not always interested in their occupations, but as a writer I listen because I never know when a fact or incident may spark an idea.

        Usually writers have at least one writing friend because we need empathetic support. We discuss projects and share tips and ideas to keep ourselves going because writing is hard work.

 

        For more support, I love to read inspiring books about writing and the writing life. Most recently, I discovered Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life by Dani Shapiro.

Speaking of support, or in this case the lack thereof, Shapiro chose the title Still Writing because people who know her keep asking her if she is still writing despite being the author of seven books, a writer of numerous essays and book reviews, and a writing teacher.

In Still Writing, Shapiro shares fabulous thoughts on the habits of writers, the stages of writing, and the tools needed along with the daily schedule she keeps to reach her writing goals.

She also discusses writers and teachers in her life like Virginia Woolf who make her "feel less isolated in the world. Though we are alone in our rooms, alone with our demons, our inner censors, our teachers remind us we are not alone in the endeavor. We are part of a great tapestry of those who proceded us. And so we must ask ourselves: Are we feeling with our minds? Thinking with our hearts? Making every empathetic leap we can? Are we witness to the world around us? Are we climbing on the shoulders of those who paved the way for us? Are we using every bit of ourselves, living these lives of ours, spending it, spending it all, every single day?" (page 71)

Yes, writers daily fight their demons and squash their inner censors all while feeling, thinking, empathetically leaping, witnessing, and then, hardest of all, sitting still long enough to write down all we observe in our own voices and styles.

Witnessing life and capturing it creatively on blank pages requires bravery, clarity, and endurance. No easy tasks so we need all the support we can find because we are still writing.

 

Who do you turn to for support?

Filling a Notebook a Month a la Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

By Kate Phillips

 

        Now is a good time to start filling a notebook a month as recommended by Natalie Goldberg in her book Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. Yes, it's already March 3, but writers need challenges and deadlines so pick up a notebook or a legal pad if that's what you have and GO!

 

        When I first started doing this, I was excited and nervous, but also committed. I wanted to be a writer and here was an easy writing project.

 

And yet, there were still days I didn't write at all. There were days that I didn't have any idea what to write about when I did pick up my pen. Sometimes I just started writing 'I have nothing to say' repeatedly until I did--and I always did.

 

I filled that first notebook in a month and continued filling monthly notebooks for over a decade. All that practice is why I now  write and edit for a living. And I still fill notebooks, but every other month currently.

 

Writers write if we give ourselves permission, time, and place.

 

As Goldberg states, "Give yourself permission to write the worst junk." The goal is to fill the notebook with ideas, observations, and thoughts. It's not meant for publication so you can relax and write what you want.

 

Since you MUST fill a notebook by the end of every month, you are forced to make time to write. Deadlines are a part of every writer's life. Get used to it now.

 

The place to write is in your notebook, but it's portable so you can have it with you any place you go. There's no excuse not to write in waiting rooms, on public transportation, if you arrive early and/or the person you are meeting is late, in between loads of laundry, during lunch and at breaks. A few minutes here and there add up and so do the pages.

 

There are many benefits to filling a notebook in a month and continuing to do so for years and even decades:

 

Practice makes you a better writer. The more notebooks you fill, the better writer you will become.

 

Seeing  your stack of filled notebooks grow is proof that you are a writer.

 

The satisfaction of meeting your monthly goal is a driving force to continue.

 

You learn to jot things down to capture moments.

 

You can expand on your observations later—even turning them into poems, essays, short stories, books, plays, songs, and articles.

 

You learn to pay attention to conversations you overhear so you can improve the dialogue in your work.

 

You learn to capture details about characters, locations, fashion, cuisine, etc. to ground scenes in your work.

 

Deadlines are not so fearsome when you meet them on a regular basis.

 

It is fun to flip through old notebooks for writing ideas—and to see what interested you back in time.

 

But mostly, filling monthly notebooks keeps you writing no matter what!

 

        Writers write so start writing now!

 

 

How has filling a notebook a month improved your writing?