Monday, June 15, 2009

I Didn't Know my own WhoDunIt!!!!

Yup, it's true. A few weeks ago I started a novel that had been simmering for quite a few months. Typically, I knew the beginning... and, since I write suspense, I knew the end (mystery solved, H and H connect, happily ever after, yada yada yada). The problem with this particular mystery is/was I didn't know who the murderer was. Nope, no a clue. It's a good thing Valley of the Sun President Valerie (who writes regencies for Kensington) invited a motivational speaker. Look at them so calmly preparing for a day of learning.


So, last Saturday, I signed up to attend the Goal, Motivation,
Conflict workshop with Deb Dixon that my local chapter was
putting on. That's her in the blue jacket and white shirt. I'm in black and white.

I had a great time (surrounded by friends) and the best part of all: I figured out who the murderer is! Not only that, but, see, I had my ending, and thanks to Deb, I also came up with a second black
moment. Yaba Dabba, doo! Thanks, Deb!!!!



Here you see paranomal author Connie Flynn, who co-founded
Bootcamp for Authors. She's sitting next to Libby Banks who is
aiming for a career with Harlequin American. BTW, they're
both my critique partners.


Not only that, but while I was sitting there listening to Deb, I
wrote the whole synopsis (And, yes, I belong to the
I-hate-writing-synopsi girls' club). Thanks, Deb!!!!

Unfortunately, now I have to convert it from the strange little
laptop I got for Christmas to the normal rightsize laptop I've had
for six years. Sitting at my table and frowning at my tiny-weenie
laptop (and also wearing a stunning black and white blouse) is
Harlequin American author Cathy McDavid. She's in
my critique group and my best friend!

What else did I learn? Well, I already knew I was a pantzer.
I don't see that changing any time soon. I also learned that
I'm never going to use a story board with sticky notes and that
most of the time, my books belong to both the hero and heroine.

Here in a green shirt is Chris Jones, another published author and pretty much founder of the Valley of the Sun Romance Writer's of America chapter. She's been the heart and soul behind the group for almost two decades.

Shades of green seem to be the color choice for many of our
authors, and yes, Harlequin American attendees dominate.
With the purse around her shoulder, this is Barbara White,
another Harlequin American author.
I love spending the day with writers!!!! And last, but not least. This is Sandra Lagesse, who is dating my father-in-law
(I fixed them up) and who writes Arizona history pieces for
newspapers. My son calls her Grandma.

If I could, I'd wiggle my nose so my fellow bloggers and all the
readers could come over for lunch. Here, take a Diet Dr Pepper
and let me tell you about my murderer.

BTW, don't forget to leave a comment! You'll be entered in a drawing to win this month's four suspense books.

11 comments:

EllenToo said...

LOL about the "strange little laptop". I understand they are all the rage but I can't even begin to imagine being able to use one. Hope you were able to read it. And thanks for the interesting commentary on the people in the pictures. Loved it. And I'm really glad you figured out "WhoDunIt".

Pamela Tracy said...

You know, I can enlarge the print to 18, which meant I could type without wearing my glasses. My problem is my fingers. Every time I go for the apostrophe, I accidentally hit enter. I'm hoping time will change that.
I love figuring out the whodunit too. Do you do that when you read? I just finished an LIS and I figured it out. Yabba Dabba.

Lisa Mondello said...

I took the Goals, Motivation and Conflict workshop years ago. Deb Dixon is wonderful!

EllenToo said...

Heck I can hit enter or return on my laptop I can't imagine what I could do with a smaller device. My fingers are not coordinated. And yes anytime I read any kind of mystery or suspense I spend a lot of time trying to figure out "whodunit". I love when I'm right. But I'm either getting slower in old age or you LIS writers are getting better at hiding the clues.

Pamela Tracy said...

Lisa,
Someday, we'll have to take the class together!

Ellen,
Someday we'll have to coordinate a book, read the same pages each day, and work to gether to guess. That would be kinda fun.

EllenToo said...

Pamela -- my problem would be forcing myself to stop reading at the selected spot. I have been known to stay up most of the night reading in order to get to the end of a book.

Carmen said...

You go from the beginning to the ending and have no murderer??? Then in the midst of a Sat. afternoon you figure out who it was plus another plot. Now that's creative. The more I read of authors, the more fun it becomes learning how they put a book together.
Please enter me. desertrose5173 at gmail dot com
Thanks.

Tina Swayzee McCright said...

That was such a great workshop and it was so good to see you there!

Pamela Tracy said...

Carmen,
Usually I know who the murderer is. Once, during revision I had to change the murderer. Now, that was hard.

Tina,
The workshop was great fun. And, aarg, somehow I didn't wind up with a picture of you. You asked some really good clarification questions.

Edna said...

I am sure that will be a good book of (Who Dun It), and I would also like to enter the contest for the 4 books,

mamat2730(at)charter(dot)net

Debby Giusti said...

Hi Pam,
Loved your photos!!! Your chapter looks delightful. Deb Dixon recently presented her workshop at my Georgia Romance Writers Chapter. I'd attended her workshop years ago but knew I had more to learn. Deb is such a wealth of information. I WANT HER BRAIN!!! She really knows story and how to teach it ... even to slow-learners like me! :)