Tag Archives: writing craft

Writing for Children

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When you’ve spent your entire career writing adult thrillers and true crime, switching to a children’s chapter book takes some getting used to. Jumping back and forth between the two is even more difficult. After struggling with both projects, I decided to stick with one till completion, then finish the other.

Because my chapter book is meticulously outlined and half-written, I chose to concentrate on that project first. Plus, a chapter book’s optimal range is 10,000 words — a fraction of the word-count of an environmental thriller.

When I read the opening sequence of my chapter book, it seemed too advanced for young readers. I needed to stop, home in on my target age group, and relax the language and pacing. After all, early readers don’t have the same mental acuity as adults. They need easier wins.

Children’s books are separated into three categories, all with different guidelines for word choices, pacing, viewpoints, and the amount and style of illustrations.

  • Picture books
  • Chapter books
  • Middle Grade

Picture Books

A standard picture book is 32 pages long.

Picture books follow a compact story arc with a beginning, middle, and end. Jump into the action quickly, introduce a problem, and have the main character solve it by the end. The “rule of three,” where a problem recurs three times before a solution is found, is a common and effective technique. Illustrations will convey much of the emotion and setting, so your text should focus on the action and dialogue. Avoid using words to describe what the illustrations show. A picture book is meant to be read aloud, so the language needs to have a natural rhythm and flow.

Ages 3-5: Around 500 words, these stories have simple language and relatable topics like starting school, picky eaters, or a nighttime routine. Illustrations consume the pages—big, bright, and fun.

Ages 4-8: These picture books can be slightly longer, up to 800 words, with a slightly more complex plot. Still, you’re limited, because the illustrations take center stage.

As a visual medium, the writer must consider how the story will unfold across two-page spreads.

Chapter Books

To write a chapter book, you need to develop relatable characters, create a simple yet engaging plot, and break the story into short, purposeful chapters that build a new reader’s confidence. A typical chapter book is aimed at the 7-10 year age group and has a word count between 5,000 and 15,000 words. The sweet spot is 10,000. This allows the writer more freedom than a picture book.

Chapter books fall between early readers and middle-grade novels. The target audience is a new independent reader who’s often supervised by an adult. A solid, unique story idea is the foundation of a successful chapter book—especially since many are written as a series—that includes the main plot and core theme(s).

If you include an ill-advised subplot, be careful not to divert focus from the main plot. The young reader is just beginning to get comfortable reading on their own. Making the story easy to understand and follow is essential. Sure, many chapter books are read aloud to an adult, but don’t rely on that. What if the child is reading alone?

A chapter book must have a full narrative arc. If you watch a plethora of animated films, you’ll see they’re all structured like an adult novel or movie. And so, that’s exactly what I did. The story should be action-packed with lots of dialogue to hold a new independent reader’s attention, but never leave the main character and sidekick in trouble for long. A flip of the page is more than enough suspense.

Around 48-80 pages, chapter books often include black-and-white illustrations at the beginning of each chapter or where you want to show the new reader what’s going on. For example, when I introduce a new animal character, I’ll include an illustration to cement that picture in the reader’s mind. Because the illustration is in black-and-white, I need only mention color rather than a detailed description.

Middle Grade Novel

Most middle grade novels are geared toward ages 8-12. They are the in-between books for readers who have outgrown chapter books and are too young to emotionally handle or enjoy themes and ideas found in young adult novels. Middle grade novels run about 30,000-55,000 words.

Young readers need to relate to the characters, but they don’t mind “reading up.” Meaning, the main cast should be in the upper range of the target age group. For some reason, 13 and 14 year-old characters are considered a no-no. They’re too old for middle grade novels (perhaps due to puberty?) and too young to star in YA.

If you choose to write in this genre, you may want to read this article about middle grade novels. In it, the author includes an important distinction:

“What may work for an 8-year-old likely won’t work for a 12-year-old. So although we bundle it all into middle grade, the genre actually has two sub groups. This is important to understand in order to know your audience when writing, and thus appropriately adjust your themes and word count.

Two Sub-Categories

  • Lower Middle Grade

Lower middle grade novels tend to be read by kids aged 8 to 10 years old. There may be a sub plot or two, but the main plot will dominate the focus, and all themes will certainly be G or PG rated.

  • Upper Middle Grade

Upper middle grade novels can have a higher word count, and will be read by children aged 10 to 13 years old. There will likely be a subplot or two that help to carry the story in a substantial way. Themes may be a bit more complex, or PG or PG-13 rated.”

Even though I spent quite a bit of time researching techniques for my new target audience, I enjoy the challenge of writing a children’s chapter book. It’s rewarding, fun, and exciting.

Have you ever considered writing for children? Do you write children’s books now? If so, for what age group? Any tips to share? Categorize your favorite children’s book and tell us why you loved it as a child.

Making the Best of Chance Encounters

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Making the Best of Chance Encounters
Terry Odell

Writing often means dealing with things you don’t know much about. Or anything about. Now, while I write fiction, which means I get to make stuff up, I strive to have everything in the realm of plausibility. The line between “that could never happen” and “that might happen.”

Searching the interwebs can help, but talking to real people can get you tidbits that make for a more interesting scene.

Where do you find these people? Just about anywhere, it turns out.

Online, perhaps. I was following a blog written by an army guy. I left the occasional comment, and I felt comfortable approaching him electronically with questions about terminology, and he was happy to answer, even calling me on the phone (with a very strange Caller ID number that had the Hubster wondering what was going on) to go into more detail.

Another writing acquaintance’s husband was also military, and has been willing to answer questions and make suggestion to add authenticity to my scenes.

I was participating in a Civilian Police Academy in Orlando, and after a talk by a homicide detective, I approached and asked if I could get in touch if I had questions. He said it would be fine, so I gave him a call and offered to buy him a cup of coffee. He asked if there was an Ale House near me, and if he could invite some friends. Best money I ever spent, and one of those friends (now retired) is still my go-to guy for cop stuff.

Likewise the SWAT commander who taught a workout class at the Y I belonged to. I made my “cup of coffee” suggestion, and we met at a local Starbucks (where he drank tea—not what you’d expect from a SWAT guy, but it adds character depth). Since I was writing a book set in Orlando at the time, I needed details, so I called and asked him what color the carpet and walls were in the Orlando Police Department Headquarters. Despite working there, he was clueless, but he invited me down for a tour. I was there in under half an hour. Got some great details.

I belong to an online group called Crimescenewriters, and it’s full of people in law enforcement-related fields. They’re always happy to share their expertise, and I’ve filled in many a gap with their answers. People you know, either in person or virtually. One TKZ contributor gave me plenty of information when I needed to blow something up. I’ve picked the brains of my medical professions when in their offices for appointments.

But sometimes, it’s a personal chance encounter that gives the information I need. Years ago, while visiting our son in Colorado Springs, well before we moved to Colorado, I was seated next to a couple of military guys. Given how many military facilities are in Colorado, it’s likely you’ll find several on most flights.

I am not a military person. Make Love, not War was the slogan circulating when I was in college. But, since I was writing one of my early Blackthorne, Inc. novels about a covert ops team, I needed some information about where my characters might be hiding out. The man sitting next to me went on to explain about a vast number of tunnels. Were they exactly where my scenario was taking place? Not quite, but close enough to feel comfortable writing a “that might happen” scene.

On another flight, I noticed the man next to me was reading a airplane pilot-related magazine. I asked if he was a pilot, and he said he was. I proceeded to give him a scenario and he filled in details. (Note: if you want “Bad Stuff” to happen on a flight, it’s best not to ask any of the crew.) On yet another flight, I was marking up my manuscript with my trusty red pen, and the man sitting next to me, in a pilot’s uniform, asked if I was an author.  He started that conversation, but he gave me plenty of information for the book I was working on at the time. Turned out he wasn’t just flying commercial jets, but he also had helicopter experience. More fodder.

Just last week, I was wandering the aisles of Walmart, and there was a group of firefighters shopping throughout the store. One man’s shirt said Paramedic, so I stopped and asked him if he had a moment to answer some questions. He said, “of course” and I fleshed out a troublesome scene I’d been writing. He gave me his phone number and told me to get in touch if I had more questions. I did, so we had a few text exchanges, and I think I’ve fixed that scene. Even named a character after him, with his permission, of course.)

One caveat. With any research, you should verify the information. Often, sources, be they human or cyber bots, don’t agree. For example one of my medical people told me the paramedics would probably administer a specific drug. When I asked my paramedic, he said they used to, but it’s no longer approved, and their list of “dos and donts” is updated annually.

But, that’s where the “I get to make stuff up” comes into play.

And, I’ll add that for me the hardest part of research is knowing what you don’t know. I can look up what constellations will be visible at a certain date and time at a specific locations because I know I don’t know that. But I never thought to look up whether a make and model of car came with a manual transmission option, because I thought all cars gave buyers that choice. Fortunately, one of my early readers pointed it out before it was published.

OK, TKZers, Where do you get your information when you’re stepping into waters uncharted for you. Anything you thought you knew, but turned out you were wrong?

TKZ:

New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Danger Abroad

When breaking family ties is the only option.

Madison Westfield has information that could short-circuit her politician father’s campaign for governor. But he’s family. Although he was a father more in word than deed, she changes her identity and leaves the country rather than blow the whistle.

Blackthorne, Inc. taps Security and Investigations staffer, Logan Bolt, to track down Madison Westfield. When he finds her in the Faroe Islands, her story doesn’t match the one her father told Blackthorne. The investigation assignment quickly switches to personal protection for Madison.

Soon, they’re involved with a drug ring and a kidnapping attempt. Will working together put them in more danger? Can a budding relationship survive the dangers they encounter?

Available now.

Like bang for your buck? I have a new Triple-D Ranch bundle. All four novels for one low price. One stop shopping here.

Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”

Writing Process Problems

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Writing Process Problems
Terry Odell

Skimmer standing on a beach, beak wide openI’ve finally reached the “I’m home” mindset. Dealt with all the administrivia, household chores, and feel like I’m back in my routine. Which means it’s time for serious work on the wip.

This one’s given me more trouble than usual. Normally, my “organic” writing process means I start at the beginning, let things unfold until I hit “the end.”

To quote E.L. Doctorow”

“It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

“Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you’re doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.”

Not so this time. I was approaching the 50K word count when I realized the “Bad Stuff” that I’d been writing about happened way to soon, at least for a novel-length work. Even a short novel-length work.

What to do?

I went back and looked at my plot threads and realized I’d left a lot of them hanging around waiting to be dealt with later. I figured I’d better deal with them sooner. Trouble was, fitting chapters (which turned out to be nine) into points well ahead of chapters I’d already written led to continuity inconsistencies.

I’d added the death of a character. That’s what you do when you get to the muddled middle, right?

Unless he shows up alive five or six chapters down the road.

I liked the new chapters and they were moving things along. Until I ran into other inconsistencies. I ended up having to look at my chapter summaries to see when and where things happened. Of course, as expected, things I thought unimportant when doing my summaries turned out to be information I needed later.

Then, there were the decisions to make. Move things around? Leave things where they were but adjust bits and pieces for continuity. Scrap things altogether?

Writing out of order has never been part of my process, but every book is different, and now I had to deal with going back in page time, write the scene, and deal with reweaving the changes into the book so that it would appear seamless.

Of course, the organic writer in me found that one fix led to an entirely new plot thread, which then had to be worked in, often going way, way back in the manuscript to lay some foundations, with slight detours along the way to research things for the new threads. The book covers quite a time spread, much of it not on the page, but accuracy counts.

Also, probably due to my Mississippi River cruise and my recent birding trip, my ability to recall details seems to have left the building. A character talking on the phone to another is noting facial expressions? A character appears riding in another character’s car after said character told him to meet at the house?

Other things I seem to have lost track of. Who said what to which character, and when? Who was in the scene when it was said? It’s as if when the text scrolls off the screen, it leaves my memory, too.

Could it maybe have something to do with time spent processing my birding images? That’s an entirely different skillset, and my brain can’t seem to handle both.

Nevertheless, I persevered, and over last weekend, I had caught up to where I noticed the structure failure and am now working to finish the book. I’m still dealing with the right time to wrap up each thread.

I know I’ll have to be very diligent when it comes time to do my first editing pass. There may be some serious restructuring going on.

And, because I promised to tell you about my birding trip, here’s a link to my Substack, where I did a brief recap.

And a “bird foodie” post on my blog.

If you’re interested in more pictures, you can find them (another work in progress) here.

Your turn. Has your basic writing process ever had to change? How did you deal with it?

New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Danger Abroad

When breaking family ties is the only option.

Madison Westfield has information that could short-circuit her politician father’s campaign for governor. But he’s family. Although he was a father more in word than deed, she changes her identity and leaves the country rather than blow the whistle.

Blackthorne, Inc. taps Security and Investigations staffer, Logan Bolt, to track down Madison Westfield. When he finds her in the Faroe Islands, her story doesn’t match the one her father told Blackthorne. The investigation assignment quickly switches to personal protection for Madison.

Soon, they’re involved with a drug ring and a kidnapping attempt. Will working together put them in more danger? Can a budding relationship survive the dangers they encounter?

Available now.

Like bang for your buck? I have a new Triple-D Ranch bundle. All four novels for one low price. One stop shopping here.

Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”

Fluff, Flab, and Filler

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Canada wildfires are affecting the air quality in my area. The National Weather Service wrote, “acceptable; however, the air quality may pose a moderate health concern for a very small number of individuals.”

Strange statement, considering three out of four of my closest friends feel like they have a sinus infection or head cold. I wouldn’t classify 75% as a “very small number of individuals.” Also, who writes for the National Weather Service? Can’t be a professional writer, or “very small” wouldn’t be the term they used.

Substitutes for “very small”

  • Tiny
  • Minuscule
  • Minute
  • Few
  • Diminutive
  • Limited
  • Trifling
  • Teensy-weensy
  • Slight

The subject of fluff arose last week while I was reading a brand new writer’s partial manuscript, including a prologue that was all backstory—important for her to know but irrelevant to the reader.

Rather than teach her how to tighten her writing, I focused on scene structure and techniques to force her characters to do something, anything. After several pages of notes, the fluff conversation could wait. The last thing I wanted was to obliterate a young writer’s dreams. Instead, I gave her a gentle nudge in the right direction.

For those farther along in their journey or career, recognizing fluff is an important subject. Those pesky buggers that sneak into first drafts and weaken our writing are better known as filler words and phrases aka fluff or flab.

If a filler word serves a purpose, such as to enhance characterization in dialogue, keep it. The objective is to tighten the writing by eliminating unnecessary words or phrases that might distract the reader.

Filler/Fluff/Flab Words 

Just

Just should almost always be deleted.

Original: I just couldn’t bear to say goodbye.

Rewrite: I couldn’t bear to say goodbye.

That

That litters many first drafts, but it can often be deleted without any harm to the original sentence.

Original: I believe that all writers should kill their darlings.

Rewrite: All writers should kill their darlings.

The original sentence has another problem. Did you catch it? Believe in this context is a telling word. Any time we tell the reader things like “I thought” or “He knew” or “She felt” or “I believe,” we slip out of deep POV. Thus, the little darling must die, as I did in the rewrite.

So

Original: So, this huge guy glared at me in the coffee line.

Rewrite: This musclebound, no-necked guy glared at me in the coffee line.

Confession: I use “so” all the time IRL. It’s also one of the (many) writing tics I search for in my work. The only exception to eliminating this, or any other, filler word is if it’s used with purpose, like as a character cue word.

Really

Original: She broke up with him. He still really loves her.

Sometimes removing filler means combining or rewording sentences.

Rewrite: When she severed their relationship, his heart weakened.

Very

We’ve established where the National Weather Service went wrong with very, but I’ll include it anyway.

Original: He made me very happy.

Rewrite: When he neared, my skin tingled.

Of

To determine if “of” is necessary read the sentence with and without it. Makes sense without it? Delete. Doesn’t? Keep it.

Original: She bolted out of the door.

Rewrite: She bolted out the door.

Up (following an action)

Original: He stood up tall.

Rewrite: He stood tall.

Down (following an action)

Original: He sat down on the sofa.

Rewrite: He sat on the sofa.

Want(ed)

Want/wanted are telling words. Rewrite to preserve deep POV.

Original: I really wanted the chocolate cake.

Substitute with a strong verb, such as: I drooled over the chocolate cake. One bite. What could it hurt?

Came/Went

Both are filler words because they’re not specific enough.

Original: I went to the store to buy my favorite ice cream.

Rewrite: I raced to Marco’s General Store to feed my craving for coffee ice cream.

Had

Too many had words give the impression the action took place prior to the main storyline. If it is used in a flashback, one had in the opening sentence signals the beginning, one at the end closes the scene. But if it’s clear the action occurred in the past, had can often be omitted.

Original: I had gazed at the painting for hours, waiting for the eyes to move.

Rewrite: For hours, I gazed at the painting. The eyes never moved.

Well (to start a sentence)

Original: Well, the homecoming queen attended the dance without the homecoming king.

Rewrite: The homecoming queen attended the dance, stag.

Literally/Basically

Original: I basically had to drag her out of the bar by her hair.

Rewrite: I dragged her out of the bar by her hair.

Original: I literally laundered money today. Still plucking bills from the lint filter.

Rewrite: I laundered money today. Still plucking bills from the lint filter.

Actually

Original: Actually, I did mind.

Rewrite: I minded.

Highly

Original: She was highly annoyed by his presence.

Rewrite: His presence infuriated her.

Totally

Original: I totally didn’t understand a word.

Rewrite: Huh? *kidding* I didn’t understand a word. Was that English?

And any other -ly adverb. Can you substitute with a strong verb or noun instead?

Anyway (to start a sentence)

Original: Anyway, I hope you laughed, loved, and lazed on your summer vacation.

Rewrite: I hope you laughed, loved, and lazed on your summer vacation.

Fluff Phrases

Most of these phrases should be omitted. If used for a purpose, like to enhance characterization with a catch phrase, feel free to keep it. Otherwise, delete. It’s even more important to eliminate fluff if you’re still developing your voice.

A bit

Original: The movie was a bit intense. Lots of blood.

Rewrite: Intense movie. Blood galore.

There is no doubt that

Original: There is no doubt that football season begins in the fall.

Rewrite: Football season begins in the fall.

The reason is that

Original: The reason is that I said you can’t go.

Rewrite: Because I said so, that’s why (shout-out to moms everywhere!).

The question as to whether

Original: The question as to whether the moon will rise again is irrelevant.

Rewrite: Whether the moon will rise again is irrelevant.

Whether or not

Original: Whether or not you agree is not my problem.

Or worse: Whether you agree or not is not my problem.

Rewrite: Whether you agree is not my problem.

This is a topic that

Original: This is a topic that is close to my heart.

Rewrite: This topic is close to my heart.

In spite of the fact 

Original: In spite of the fact that he said he loved you, he’s married.

Rewrite: Although he professed his love, he’s married.

Or: Despite that he claimed to love you, he’s married.

The fact that

Original: The fact that he has not succeeded means he cannot do the job.

Rewrite: His failure proves he cannot do the job.

In order to

Original: In order to pay bills online, you need internet access.

Rewrite: To pay bills online, you need internet access.

At the end of the day

Original: At the end of the day, we’re all human.

Rewrite: We’re human. Fallible.

Not gonna lie

This phrase irritates me, is overused by the younger crowd, and only raises questions.

  • Why would you lie? We’re having a friendly conversation.
  • Never considered you’d lie, but now I’m suspicious.

Original: Not gonna lie, that chocolate cake almost killed me.

Rewrite: That chocolate cake almost killed me.

I’ve joined the crowd affected by air pollutants from the wildfires. Please bear with me today. Not feeling my best. But don’t let that stop you from adding filler words & phrases I missed.

What Could Go Wrong?

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What Could Go Wrong?
Terry Odell

As you read this, I’m probably prone on a Long Island beach attempting to take decent photos of nesting shorebirds. (I was going to say I was shooting birds, but that could be misinterpreted, especially in this group.) I’ll try to check in and respond to comments, but please don’t let my absence keep you from expressing yourself.

I normally keep my own blog, my Substack, and my TKZ posts separate, but given that I’ve been trying to prepare for the trip and deal with major rewrites on the current wip, I took the liberty of repeating myself here.

When I learned that it would be better to have my Triple-D Ranch Series published before my scheduled BookBub Featured Deal on July 9th, I set the wip aside while I created the ebook. No worries. I’ve done this many times before.

I had the manuscript put together and used Draft2Digital to create the epub. I downloaded it, and it looked fine, but wanting to make sure I had some time to make sure it was really ready, I scheduled it to release on July 1st, a few days in the future. I use Draft2Digital to get my books onto Apple because that used to be the only route unless you used a Mac. Being lazy, I never changed once Apple allowed PC users to upload directly.

Next, I figured I’d go to Barnes & Noble, which is one of the ‘easier’ places to upload a new book, because they don’t have territorial pricing, which is always a challenge for me. Before I’d gotten more than a couple of steps into the process, they asked, “Does your file include the cover?”

Dang. I’d added the individual covers for each title into the manuscript, but had totally neglected to include the one I’d created for the book.

Back to the manuscript, add the cover, then back to D2D to reupload the file. Checked to make sure no gremlins had crept in, and approved it for publication. Back to B&N, and finished jumping through their hoops. Checked the final review. How had I chosen my Mapleton Mysteries as the series this Triple-D Ranch book belonged in? Probably because I’d just adjusted the pricing on one of the Mapleton bundles, and that was where my brain remained. Edit. Reupload.

Kobo was straightforward enough, although they have a bunch of territorial pricing options, too.

Then, onto Amazon. By now, it should have been easy, right?

I got as far as uploading my manuscript file, which seemed to be taking much longer than usual to load. It finally did, I went through all the other steps, and downloaded the file to make sure their software hadn’t messed anything up.

What? Where was all the back matter I’d added through D2D’s options. My author’s note, all my other books, my teaser? I went back and looked. Somehow, I’d managed to upload my Word file, not the epub I’d created. So, once again, I upload the file, and this time, everything seems to be right. Amazon has territorial pricing, but not as many venues, so it didn’t take as long. But wait. I’d recently changed the pricing on a Mapleton bundle, and I was using those prices, not the ones based on the pricing for the Triple-D book. Go back to the Kobo pricing page, screenshot those prices and enter them at Amazon. Except … Amazon has price ceilings that are lower than Kobo’s for some of the territories, so in reality, most of my prices were already where they had to be.

I’m thinking all is well at last, and I still had a couple of days before the book goes live. But I need to add a page for the book on my website. I’ve done this before, too, so it shouldn’t take too long.

My web designer has things set up so if I create the page by cloning a previous book’s setup, I can just make the necessary switches. The cover and other metadata. All is going along swimmingly … until … I look at the home page and notice there’s something different about the cover for this one.

Check out the first cover from my cover reveal blog post. Then look at my book page. Can you tell what I did wrong?

So, back to Canva, make the changes, and get the website done. Almost. Turns out the cloning process only works properly if you clone a book from the same series. I hadn’t. I’d just used my most recent release, Danger Abroad, which is a Blackthorne title. So, the automatic populating of the page pulled the Blackthornes, not the Triple-Ds. Delete that file and start over, this time with a Triple-D title. Took a little longer because there was a section I wanted to be on the new book’s page that wasn’t on any of the other Triple-D titles, and I had to figure out how that worked by trial and error. (Because I wasn’t going to pay my web designer to change it unless I was totally out of my depth. Money, either incoming or outgoing, is a great motivator for me, and I did manage to figure out how to add that section.)

Only one more thing I had to do—change the cover everywhere—but I couldn’t do that until the book was live, because you’re not allowed to touch things when it’s that close to release.

So, a half day project ended up taking about three days, not counting the waiting for release so I could swap out the cover.

Anyone else have as many brain lapses on one project?

New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Danger Abroad

When breaking family ties is the only option.

Madison Westfield has information that could short-circuit her politician father’s campaign for governor. But he’s family. Although he was a father more in word than deed, she changes her identity and leaves the country rather than blow the whistle.

Blackthorne, Inc. taps Security and Investigations staffer, Logan Bolt, to track down Madison Westfield. When he finds her in the Faroe Islands, her story doesn’t match the one her father told Blackthorne. The investigation assignment quickly switches to personal protection for Madison.

Soon, they’re involved with a drug ring and a kidnapping attempt. Will working together put them in more danger? Can a budding relationship survive the dangers they encounter?

Available now.

Like bang for your buck? I have a new Triple-D Ranch bundle. All four novels for one low price. One stop shopping here.

Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”

Even More Villainous Words of Wisdom

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Villains are the catalysts for mysteries and thrillers. Without them, there would be no murder to solve, no threat to stop, no dastardly deed to foil. They test the hero to the utmost, and must be confronted in one form or another by story’s end. Furthermore, not only are villains essential to mysteries and thrillers, they are also vital in many other genres ranging from fantasy and science fiction, to action, adventure, westerns and others.

Today Words of Wisdom returns to this evergreen topic once more with three insightful excerpts from the KZB archives. Elaine Viets offers advice on creating likeable villains. Becca Puglisi discusses villain backstories and their connection with the hero. Finally, Debbie Burke, who just published an insightful book on villains, shares wisdom on the villain’s story and behaviors.

The original three posts are all well-worth reading in full. As always, each excerpt is date-linked to the full version.

Make your villains smart. Or at least crafty.

Tiffany quickly becomes the fourth wife of rich old Cole Osborne and they live in luxury in Fort Lauderdale.
“I never went to college, but I wasn’t stupid,” Tiffany said. “I knew now that Cole had tied the knot with me, my struggle had just begun. Cole was very, very classy, and I had to fit in with his rich friends.”

Make your villains self-aware.

The Joni Mitchell song was Tiffany’s anthem, and she recognized herself in the lyrics of “Dog Eat Dog.” Especially the part about slaves. Some were well-treated . . .
And some like poor beasts
Are burdened down to breaking
Tiffany said, “This was a dog eat dog world – more so than the trailer park where I used to live. I was a well-treated slave, and I’d sold myself into slavery, but I knew that.”
Our villain has knows she’s living in comfort, but she can’t get comfortable.
“One misstep, and I’d be one of those poor beasts, working again at the local hardware store or greeting people at Walmart. I had a prenup that would give me a measly hundred thousand dollars if we divorced, but if I could hang on until Cole died, I’d get half his fortune.”

Make your villains work for their success. That way, readers can root for them.

Cindy knew she’s landed her pretty derriere in a tub of butter, but she knew her work has just started. Among other things, Cindy changed her name to a classier “Tish.”
She also “made friends with his housekeeper, Mrs. Anderson. She’d been with him for twenty years and three wives. I slipped her a little extra out of my mad money account that Cole gave me, and Mrs. A told me where to shop on Las Olas, the local Rodeo Drive, and which saleswoman to make an appointment with. She also advised me to ditch my long fake nails and get a nice, refined French manicure, then sent me to a salon where I had my long hair tamed into fashionable waves and the color became ‘not so blonde’ as the tactful stylist said.”

Make your villains aware of the stakes if they fail.

Now readers have more reasons to root for them.
“As I got into my mid-twenties, I had to work hard to keep my girlish figure,” Tiffany said. “My trainer was worse than a drill sergeant, and I endured endless runs on the beach. Awful as it was, it beat standing on my feet all day on a concrete floor, running a cranky cash register for nine dollars an hour.”

Create a conflict – and an even worse villain.

Tiffany says, “I thought I could sail smoothly into Cole’s sunset years and collect the cash when he went to his reward. But then that damn preacher showed up. The smarmy Reverend Joseph Starr, mega-millionaire pastor of Starr in the Heavens.”
As much as we may dislike money-hungry Tiffany, the bloodsucking TV preacher is even worse. He plays on Cole’s fear of death and walks off with a check for a million dollars on his first visit – and the Reverend has his sights set on more.
“Starr would work on Cole’s guilt and milk him for every dollar – my husband was one big cash cow,” the practical Tiffany said.
Now that her husband was in the hospital on life support, Tiffany has to find a way to kill her husband and put the blame on the Reverend Starr.
Does Tiffany succeed? Or does the Reverend Starr walk off with the money? You’ll have to read “Dog Eat Dog” to find out – and see if I made you root for her.
Tell us, TKZers. How do you humanize your villains?

Elaine Viets—June 10, 2021

 

THEY HAVE A BACKSTORY (AND YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS) 

Authors know how important it is to dig into their protagonist’s backstory and have a strong grasp of how it has impacted that character. Yet one of the biggest mistakes we make with villains is not giving them their own origin story. A character who is evil with no real reason behind their actions or motivations isn’t realistic, making them stereotypical and a bit…meh.

To avoid this trap, know your villain’s beginnings. Why are they the way they are? What trauma, genetics, or negative influencers have molded them into their current state? Why are they pursuing their goal—what basic human need is lacking that achieving the goal will satisfy? The planning and research for this kind of character is significant, but it will pay off in the form of a memorable and one-of-a-kind villain who will give your hero a run for his money and intrigue readers.

THEY SHARE A CONNECTION WITH THE PROTAGONIST 

In real life, we have many adversaries. Some of them are distant—the offensive driver on the highway or that self-serving, flip-flopping politician you foolishly voted for. Those adversaries can create problems for us, but the ones that do the most damage—the ones we find hardest to confront—are those we share a connection with. Parents, siblings, exes, neighbors we see every day, competitors we both admire and envy, people we don’t like who are similar to us in some way…conflicts with these people are complicated because of the emotions they stir up.

The same is true for our protagonists. The most meaningful clashes will be with the people they know. Use this to your advantage. Bring the villain in close and make things personal by engineering a connection between the two characters. Here are a few options for you to work with.

  • Give Them a Shared History. The more history the two have, the more emotion will be involved. Guilt, rage, grief, fear, jealousy, regret, desire—strong feelings like these will add sparks to their interactions. They’ll cloud the protagonist’s judgment and increase the chances their villain will gain an edge.
  • Make Them Reflections of Each Other. What happens when the protagonist sees him or herself in the villain? A seed of empathy forms. The hero feels a connection with the person they have to destroy, which complicates things immensely. Personality traits, flaws, vulnerabilities, wounding events, needs and desires—all of these (and more) can be used to forge a bond that will add complexity and depth to this important relationship.
  • Give Them a Shared Goal. When your hero and your villain are pursuing the same objective, it accomplishes a number of good things. First, it ensures that only one of them can be the victor, pitting them against each other. But they’re also more likely to understand one another. They’ll have different reasons and methods of chasing the dream, but the shared goal can create an emotional connection.

Becca Puglisi—September 5, 2022

The villain’s story is thus one of declining power while the hero’s story is one of rising power…In defeat, the villain’s mastery is handed over to the hero.  The villain’s deficiencies of character have been exposed; the hero’s deficiencies have been corrected.  The two journeys, one the inverse of the other, are completed.

In another article, Scott traces the stages that cause some people to become villains, both in real life and in fiction:

  • The pre-villain is an ordinary person living in an ordinary world that is safe and familiar.
  • Something happens that hurls this ordinary person into the “special world” that is dangerous and unfamiliar.
  • Often this new dangerous world is the world of abuse, with the ordinary person at the receiving end of emotional or physical abuse.
  • Typically, the abuser is a parent, but sometimes another authority figure, peers, or harsh social conditions damage this ordinary person.
  • The ordinary person suffers psychological harm that can assume the form of narcissism, psychopathy, depression, or schizoaffective disorders.
  • This mental illness distorts the ordinary person’s views of themselves and the world, often producing an extreme self-narcissism and/or collective narcissism of their community or nation.
  • The ordinary person remains unaware of their skewed perception of reality and is never able to acknowledge their damaged state nor their need for psychological and/or spiritual help.
  • As a result of their untreated trauma, the villain undergoes terrible suffering, often in private, but is unable to learn or grow from it. Their deep fears and sadness transform into anger.

Okay, that covers the villain’s backstory and motivations but…

What about mysteries where the villain is hidden until the end? How does a writer handle the origin story and motivations when the villain’s point of view is never shown?

We’ve all watched films with the tired old trope where the hero is captured and tied to a chair. Then, because the writer couldn’t think of a less clumsy device, the villain bares their soul to the hero, revealing they were driven to exterminate humanity because they’d been potty-trained at gunpoint.

To avoid that pitfall, Chris Winkle of Mythcreants.com offers these suggestions:

The most important method of showing your villain’s character arc – or any character arc – is demonstrating a change in behavior. If you keep their arc simple enough, that could be all you need. The basic unit of changing behavior would look like this:

  1.  
    1. The villain shows a clear pattern of behavior.
    2. An event occurs that would reasonably impact the villain.
    3. The villain shows a different pattern of behavior. 

Chris outlines several options for the unseen villain’s character arc:

Gain/Loss:

“The villain gains and/or loses something they care deeply about, and that drives their character change. Usually what they gain or lose is a person they love, but it can be anything as long as you can show the audience why it’s so important.”

Obsession: 

“This is a villain that changes their motives during the story because they acquire a new obsession or goal. Often that obsession is the main character, but it also might be a shiny new superpower.”

Revelation: 

“This is a great arc for villains who think they’re doing the right thing and consider all the harm they cause justified. In this arc, they have a revelation that challenges this belief, forcing them to adapt.”

Chris’s summary:

If you want a sympathetic villain and you can afford to give them their own viewpoint, that’s great. Give them a deep arc your audience will remember.

Debbie Burke—September 13, 2022

***

  1. Is it important to you for villains to be likeable? If so, how do you build that likeability?
  2. How much do you consider your villain’s backstory, and also any connection with your hero?
  3. What do you think about the advice Debbie shared about the stages of becoming a villain and showing their character arc?

The Backwards Law for Writers

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I stumbled across the subject of The Backwards Law by accident—a happy accident that led me to The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. Excellent book that I devoured in two sittings.

The Backwards Law proposes the more we pursue something, the less satisfied we become. For writers, the constant pursuit of “more” causes us to feel horrible about where we are and what we’ve achieved. The harder we try, the less likely we are to succeed.

On the surface, it seems like the opposite of perseverance, doesn’t it? But it’s not. The Backwards Law goes much deeper than that.

Think of it this way:

  • Trying too hard to be creative or write something brilliant often leads to writer’s block, self-doubt, and a feeling of being disconnected from the work.
  • Only focusing on the end result—recognition, success, publication—causes unnecessary anxiety and pressure.
  • The fear of making mistakes or writing poorly will paralyze a writer and often will lead to abandoning the WIP.

“Wanting a positive experience is a negative experience; accepting a negative experience is a positive experience.” Mark Manson – The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

Alan Watts, the philosopher who coined the phrase, describes The Backwards Law as being in a lake. If you relax and put your head back, you’ll float. But the more you struggle and flail to try to stay afloat, the more you will sink.

Often our search for “more” has the opposite effect. It shines a spotlight on what we lack.

Life Examples

  • The more we cling to a loved one, the more they will feel suffocated and in need of space.
  • The more we obsess about accumulating money, the more poor and unworthy we will feel.
  • The more we pursue trying to feel happier all the time, the more we will reinforce this idea that we are fundamentally lacking and irreparable.

Do you even know what you want?

Sure, selling millions of copies of your book sounds great, but is that why you wrote it? Or maybe, you can’t define what you’re chasing. You just want more.

“Two reasons that you don’t really know what you want. Number one: you have it. Number two: you don’t know yourself, because you never can. The Godhead is never an object of its own knowledge, just as a knife doesn’t cut itself, fire doesn’t burn itself, light doesn’t illuminate itself.” ~ Alan Watts

In The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson tells the story of a talented young guitarist who was kicked out of his band in 1983, after they had just been signed by a record label. No warning. No reason given. No discussion. They woke him up and handed him a bus ticket.

After much self-pity on the ride home to LA, the guitarist vowed to start a new group that would be so successful, his old band would seethe with jealously. And so, with only that thought in mind, he worked tirelessly to find the best musicians. He wrote dozens of songs. Practiced day and night. Revenge became his muse.

Within two years, a record label signed his new band. One year later, their first record went gold. The guitarist’s name? Dave Mustaine, lead guitarist in the heavy metal band Megadeath, which went on to sell over 25 million albums and tour the world many times. Mustaine is considered one of the most influential musicians in the history of heavy metal music.

Sounds like the story has a happy ending, right?

Not quite.

The band who kicked him out was Metallica, which has sold over 180 million albums worldwide and is considered by many to be one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

Because of Metallica’s fame, Mustaine considered himself a failure. Despite all he’d accomplished, in his mind, he would always be the guy who got kicked out of Metallica and nothing more. Whether he realized it or not, Mustaine used Metallica’s success and popularity as his life-defining measuring stick. Even after all of Megadeath’s success, he could never be happy, because he based his self-worth and music career on something he had no control over.

This story perfectly illustrates The Backwards Law in action.

Accept imperfection and you’ll feel perfect. Accept loneliness and you’ll feel content alone. Accepting a negative experience is a positive experience. But fighting a negative experience means you’ll suffer twice.

  • When we stop trying to be happy, we’ll be happy because there’s nothing we need beyond what is.
  • When we stop trying to be rich or massively successful, we’ll live in abundance because we’re content with what we have and anything on top of that is a bonus.

Thus, the only way to have what we want is not to want it. And that’s what The Backwards Law teaches us.

Being aware of the workings of The Backwards Law doesn’t mean that we should never set goals, never have ambitions, or never chase our dreams. Rather, The Backwards Law teaches us not to be fooled by the idea that the pursuit of happiness (whatever that looks like to you) leads to happiness. When in fact, the opposite is true. And with that knowledge, we’re able to enter the blissful state of enjoying the journey.

“The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced.” ~ Alan Watts

How do we get what we want without trying?

Depends on what we want. If we strive to write the best damn book we can, the following tips should help.

Mindful Writing: Practice mindfulness while writing. It’ll help you become more aware of your thoughts and feelings without judgment, allowing you to be more present in the moment.

Step Away: It’s okay to step away from the WIP to clear your head. Go for a walk. Take a shower. Read a book. Exercise. I do this all the time when I’m working out a plot issue. Nine times out of ten, the answer reveals itself as soon as I stop thinking about it.

Accept Imperfection: Give yourself permission to make mistakes in early drafts. It’ll allow you to experiment and explore different ideas without fear.

Stay Present: Enjoy the journey of bringing your idea to life. Have fun with your characters. Revel in that perfect sentence or paragraph you wrote yesterday, then continue on.

The Backwards Law for writers is about shifting from a place of striving and pressure to a place of flow and acceptance. 

By letting go of the need to control the outcome and embrace the process, we’ll unlock creativity and produce more authentic and fulfilling work.

Have you heard of The Backwards Law? It’s as true for writing as it is for life.

Compromises

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Compromises
Terry Odell

cover of The Triple-D Ranch novels by Terry OdellFirst, if you’ll indulge me, I have a new release. Not exactly a new book, but after being away, having family visiting, writing breaks to do research, hitting the 30K wall, and other real life interruptions, I feared the wip wasn’t going to be finished in time for a pre-holiday release.

What did I do? Triggered by an acceptance for a BookBub Featured Deal on July 9th for In Hot Water, book 1 in my Triple-D Ranch Romantic Suspense series, I decided to bundle all 4 books in the series as a box set.

I checked with the marketing gurus at BookBub, and they suggested that a release of the bundle before the featured deal would be a good option. I pulled the manuscripts for all four books into a single file and made the necessary adjustments to front and back matter. Since the first 3 in the series were released in 2016, there were some formatting issues to deal with, but it didn’t take long to have a manuscript file ready to upload.

I went into a lot of the process in a post a while back, so I’m not going to repeat any of that now. If you’re interested, you can find it here.

The new book, brilliantly titled, “The Triple-D Ranch Series” is available for purchase at most popular e-tailers. Here’s a link to one-stop shopping.

And on to the post topic: Compromises

Sue’s post on Monday reminded me of our move from Florida to Colorado way back in 2010. Although this is no longer my path to publication, I know a lot of TKZers are, or are hoping to be, traditionally published. The road to publication, like moving into a new house, can be filled with compromises.

During our renovations and remodels, we found ourselves compromising on a lot of issues. Sometimes it was a matter of money—deciding what things we were willing to cut from our dream plan, and where we were willing to shell out the extra cash. We decided to go with underfloor heating in the bathrooms. However, a custom job, with the heat mat made to order for the bathroom was prohibitively costly compared with the off-the-shelf versions. The compromise meant we were restricted to the sizes the mats came in; we couldn’t get the heat mat under the tile of the entire bathroom, leaving a few areas where the tiles remain cold. But having that extra course of tiles heated wasn’t worth the price differential. It was easier to learn to take a bigger step into the hall bath if you were barefoot, avoiding the first row of tiles.

Another compromise – we had a lot more room in our former house. Finding places for things that went into our wall units and china cabinet meant more furniture. We ended up with a large curio cabinet in the living area. However, it doesn’t have any interior lighting, so as far as displaying treasures goes, it’s not really the perfect system. It ended up being a liquor and glassware cabinet.

We ordered two bookcases for the downstairs, but when they arrived, we realized that one was a shade too tall for where we wanted to put it. (Never thought about the bulkhead ceiling on that side of the room, or how tall the bookcases would be.) So, we found another spot for the second unit, which ate up several feet of wall space, meaning when we get furniture for the room, we’re going to be limited in what will fit where.

When writing, you’ll also learn to make compromises—unless, of course, you’re writing strictly for yourself. Everyone says ‘write the book of your heart.’ But if you want people to read your books, you’re going to have to consider what the readers want. The book of your heart might not be marketable.

Somewhere along the line, you have to decide which battles are worth fighting and which aren’t. Some, you’ll never win. If a publisher wants humor, and you’re not a funny person, maybe that’s the time to realize that your efforts might be better spent elsewhere. Or maybe they want deep, dark suspense, full of serial killers and psychopaths, and you prefer lighthearted mystery. Are you capable of writing what they want? Will you feel like you’re struggling to get each word on the page? Assuming you’ve done your homework and submitted your work to a publisher who publishes what you write, and it’s accepted, what’s next? You’re going to have to deal with an editor who works for the publisher, and knows what they’re looking (or not looking) for.

For example, my editor for When Danger Calls, one of my early traditionally published novels, told me the publisher would nix any use of the word ‘penis.’ She said their readers didn’t like to read it. Was there a point to arguing with this one? No. Easy enough to change.

Another publisher didn’t like the use of brand names. Sometimes, a brand name serves as an immediate image for readers. I had to fight (and contact the companies) to use Knob Creek and Denny’s in a book.

On a grander scale, some genres have their own reader expectations and publishers have their own guidelines.

Once you’re aware of what your publisher and editor expect, you’ll find that you’re compromising with yourself during the writing process. Just like you learn to avoid that first course of tiles in the bathroom, you won’t use those ‘forbidden’ words. If you’re writing a contemporary series romance, you’ll learn to get your hero and heroine on the page and involved immediately, because that’s what readers of that genre want, and the publisher expects you to meet their expectations. If you’re writing a mystery, your readers will assume it’s a “murder mystery” and they’ll want to see that dead body right away.

Even indie authors might have to compromise to meet reader expectations. I’ve written almost 35K words in my next Mapleton mystery, and there’s no dead body. Yet.

How about you, TKZers? Have you had to compromise to keep your submission or book marketable?

New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Danger Abroad

When breaking family ties is the only option.

Madison Westfield has information that could short-circuit her politician father’s campaign for governor. But he’s family. Although he was a father more in word than deed, she changes her identity and leaves the country rather than blow the whistle.

Blackthorne, Inc. taps Security and Investigations staffer, Logan Bolt, to track down Madison Westfield. When he finds her in the Faroe Islands, her story doesn’t match the one her father told Blackthorne. The investigation assignment quickly switches to personal protection for Madison.

Soon, they’re involved with a drug ring and a kidnapping attempt. Will working together put them in more danger? Can a budding relationship survive the dangers they encounter? Available now.

Like bang for your buck? I have a new Triple-D Ranch bundle. All four novels for one low price. One stop shopping here.

Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”

Moving and Writing

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Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. —Albert Einstein

* * *

I’ve mentioned over the past few weeks that my husband and I have moved to a new home. It’s been a long, hard effort, but now we’re in the new place and trying to regain some sense of normalcy.

One thing getting back to normal means is writing a post for TKZ. So now, I sit at my desk, surrounded by towers of boxes and ponder what I should write about while the aroma of fresh cardboard and packing tape wafts through the house. Since I do so love analogies about writing, there’s my subject: How are moving and writing related.

The Big Adventure

Moving starts as an adventure. Maybe it’s a new job or a better living situation or some other reason to change addresses. There’s a lot of anticipation mixed with a little anxiety. Lists are made, forms are ordered, lots of organization is put in place. Whatever the reason, the excitement builds as moving day nears.

Same with a new novel. A great idea suddenly crystallizes and you realize you have a theme for a new book. The best yet. You begin to draft out character sketches and a general plot line. You set up Scrivener for the new work and put together a project plan with a schedule. You stand at the mountaintop looking over the landscape and imagine the journey ahead.

The Trek Goes On … and On

If you’re lucky, you’ll hire a moving company to pack and move everything. But what’s the adventure in that? To keep the analogy with writing, you’ll have to do your own packing. You go through the house and decide what can be given away, sold, or stored. You order packing materials and spend weeks knee deep in boxes, bubble wrap, and permanent markers. But it’s taking longer than you thought, and the whole task of packing boxes has become hard work. You have to decide what to keep and what to let go. At some point, you ask yourself “Whose idea was this, anyway?”

Writing is a little less physically demanding. Day after day, you pack Scrivener with new scenes, and your creativity is firing on all cylinders. Finally, you’re deep into the story. Then you hit a wall, and you back up to look at what you’ve accomplished so far. It’s just a mess, and you have to decide what to throw away. You can keep everything, but then your new story will be a jumble of scenes rather than a carefully crafted book, so a serious pruning job is in order.

Persistence Pays Off

That’s when it hits you. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. But you’ve already invested heavily in the story or the move, so you keep going forward. Not quite as excited, but shoulder to the wheel. The message in your head is no longer “Woo-hoo,” but more like “Put one foot in front of the other.”

It seems like ages before those boxes are all packed or the chapters are written. The movers come and transfer all the furniture to the new place. You have a fully finished first draft. It still doesn’t look so pretty, but at least you’re beginning to see the story behind the jumble.

Revision

So now you move into unpacking mode, putting things where they belong, discarding boxes, and cleaning up. In a novel, this would be the final draft. Rearranging the chapters and rewriting.

The work is long and sometimes boring. But occasionally you’ll stumble onto some little artifact that makes you realize how nice the finished product will be. It takes forever to unpack, fit things into their new environment, and get the household in order.

Slowly, day by day, the pieces begin to fit together to form a cohesive whole. The house is set, the novel is written, and the job is done.

The End … for now

It’s time to sip champagne, take a short rest, and then get to work on marketing.

* * *

So TKZers: How do you deal with the confusion that surrounds moving or writing? Do you keep plugging away knowing everything will come out well? How do you celebrate when the big move or book release is over?

* * *

 

Spunky 10-year-old Reen and her shy, 9-year-old cousin Joanie never stop moving while they hunt for a treasure left by the mysterious Mr. Shadow. Along the way, they learn the value of persistence, teamwork, and fair play.

Click the image to go to the Amazon book page.

 

When Is It Their Turn?

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When Is It Their Turn?
Terry Odell

red curtain with a man's hand reaching throughSecondary characters, as PJ pointed out in her post, can be great fun to write. They don’t have the responsibilities of the protagonists. They can provide insight into the protagonist, add some humor, be sounding boards, love interests, or foils.

Sometimes, they branch out and become protagonists themselves. John Sandford gave Virgil Flowers his own stories. Robert Crais gave Joe Pike his own books. Will CJ Box’s Nate Romanowski move from strong secondary character into a protagonist in his own right?

In television, branching out into new shows happens all the time. Michael Connelly gave Renee Ballard her own books, and soon her own television series. Lee Child’s Reacher television series has a Neagley spinoff.

The rise of secondary characters is prevalent in romance, where “series” (I call them connected books) tend to have an ensemble cast in which a secondary character moves up to center stage in a subsequent book. I do that in my romantic suspense books, although when I wrote When Danger Calls, my first Blackthorne, Inc. book, I had no idea there would be another one. That series now contains twelve books, and a lot of secondary characters have had their turn at taking the lead. How do I decide whose turn it is? Often, I’m having fun with that character and want to do more. But sometimes, the character shows up and requests a bigger role. That’s what happened with Jinx, who became the lead in Dangerous Connections.

cover image of Dangerous Connections by Terry Odell

Here’s what happened.

Jess, my admin buzzes me.

“Terry, there’s someone here who insists on seeing you. Says his name is Josiah Nix.”

Jinx? What’s he doing here? “Tell him to have a seat, and I’ll see him shortly.”

Shortly—the most vague word in the English language. But it’ll buy me some time. I open my computer and pull up the files for my Blackthorne, Inc. series. After a quick review—somehow, once I finish writing a book, it’s gone from my head as soon as I start work on the next one—I feel ready to meet Jinx.

I buzz Jess. “Send him in.”

The door opens, and Josiah Ignatius Nix—which I’d shorted to Jinx for the books—enters. He’s not quite the same man I interviewed for his initial role in Where Danger Hides. Same not-quite-six-feet tall. His shoulder-length hair is pulled back into a tail at the nape of his neck. Same deep blue eyes and lashes to die for. But he’s hesitant, not curious the way he was at that first meet, which was quite some time and several books ago.

“Have a seat, Mr. Nix.”

“Jinx will do. I’m used to it now.”

He sits on the small sofa, as if he’s afraid taking a visitor chair would put him too close to me. One foot bounces, almost imperceptibly. Nervous?

“What brings you here today?” I ask.

He tugs at his ponytail. “Wasn’t completely my idea.”

This isn’t the behavior of a man in charge of Blackthorne’s command center.

“Who else?”

Another ponytail tug. The foot bouncing becomes more noticeable. “The guys, mostly. Harper. Dalton. Fozzie.”

“Can I get you something to drink? I’d offer a Red Bull, but from where I’m sitting, it doesn’t look like you need caffeine. I have coffee—decaf. And herbal teas.”

I open my drawer, check my snack stash. Down to a couple packets of cashews and almonds.

“I’m all right,” Jinx says.

I look at the clock. Just shy of three. “I generally have a break around this time, so it’s no trouble.” I flash my best reassuring smile, then buzz Jess and, voice lowered, ask her for the usual job interview refreshment tray.

“So,” I go on. “You’re still in touch with some of the Blackthorne team?”

“Sort of. Molly—that’s Harper’s kid. Actually, she’s Frankie’s kid, but Harper considers her his own. It was her birthday, and they invited me—us. Harper had a few things to say to me, and so I’m here.”

Jinx definitely wasn’t behaving the way I’d written him. Where was the always on top of things, always in control character I’d created?

Jess opens the door and comes in carrying a tray of assorted munchies. Cheese, crackers, cookies, nuts, and fruit, along with cocktail napkins. Do I detect a show of interest in Jinx?

“Help yourself.” To break the ice, I take a napkin, a piece of cheese and layer it on a cracker, along with a small bunch of grapes.

“Thanks.” He chooses an assortment of offerings. “Maybe a cup of decaf?”

“Coming right up.” I pop a pod into my brewer and start things going. Once we’ve had a few moments of more routine behavior, Jinx seems relaxed.

He sets his coffee cup on the end table and inhales a deep breath. “I like my job. I’m good at it. But I’m ready for … more.” He meets my gaze. “If that’s possible.”

Now we’re getting somewhere. “What do you mean by more?”

“I’m not complaining, don’t get me wrong. I mean after Where Danger Hides, you really increased my parts in the next books, and my parts were important. But—”

I wait. He doesn’t seem willing to go on. “What’s the but?”

“I’m always behind the scenes. Nobody ever sees me. And—” he lowers his gaze to a point between his feet. “And I want what the others got. A woman.” The word is barely audible.

“Someone they’re happy with. I want that, too. I mean, except for Harper, because it was the first book, the others start out in the background. I don’t know what you call them.”

“Secondary characters,” I offer.

“Right. And then, they get their own story, and they get their woman. I don’t want to keep being a secondary character.”

“I understand.” And I do. Seeing his book friends living their happily ever afters would make him—anyone—want the same thing.

“Are you saying you want to be part of an op? On the ground, so to speak, not at the command center.”

He nods. “Zeke’s good at the command center. The teams could manage with him at the helm for an op.”

I’m remembering an article I saw on the internet a week or two ago. I saved it, thinking there might be a story there. I hadn’t considered Jinx for the lead, but I could make it work.

“Are you willing to travel?” I ask. “Solo? Undercover, at least at first. Of course, if it’s a Blackthorne book, your team will have your six.”

“I think so. Would I still be using my intel skills?”

“Of course.”

Ideals swirl.

I’m already planning. Jinx isn’t a covert operative. Will he be willing to accept a partner—female—who would be more than an equal?

“Can you come back, let’s say in two weeks, and we can go over a story premise?”

He smiles, the first sign of the Jinx I remember. “I’ll be here.” He grabs a cookie and heads for the door.

After he’s gone, I go back to that article that caught my eye. Communication. Drug cartels. Mexico. All I need are some more characters. I’ve got one in mind for Jinx. He’s going to love her.

cover image of Dangerous Connections by Terry Odell

Okay, so it doesn’t always happen like that, but every once in a while, you—or I, anyway—need some fun.

Feel free to share other secondary characters that have moved up to protagonists.

New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Danger Abroad

When breaking family ties is the only option.

Madison Westfield has information that could short-circuit her politician father’s campaign for governor. But he’s family. Although he was a father more in word than deed, she changes her identity and leaves the country rather than blow the whistle.

Blackthorne, Inc. taps Security and Investigations staffer, Logan Bolt, to track down Madison Westfield. When he finds her in the Faroe Islands, her story doesn’t match the one her father told Blackthorne. The investigation assignment quickly switches to personal protection for Madison.

Soon, they’re involved with a drug ring and a kidnapping attempt. Will working together put them in more danger? Can a budding relationship survive the dangers they encounter?

Available now.

Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”