Today I'm joining
the Sisters in Crime Blog-Up. This is a very loose round robin of writers
talking about books and reading and writing. You don't have to be a member of
SinC to participate, and I've tagged at the end of my piece another writer who
is not a member. If you want to participate, or learn more go to http://www.sistersincrime.org/BlogHop
SinC has offered
several questions for bloggers to choose from and I've picked three. The first
is one that comes up in different forms.
If someone said, "Nothing against women
writers, but all of my favorite crime fiction authors happen to be men,"
how would you respond?
The problem with
this statement about preferences is that it suggests it is acceptable to draw
an arbitrary line between books according to gender. The line could just as
easily be drawn according to date of publication, birthplace of the author,
time of story, setting, number of pages, type of book binding, or any other
category and all would be equally irrelevant and invalid. A devoted reader
looks for any of a number of qualities in a book but gender of the author isn't
one of them. I look for a good story, well written, with intelligent insights
and interesting characters. The idea of dismissing large numbers of books
because the author doesn't fit into a certain category means only that I'm
missing a large number of books I might enjoy. The arbitrary line makes me narrow,
not a person of discerning taste.
My second response
is specific to mystery writing and crime fiction. It is not possible to read
the best in this genre without reading books by women. Women have been major
figures in this genre since the beginning. Seeley Regester, Mary Roberts
Rinehart, Agatha Christie, Craig Rice, Ngaio Marsh, Ruth Rendell, P.D. James,
Sara Paretsky, Margaret Maron, and hundreds more have explored and developed
the crime novel since Edgar Allan Poe.
What books are on your nightstand right now?
I'm reading three
books at the moment. I'm reading PASSAGE TO JUNEAU by Jonathan Raban, a
nonfiction book about sailing from Seattle to Alaska, and one of the most
fascinating books I've yet encountered about the ocean, Indians, sailing, and
history. I'm alternating this with one of my regular efforts to get through a
classic, which today is SWANN'S WAY by Proust. I'm hoping I won't peter out
this time. And third is a mystery for which I'm a beta reader, the fourth in a
series set on Beacon Hill. I've loved the first three, so I'm confident I'll
love this one too, but I'm reading it to find flaws or weaknesses, which is
different from reading for pleasure. The mss is by Kathleen Valentine, whose
blog link is given below.
If you were to mentor a new writer, what would
you tell her about the writing business?
This kind of question usually elicits standard
responses--persevere no matter what, write what you know (or what you love),
focus on craft, and the like. All of these are worthwhile, but anyone can give
this advice. I have mentored several writers over the years. In my view,
mentoring means more than having a casual conversation about writing, and there
is no one word of advice I would tell every beginning writer. But each writer
comes to a point where she or he isn't sure about how to move ahead. I don't
have the answer either, but I have a better sense of how to find it. I know
what questions to ask.
To answer in a way that is useful for readers of this blog,
I think I would tell a beginning writer to write what you want to write, and
when you are uncertain how to move forward, look at other writers you admire,
talk to the ones you know or meet at events. Don't be afraid to ask for advice
and support. Writers, especially mystery writers, will stop and spare you a few
minutes of their time and more of their experience and wisdom.
As instructed, I'm
tagging Kathleen Valentine at www.kathleenvalentineblog.com
So that
participants' posts can be publicized through social media channels, SinC asks
that we tweet our link using the hashtag #SinC-up or #SinCBlogHop and include
@SINCnational (if you are on Twitter), or email webmaven@sistersincrime.org directly (if not on Twitter).
