For The Mothers

A Mother's Day wish for all the moms out there -- may you have just enough excitement in your life to keep things interesting, just enough safety to keep things secure, and just enough action to keep you from never being bored.

Oh, and per my spouse, plenty of diamonds and gold. But that's a personal preference, I'm sure.

All the best,
C.W. Walker

Villains Are People, Too

One of the earlier bits of advice I was given when I began writing was to remember that the villains have goals and dreams, too, and that the best villains don't necessarily see themselves as evil. Some advice tells you to put yourself in your villains' heads and see if they don't actually think they are the heroic ones.

I agree with this, to a certain extent, anyway. My villains certainly have their goals and dreams clearly defined -- usually better than my heroes do. But I can't say that my villains consider themselves good guys, or even think that their motivations are pure. Most of my villains know they aren't the good guys.

My villains tend to be practical. The "if I get rid of this and that person and move this money here, I rule the entire country" kind of folks. They know they aren't "good" but they're also unapologetic for being bad. It's just good business.

My heroes, by contrast, seem less methodical. Not that I write haphazard or accidental heroes. I write antiheroes more frequently than accidental ones. But my heroes are usually struggling with moral and life issues, whereas my villains are more content.

I'm pretty content in my life, with clearly defined goals and dreams. I wonder if that makes me a villain?

All the best,
C.W. Walker

Time...Not On My Side

Where has well over a month gone?

I realize I was busy. But I made the commitment to blog at least somewhat regularly and here it is, about six weeks after my last blog. I hardly call that 'regular'. And I hardly noticed the time passing, either.

I notice it when I'm writing. By that I mean I remain hyper-aware of the passage of time that my characters and storyline are going through. Has too much happened to fit into a regular day or night? Then it's time to alter something, either the flow, the pacing, or edit just a few lines to move day to night.

Is not enough happening? I'm aware of that, too. If it's not enough to fill the hours, then either something more must be added in or we need to start the next chapter with, "The next day..." as our first words.

But time in real life flows much faster than time in novels. An author can describe one moment for pages or one year in a sentence. But in the regular hum-drum world, time moves forward one day at a time.

Clearly, I need to look up and pay attention to it a little more often. But you see, it's so different in this story I'm working on...

All the best,
C.W. Walker

I Refuse

Only last blog I mentioned I was about to start a new novel, very dark themes, tons of research. I've still not started it.

I've started something else.

It's still dark -- I try, but I go for the darker themes, and that's just how it is. It's still going to need some research. But not what the other one requires.

I didn't make the choice consciously. I just couldn't write a damned thing on the book I intended to. Out of nowhere, this other idea said, "It's my time." And so it is.

So, I refuse to write something I don't want to at this time. (I'm able to say that right now. We'll see how long this resolution lasts.) I'm still writing an action thriller with at least three mysteries to solve. It's still got all the dark and terrible things people do to one another because they can. It's just a different one from the other one.

And, for now, that makes all the difference.

All the best,
C.W. Walker

Getting Started

I'm about to start a new novel. It's going to deal with dark themes (rape and murder of the serial kind). And I'm hesitant.

Honestly, I'm not hesitant about the subject matter. I'm hesitant because of the huge amount of research I'm going to have to do to get this story right. And not just the violent crime part.

I'm mixing in an amateur sleuth, a private investigator, two different officers in the police force who do very different things, and the corrections system. Parole and community service, too. As well as other, non-criminal aspects of both the heroes and the villains.

I know some of this. But not all of it. Not by a long shot. And so I stall.

Why? Some like research. Some love it. Me, I like it just fine when I have the time. But I want to get rolling. And research takes some of that precious time away from the writing. In the case of this story, it's going to take a lot of that time.

I know there are some who advocate just writing it and fixing it up later. However, I tried that early in my career and found it disastrous for me. Get it right the first time, that's my motto.

So, with that motto in mind, perhaps I'd better stop stalling and start reading. And then...then I can start writing.

All the best,
C.W. Walker

Have a Thrilling Holiday

Here's wishing all of you holidays filled with warmth and love, and just enough thrills and excitement to keep things interesting.

All the best,
C.W. Walker

(Proving to my spouse that I can indeed do a short, sparse blog post.)

Writing As Though My Life Depended On It

If the headline didn't tell you already, I'm an author. I write mysteries, suspense and action thrillers. Some set in present day, some in the future. So I suppose there's a little science fiction thrown into some of my writing as well.

At my agent's behest, I've joined the world of blogging. My take, at least my plan for my take, on what subjects I'll tackle is finding the mystery everywhere. Regular life can be dull -- I like to imagine what's really going on behind the closed doors and in people's minds.

I've been accused of having a dark worldview, and I suppose in some ways I do. But I believe that the human spirit wins out more often than not, and that everyone can make the choice to do right, make a difference, alter their life's path, if only they have the courage to do so.

I enjoy writing immensely -- it's one of the most satisfying things I've ever done, which is why I do it. My spouse will tell you I write like a fiend -- but I figure it's better to write like one than to be one. I have fiends in my novels, and while they did come out of my head, I'd rather leave them on the page and take them with me that way, than to live with them in my real life.

Of course, writing is my life, so perhaps I'm not as far removed from the fiends as I like to think. This blog may help me find that out. Hmmm...I wonder if this was such a wise idea?

Well, wise or not, here's hoping you enjoy my little part of the greater blog universe. Now, back to the thrill of taking an idea and making it come to life.

All the best,
C.W. Walker