 |
Bank Robber Aiming at Security Camera, Cleveland, Ohio, March 8, 1975, on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition “Crime Stories: Photography and Foul Play,”
Whether you write cozies, thrillers, police procedurals,
or suspense, the plot of a mystery most often revolves around murder. Suspicious
death is endlessly fascinating to our readers, and therefore to us as well.
Grisly and graphic or gentle and off-stage, it’s people killing people that
makes a good story. Right?
But what if murder suddenly comes too close to home? A
while back I was working on a cozy mystery in which someone was murdered in a
small, coastal town. Then it happened— a friend was killed near our beach house
in Ocean Park Washington. Suddenly I couldn’t face the words I’d so callously scribbled
on the page. Suddenly murder wasn’t fun anymore.
Thankfully I came out of it after some time and went on
to write many more stories involving violent crime. But that experience taught
me to be gentle. I will never know how my writing affects my readers. They may
be suffering in ways I cannot guess.
When my last mystery was published, I requested a review
from a well-known reviewer. She was happy to comply, but she asked first if
there were any references to suicide in my book. Her son had killed himself,
and this was someplace she didn’t want to go, even in fiction. I was thankful
she could be so candid about her trigger.
Recently more and more bloggers are posting “trigger
warnings” at the top of their posts so people with various issues know before
they read that the content may be disturbing. I love this. I’m reasonably tough
when it comes to reading material, but I appreciate knowing if the post will
contain anxiety, rape, violence, harming of animals, or such so I can make the
choice whether I’m up to it or not.
I write both cozy mysteries and sci-fantasy. Either way,
I want my stories to make people happy in spite of their morbid theme. In a
cozy mystery, the crime is a puzzle for the reader to solve while enjoying
interesting characters, attractive scenery, and a few mild chills along the
way. In my cat sci-fantasy, I shake it up a bit, but I still wish to leave the
reader with a sense of hope. Other writers write other stories for other
readers. For example, Stephen King made his millions pushing the horror
envelope. But no matter what you write, be thoughtful. I still see no excuse
for killing the pet.
 |
Showing posts with label triggers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label triggers. Show all posts
Sunday, March 15, 2020
WHEN A MYSTERY WRITER CAN’T FACE MURDER, by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Choosing Hope
This post is in a similar vein to that of fellow author and cat lover Mollie Hunt's post in July. (If you missed Molly's post you can read it HERE.) My posts for the last three months have covered #cockygate and book stuffing - two issues currently making big waves in the world of publishing. While both issues started in the Romance world, they quickly spread to other genres. (And sadly, romance is still an much maligned genre so issues have to spread to other genres in order to be taken seriously. But, that's a rant for another time.)
I've had to limit the amount of time spent checking on the latest developments in both areas. Why? Because it depresses me. For me, both reading and writing are for a love of words and stories. To see words and stories sullied by people who enter the publishing arena just to make money, makes me want to cry. I have a hard time calling these people writers because so many utilize the services of ghostwriters; the stories they capitalize own aren't even their own. I don't understand the mindset of those who look at publishing strictly as a way to pad their bank accounts instead of as a way to share the stories of their hearts. And, when these people begin actively working to remove their competition... Well, I just feel like throwing in the towel. Why am I even trying to tell my stories when people with much deeper pockets than me are working to suppress me and others like me?
As someone who has dealt with major anxiety issues in my life, I have learned that it is easy for current events to trigger my anxieties and the best way to combat the problem is to remove those triggers. So, while it's important for me to stay informed, I can do so by checking the latest information once or twice a week, not multiple times a day.
Doctors report an increase in the numbers of cases of anxiety and depression. I firmly believe that, in part, it is a direct result of the never-ending negativity that has become so pervasive in our culture. All you have to do is turn on the television and the news media is more than happy to beat you over the head with how horrible the world is and how everyone in it is out to take advantage of you. Yes, terrible things happen every day, but so do wonderful things. As for people, I still believe that there are far more good, kind people in the world than there are evil.
 |
| Image courtesy of Depositphotos.com |
I refuse to be a part of the problem. I choose hope. I choose to use my voice, as small as it is, to spread love, joy, and laughter. I write stories about love, friendship, and fighting to overcome the bad in order to find the good. On my Facebook back, I share stories about people (and animals) doing their part to make the world a better place. It may not be much but it's what I believe I am called to do. I hope you'll join me.
How do you spread joy?
Sign up for my
newsletter here: http://madmimi.com/signups/112968/join
Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/isabellanorse
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)