My Agenda for Writing Mystery Novels by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

 

https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/illegally-dead

https://www.amazon.ca/Illegally-Dead-Joan-Yarmey/dp/1773626655

https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/the-only-shadow-in-the-house

https://www.amazon.ca/Only-Shadow-House-Travelling-Detective-ebook/dp/B075TFC2B1

https://www.bookswelove.com/shop/p/whistlers-murder

https://www.amazon.ca/Whistlers-Murder-Joan-Yarmey/dp/1773627554

Authors have different ways of writing their novels. Some outline each chapter. Others wing it just going where their characters take them. Some start with a plot and add characters and some have characters around whom they build a story. A few take an event or an idea and build on it putting in characters and settings that go with it.

     I have never worked with a solid outline, or arc as it is sometimes called, for my novels, whether they are mystery, historical, or young adult. And this is mainly because I find that my characters seldom end up the way I first pictured them and the plot never takes the route I thought it would. I do start the story with a character in his/her everyday life so the reader can get to know them then I put in the trigger or problem that is out of the control of my main character or that starts the mystery. This puts the main character on his/her quest for a solution.

     I do have scenes pictured where characters are going to have a certain conversation or be at a certain place but unexpected conversations or character twists surface as I am writing the story. Some of these are surprises or mishaps or glitches that get in the way of my character’s quest. I strive not to make these predictable, nor so far out that they don’t make sense to the story. They should leave the reader with the thought that they should have figured that would have happen. Personally, I find that it is no fun to read a book in which you can foresee where the story line is headed and what is going to happen.

     If I get writer’s block or get to the end of an event and not really know what to write next, then I pick up one of the encounters that I know a character is going to have and I write that. Sometimes I will have two or three of them waiting to be put into the manuscript where they are needed.

     For the climax my character goes through the action of resolving the problem or solving the mystery. This has to be fast paced and sometimes at risk to my character. By this time the reader should be rooting for the main character and wanting him/her to succeed without injury. Hopefully, too, this is where the surprise comes in, where the reader goes. “Wow, I didn’t see that coming." or "I never thought it would be that person.”

     I have even been surprised or saddened or happy by the ending of my books. When I was nearing the end of writing one of 'The Only Shadow in the House', I still hadn’t figured out which of two characters had done the killing. Suddenly, a different character put up their hand and said, “I did it and this is why.” I was surprised but realized that it made total sense.

     I believe that if my emotions are rocked by the ending so, too, should those of the readers. When the book was published I had readers tell me that they had also fluctuated between the same two characters as I had and they, too, had been surprised by who was actually guilty. Something a mystery writer is always happy to hear.

My Dream Job by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

 

https://books2read.com/West-to-the-Bay-Yarmey

 

https://books2read.com/West-to-Grande-Portage-V2

https://bwlpublishing.ca/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

My Dream Job

My desire to travel goes back to when I was in high school. There were so many places and things I wanted to see in the world but I had no idea what job would pay me enough to be able to travel around the world. Then I decided the only way I could see all the countries and their cities, historic sites and scenery was to become a stewardess. Just that name should tell you how many years ago that was.

     To help ensure that I would have a better stay in the places I visited, I studied French, German, and Russian so I would know some other languages for when I landed and maybe stayed over in another country. In my last year in high school a job show was held at my high school and I went to talk with the representative from an airline that had a booth there. She was dressed in her uniform and was very nice.

     I explained that I wanted to be a stewardess and asked for information. She told me that I had to be a certain height and weight, which I was. She said that all stewardesses had to wear a girdle even though their figures might be perfect. I was okay with that. Then she told me that anyone who wore glasses could not be a stewardess. I was devastated, since I needed prescription glasses but seldom wore them. I went to an optometrist to get contact lenses. This was when they were still made of hard material and my eyes could not adjust to them.

     So I gave up my dream of being a stewardess.

     I married after graduation and had wonderful children who have given me wonderful grandchildren. After taking some courses I became a writer, starting out with one article and then adding some historical and travel articles. I attended a course on finding a publisher and spoke with the publisher afterwards about an idea I had. He invited me to visit him at his office which I did and we decided I would write two travel books on the province of Alberta. I travelled extensively through Alberta and was amazed at the scenery, history, and sites in my home province. When those books were a success, I did the same in British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska. These I called my backroads series.

     I began my fiction writing career with mystery novels. I gave my main female character the parttime job of being a travel writer. She always gets involved in some sort of mystery when she is travelling and researching articles for magazines. I called the three novels The Travelling Detective Mystery Series. I hope to one day write a fourth in the series. 

     I belong to a dragon boat race team and I have taken part in international festivals in Caloundra, Queensland, Australia (spent four week visiting the sites of Queensland and New South Wales then a week in Fiji), Sarasota, Florida, USA, (my husband and I travelled through two provinces and nineteen states on our way there and back home) and Florence, Italy (I did two bus tours, one cruise, and rode trains and stayed in hostels while visiting twenty countries.) I’ve also been to Japan and China with my sister.

     So not realizing my desire to become a stewardess, or flight attendant as they are called today, has not stopped me from doing the travelling I dreamed of when I was younger.