Growing a Short Story to a Novel

 

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Last fall I wrote a historical mystery short story and showed the first four pages to a local Writer-in-Residence. The WIR's main advice was to turn the story into a novel. I had no clue how I'd do this and she didn't offer suggestions, but I was intrigued by the idea. 

Then this spring BWL decided to publish a collection of Canadian Historical Mysteries. They assigned thirteen of their authors to write a novel set in a specific Canadian province or territory. The collection will have twelve books -- British Columbia is co-authored and Nunavut/Northwest Territories will be reunited in one of the books. I'm delighted to represent my home province of Alberta. 

BWL asked us to provide a working title and novel blurb, which they'll publish in a free guidebook as advance promotion. This got me mulling ways to expand my short story, which was set in Calgary during the 1918 influenza pandemic and told through the viewpoint of a police detective. The WIR's other suggestion was to change the protagonist to a character who was present at the victim's death, to make that aspect of the story more immediate. One of the suspects appealed to me as a point-of-view narrator, but if I let readers enter his thoughts I'd lose him as a suspect. Also, while I like experimenting with male protagonists in short stories, I prefer to write female protagonists for novel-length works. This led to my idea for a new character and protagonist, the sister of that suspect. She will be motivated to solve the crime to know if her brother or someone close to him is guilty of murder. 

I plan to keep my detective as a secondary narrator. His investigations and personal story will add many pages to the book. In the short story, he had a romantic interest in a co-worker. For the novel I'll shift his interest to my heroine to enhance their relationship. She's married, but her husband has been overseas for four years, fighting in The Great War, and she's changed during that time. Her feelings for the detective will create lots of conflict for them both. 

My other idea is to create a new suspect for this longer story; a man who opposes the war. The victim and my heroine's brother are injured veterans, who received early discharges. WWI officially ended November 11, 1918, in the middle of the second and deadliest wave of the influenza pandemic, but most of the Canadian troops didn't return until the following spring. I'd like to make the war more present in the novel than it was in the short story, from the perspectives of those on the home front. 

I'm satisfied these additions and changes will be enough to expand my 4,500 word short story to a 75,000 word novel, the median length of the books in the collection. More importantly, I'm eager to write the larger story to develop these characters and find out what happens to them in the new version. 

In effect, the short story is my novel outline. I'm sure much will change in the process of writing the book. Even whodunnit and why the person done it and how he or she done it are up for grabs. So if you read the short story, don't worry about spoilers.  After I showed the WIR those first pages, the short story was accepted for publication. It appears in the recently released Cold Canadian Crime Anthology, available on Amazon, Kobo, and other sites.

 

A new title will be one definite change for the novel. My short story title "A Deadly Flu" was a wink at my first novel, A Deadly Fall. Two similar novel titles would create confusion. 

Here's the cover for the Canadian Historical Mysteries guidebook, which you will soon be able to download for free to read the twelve novel descriptions. 

                For updates, check out the BWL Canadian Historical Mysteries Page

   

 

Dashiell Hammett and the Randomness of Life-Changing Events, by Karla Stover

 

Visit Karla Stover's BWL author page to order books

In the Maltese Falcon, detective Sam Spade tells Bridgid O'Shaughnessy about Charles Flitcraft, a Tacoma, WA. real estate man. Flitcraft was married, had two sons, and lived in the suburbs, and enjoyed playing golf. One day in 1922, as he left his office for lunch, he passed a construction site from which abeam fell. It hit the sidewalk and sent a piece of concrete into the air and grazed Flitcraft's cheek. The dazed man felt he had cheated a random, accidental death, and that in "sensibly ordering his life" he was actually out of step with it. That afternoon, he disappeared.

Five years later, when Hammett was working for a detective agency, Mrs. Flitcraft went to the office and told him someone who looked a lot like her husband had been seen in Spokane and was living under the name Charles Pearce. Sure enough, an investigation showed that Pearce and Flitcraft were one and the same. Pearce said he had a new wife and son, owned an automobile dealership, lived in the suburbs and played golf.

What fascinated Hammett was the randomness of live-changing events. Flitcraft had adjusted to a falling beam and when no more fell he adjusted to that, too.

The Flitcraft story is now considered a parable and is the most critically discussed part of any of Hammett's works.

Researchers have found it hard to dig up information about Dashiell Hammett's life because the terminally ill, constantly broke, alcoholic recluse, and lover of  playwright /  author Lillian Hellman never saved any personal papers. Most of their sources come from letters he wrote to others. The closest he came to writing an autobiography was a piece he started but never finished called Tulip. In it, the protagonist is a former writer who admits his personal life was full of random incidents.

It is believed Hammett worked for the Pinkerton Agency in Baltimore. He said he had been involved in a Montana miner's strike. From there, he went into the army, then it was back to the Pinkerton Agency, this time in the Spokane, WA office. However, he was only there for six months, having comedown with tuberculosis. Hammett ended up in the Cushman Hospital adjacent to Tacoma. There, along with other patients, he played poker, drank, took boat trips on Commencement Bay,, ate out, roamed around downtown Tacoma, and flirted with nurses, one of who he married. He lived apart from his family when the TB flared up but supported them when he could. He wrote one Thin Man book, some short stories featuring Sam Spade, some movie scripts, a comic strip called Secret Agent X-9, and some short stories in which he revisited Puget Sound.

In 1921, all of Spokane's real estate men listed in 1919 had moved onto other things, and one man Mr. George L. Darley had disappeared. There was, however, a Mr. Frank Darley living a few blocks away from Dashiell Hammett.

Stories Behind Names – By Barbara Baker

 

Baker, Barbara - BWL Publishing Inc. (bookswelove.net)

Stories Behind Names – By Barbara Baker

Naming characters is like naming children and there are so many ways to select the right one: Google, TV shows, Apps which rank names by popularity - the list is endless.

But in 1958, when I popped out, those options didn’t exist. I was Mom and Dad’s second child, and they were sure I would be Johanne Wilhelm. They didn’t even have a girl name selected. In fact, when the nurse told Dad I was an 8 lb 12 oz healthy girl his response was, “Are you sure? She’s supposed to be a boy.”

The nurse assured him I was a girl.

What a dilemma. Back then, babies couldn’t leave the hospital till they were named so Mom asked the nurse if she had any suggestions.

After thinking about it for a while the nurse said, “How about Barbara, Barbara Ann. Like Barbara Ann Scott, the Olympic figure skater who won the gold medal for Canada.”

            “Barbara,” Mom nodded. “Barbara Ann. Ja, das ist schön.”

Growing up, I never expected to have an actual connection with the Barbara Ann Scott.

            Fast forward to 2010 when I contacted her. I knew she was running a segment of the Winter Olympic Torch Relay in Ottawa and I would be running the flame from that same torch in Drumheller, Alberta. Coincidence? Stars aligned? Luck? Whatever, I felt it was time to tell her how I got to share her name and, of course, share the excitement of our torch relays.

Being who she was, I knew I couldn’t send an email or a typed letter. This had to be handwritten. With my favourite pen, I used my best cursive writing skills; o’s round as bubbles, everything slanted the same direction and equal spaces between each word. It had to be perfect. When I finished, I thanked her for listening, folded it into three equal parts and sealed it away with a stamp stuck square in the corner.

Neat. Proper. Appropriate.

Weeks later the red light was blinking on my answering machine. I tapped the button, and a lively, clear voice filled the room. I recognized her right away. It was Barbara Ann Scott. She said she hoped she had the correct number to leave a message for Barbara Baker.

“Yes, you do!” I danced a jig right in front of the phone while I listened to her message.

 

She thanked me for the letter and told me she too was thrilled to run the Olympic Torch. She closed off with well wishes and said good-bye.

 

I played the message a hundred times. I phoned and emailed all my friends to share the news.  How gracious of her to take the time out of her day and call me. And how lucky am I that Mom’s nurse picked a great name.

How I named Jillian, my main character in SUMMER OF LIES, is a mystery to me. I didn’t know a Jillian. I didn’t use Google. None of my kid’s friends were named Jillian. So how did I pick it? I have no idea. The name jumped on the page and stuck and now I can’t imagine calling her anything else.

How did you get your name? How do you name your characters?

Summer of Lies: Baker, Barbara:9780228615774: Books - Amazon.ca

Summer of Lies - YouTube

Smashwords – About Barbara Baker, author of 'Summer of Lies'

Barbara Wackerle Baker | Facebook

Barbara Wackerle Baker (@bbaker.write)

If I Die, Please Delete My Google Search History by Vanessa C. Hawkins

 

 Vanessa Hawkins Author Page

      So summer has sprung and I have been up to my eyeballs in projects. As I said last month, I won second place in a long fiction competition, and was invited to read aloud at a local University. It was fun. Many eyerolls were had when I finished, because thanks to liquid courage, I attempted to read a smexy passage with all the ardour that the piece required. 

hur hur!

But I wasn't fazed! In fact, I have been told on multiple occassions that I am pretty good when it comes to reading aloud? Why? Well, because frankly I don't give a *$5^%. There! I said it--kinda--I just don't care. Now my husband, who sat in the front row to listen to me read? Well, he might have cared a little, but all in all it was fun to stand in front of everyone, get an award and a cheque, then read a bunch of *pron* to a crowd of people I don't know.   

I honestly gotta give it to the judges though. They had good taste! And no, of course I'm not biased.

In other news--and before I get in trouble with the moderators for being too risque--I have finally finished penning another novel! Whoot. Together, my co-author and I have finally finished the first draft of Ballroom Riot 2--title pending. It feels good to finish a work in progress...

I should have used this gif earlier...

Now I am on to editing, and then after that, I shall be working on a new project with several other writers at Books We Love Publishing. I won't say too much about it right now, just because I haven't had a whole ton of time to think on it, but it's a mystery that takes place in PEI.

And also, I am going to PEI this summer! Whoot! How fortuitous. I shall spend all my time at libraries and in the fields sniffing the potatoes, and buried beneath the red, sandy beaches getting a feel for my island neighbours! 

and also paying to leave :/

 It will be exciting. Though my timeline to finish is a few years time, and I have a few other projects I hope to conclude before then, I will make sure I stick to a plan and deliever before HBO comes out with any shows based on my books. 

Get it? Because it will never happen... *cries* T_T

But then again... neither will Winds of Winter, right George?

Lies. All lies...

A writer's hobby by J. S. Marlo

  

Seasoned Hearts

"Love & Sacrifice #1"

is now available  

click here 

 

 

The Red Quilt 

"a sweet & uplifting holiday story"

click here 

  

J. S. Marlo's BWL Books

I have many hobbies, which I indulge between books or when I need to think about a story. One of them is woodworking.

We had a magnificent poplar in our backyard. When Hubby planted the little twig twenty-five years, we never expected it would grow three times the height of our house, but it did. Some of its leaves were bigger than my hand with my fingers outstretched. In the fall, we raked forever, to the delight of my little granddaughter who loved jumping in the huge pile. We filled many orange bags with them, then with a black marker, I drew Jack O'Lantern on them. Easy Halloween decorations!

Unfortunately, the tree got sick and we had to cut it down at the end of last summer before it fell on the roof.  We were left with a giant hole and huge logs in the backyard. We turned the hole into a gravel circle, then bought a portable fire pit. We kept all the wood. When Hubby started chopping it, it occurred to me I could turn some of the bigger logs into stools to put around the fire pit.

I peeled the bark, sanded the logs, carved a design on them, then stained and treated them. For months, my garage smelled like cut wood. Here they are: Owl, Wolf, Bear, Squirrel, and Rabbit. My granddaughter decided the Owl was hers LOL

I don't know how long the stools will last, but hopefully, they will withstand many Canadian winters. In the meantime, they add charm to the backyard -- and they were fun to make.

Stay safe!

JS

 

 

J. S. Marlo's Website