There was a good article in the Wall Street Journal a couple months back about aging detectives in long-running mystery novels. Since it can take years to write a book, find a publisher, and see the dawning of publication day, how does an author handle the passage of time in a character's life?Unless one is Michael Connolly and can produce two books a year, keeping up with technology and the calendar is a challenge. I found that to be so while I was writing Death Over Easy. Granted, it was my first murder mystery and took longer to write than expected. Still, between the time I started and wrote The End, I had to get Emma Trace texting, taking pics on her cell phone, Tweeting, switching from the six o'clock news to getting news on her computer, and burning evidence to a disk. Companies went out of business while I wrote. New words entered the lexicon. But it was easy for me to manage, because all the action took place in the week before Emma's 40th birthday. That was a constant.
In the WSJ article, some authors talk about being surprised by their own success and wish they'd started their detectives at age 30 instead of 40. Now these sleuths have creaky knees and arthritis. Patricia Cornwell stopped aging Dr. Kay Scarpetta once she reached 50. Sue Grafton's solution was to age her character slowly, adding just eight years to Kinsey Milhone's life over the life of the series.
I've been thinking about dialing back Emma back to 35, or maybe 32, for her first adventure. It would mean changing the ages of several other characters and the dates of historical events, but it would be doable. I'd feel sad moving her birth forward from the year Van Morrison released "Moondance," but maybe I could finagle things to keep the connection.
My next book, Death Under the Radar, takes place a mere four months later. I'd like to set the action soon after the first book, when Emma's learning to fly. I'd like to show some continuity and growth in her relationship with Tony. Can't skip it all and age her to some guess-point when the book may be published, which may be years from now. So maybe she'll be 32...and four months.
A slowly aging detective in a quickly changing world. Series writers, how have you solved this problem?
It's good to be back! Where I've been:
- plotting Death Under the Radar
- revising some short stories
- painting and installing new carpet
- enjoying daughter #1's wedding
- looking forward to daughter #2's wedding next summer
- missing you all!
10 comments:
Welcome Back!
Excited to hear you're working on the next in the series. :)
Thank you, Jama! Good to see you, too.
Welcome back! We've missed you, Toby. Next, I'm thrilled that you're planning a sequel for Emma.
Now, about your question: For my Hattie series for MG readers, I simply picked up from the point where I ended in the previous book. So I think your idea of four months is a great idea, and will keep Emma from aging too quickly. AND there is always the possibility of a prequel--right? Maybe Emma was a young sleuth--like the young Sherlock Holmes.
Clara, a prequel sounds like a great idea. I'm so hoping to establish this as a series. And I've pretty much decided to just have Emma age slowly. In historical fiction, you don't have to worry about loads of contemporary changes that your readers will notice. For books set in 2011+, you have to be careful about realistic references, i.e. Facebook, names of stores, and current events. It may be 2012 when I finish the next book, and Emma will still be 35, but the world will have changed around her, and I have to reflect that, not pretend it's still 2010-- the year I had in mind when writing the first book.
Glad to see you back, Toby! Good luck with #2!
Thanks, Marileta! Writing #2 seems the best way to detach myself from #1.
I remember wondering about this when I read all those Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys' mysteries as a kid. Then Hercule rarely seemed to age. I think JD Robb does a great job of aging slowly with her In Death series.
So true, Jemi. Those sleuths were eternally young, timeless, and changeless. I haven't read JD Robb but will check her out.
You had a busy summer!
And your topic is an interesting one...bc even YA writers worry their MCs are too old! :)
Thanks for stopping by my blog. *waves from Alaska*
Melodie, I never realized that about YA writers and their characters. It's something anyone has to think about if they're writing a series. So glad you came by The WA all the way from AK!
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