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Interview with Donna Sundblad Archived Articles 06/2005 Marilyn Peake Hooked by The Fisherman's Son Trilogy 05/2005 Lea Schizas Schizas Follows Her Heart to the Rock of Realm 12/2004 Don Hurst UKOO ~ Hurt's Dream Come True 08/2004 Nikki Leigh Leigh Reaches Her Dream in Misty Cove 06/2004 Betty Kreier-Lubinski A Glimpse into Other People's Lives 04/2004 Pat Dennis Mirth, Mystery and Moxie |
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INTERVIEWS
an interview with Earl Staggs
by Donna Sundblad
Award winning author Earl Staggs keeps readers turning the page in his first mystery novel, Memory of a Murder, published by Quiet Storm Publishing. His trek as a published writer began back in January 1998. "[…] I received my very first acceptance letter from The Cozy Detective Mystery Magazine. It said my short story Room Six, would appear in their Spring issue." The good news shot his insecurities in the foot and sent them limping. "The confidence that I could actually do this writing thing rose several levels. […] Nothing provides […] validation like a letter of acceptance."
On the other side, Staggs knows the pain of rejections. He says "[…] no matter how long we write, rejections still sting." He also knows the frustration of writer's block. "[…] when we hit that brick wall and the right words refuse to appear, there's a feeling of discouragement and thoughts of quitting." What's the elixir that keeps him going? Earl keeps two quotes handy to pull him through. Each holds a truth that worms to the core of the problem.
Quotes that Motivate
"One is, 'I hate writing, but I love having written.' It reminds me of that incomparable feeling of seeing something I've written actually appear in print." That reminder prods him to keep at it no matter what, if he hopes to ever feel that specific euphoria again.
The second quote initially brings a smile, but leaves one pondering the lingering subtleties of a writer's true conundrum. "[…] 'If you CAN quit writing, you should.' I think writers who eventually reach a level of success may think about quitting on bad days, but can't. Writing is not just something they do. It's something they can't not do."
Earl lends his own practical advice to aspiring writers. "Whatever you write, make it better than the last thing you wrote. Unless you continuously work to improve your skill, you become stagnant. . .and so does your writing."
Love of the Creation Process
In his stories, Earl admits he loves creating different characters in diverse settings and writing in different voices. He embraces the challenge to shift tone and pace, create changes in mood and ambiance, as well as different degrees of violence and humor in his writing. "I may write about a female sheriff in a small rural town, a burned out PI in a large city, or a hit man who travels the world. If the story is going to work, I have to write in the appropriate voice […]." To add to the diversity, he adds, "[…] I write in both first and third person and in […] different sub-genres of mystery from cozy to hardboiled and somewhere in between […]."
Earl's free-style approach to developing stories gives his characters the power to wander from his intended direction. "I've tried outlining and other types of planning […], but I couldn't stick to them more than a page or two. By that time, the characters have more or less taken over and the plot seems determined to travel along it's own path."
"It's not always easy," he admits, "sometimes stories run into a dead end. When that happens, I have to back up and detour the plot along another path. Or I have to change a character in some way to make the plot work."
Memory of a Murder
In his mystery thriller Memory of a Murder, Earl says he wrote the kind of book he likes to read. "My reading preference runs toward whodunnits with enough plot twists and turns to keep me guessing, and I like suspense and action. That's the book I wanted to write."
In Memory of a Murder, Earl's Private Eye protagonist is a bit different. "He's a psychic whose special abilities help him solve cases. He is patterned after a number of real-life psychics who assist law enforcement in crime solving." Like real-life psychics, Adam Kingston's psychic images offer quick, puzzling flashes that take a while to figure out as the mystery unfolds. It adds to the suspense, and the process keeps the pages turning.
What's Next
What's next for this whodunnit master? "That would be writing a sequel to Memory of a Murder.. My contract [with Quiet Storm Publishing] is for three books […]."
Writers are often asked where they get their ideas. Earl's answer is, "There are story ideas everywhere if we keep our imaginations tuned in. We see situations on TV, in newspapers, and in our daily interaction with the rest of the human race. We can take almost any situation, shift our imaginations into "what if" mode, and come up with a story."
At the end of the day, Earl watches TV to clear his head of whatever project he's working on so he can sleep. "I enjoy true crime stories featured on several of the networks, particularly the ones involving cold cases. Do I pick up story ideas from them? You betcha."
How does he stay motivated? "When I feel myself slipping away, I go back and read something I've written before and am especially proud of, something that gave me that wonderful feeling of having done something that turned out right." The reminder puts him back in the writer's seat and encourages him to keep writing.
Networking
Earl recognizes the importance of interacting with other writers, too. He has belonged to a writer's group of one kind or another ever since he started writing. His current group meets once a month in Richardson, Texas, about an hour from where he lives. This group emails submissions to each other prior to meetings, and members come prepared to offer critiques. "I think of the group as a sampling of the eventual readers […], and the feedback is invaluable […].
"If what I've written doesn't work for a group of my peers, I know I still have work to do […]."
He also feels the time he spent as Editor of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine and as President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society were beneficial to his writing career.
"We need to network, […]research, and […] keep abreast of the markets, but we need to keep a disciplined balance of how we spend our time." Earl admits it's easy to get caught up wasting writing time.
Time Management
"Oh, yes, those time gobblers […]. Email. Web surfing. Email. Free Cell. Email. Did I mention email?"
He does qualify, however, that email is not entirely a waste of time. "Networking via email is important for several reasons. We need to keep up on markets, […] which agents and publishers are open to submissions, [and] who has published what […]. Web surfing, of course, is valuable for research, checking guidelines of market publications, and to read what's been published by online magazines.
"And Free Cell? Well, uh, it takes concentration and focus, just like writing, so it's, uh, a good mental exercise for writers. Yes. I like that. Let's go with that."
"Seriously, these activities are like chocolate: not harmful in moderation, but bad if we over-indulge. And if anyone reading this has mastered the discipline of not wasting precious writing time, please write me."