Gail Bowen - Sleuth: Gail Bowen On Writing Mysteries

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR Sleuth

Do not miss this rare opportunity to slide behind the glossy book jacket and sneak a peek between the pages, where one of Canadas foremost masters of mystery shares her secrets. Gail Bowen has been at the top of the mystery writing game for decades. With seeming effortlessness she blurs the boundary between writing a crackling good whodunit and elegant storytelling. Bowens characters jump off the page with a realism that makes it seem as if they are the cast of a biography rather than works of fiction. Bowen knows how to build suspense with the same electrical intensity as a prairie howler building force on a dark, menacing horizon. How does she do it? Find out within the pages of Sleuth , a book with something for everyone, from newbie writer to practiced professional, from established mystery fan to beginning reader. With great insight, humour, unparalleled experience and interspersed with insights from Philo of Alexandra to Stephen King, Bowen delivers a master class. No one makes murder look so easy. anthony bidulka, winner of the lambda literary award for best mens mystery

Books on how to write fiction tend toward two extremes: either they present a formula that is about as much fun as filling out an insurance form, or they are so woo-woo vague as to be no use at all. But Gail Bowens Sleuth informative, personal, and encouragingis an excellent hands-on guide for anyone who wants to write a whodunit. As usual, Bowen comes up with a thoroughly engaging narratoronly this time its her charming (and entirely too modest) self. giles blunt, author of the john cardinal mysteries

A masterful mix of accumulated wisdom and practical writing tips. barbara fradkin, two-time winner of the arthur ellis award for best novel

Elegant, informative and deeply humane, Gail Bowens Sleuth is a wonderfully insightful guide into the art of not only crime-writing, but the art of fiction itself. ausma zehanat khan, author of The Unquiet Dead

In her primer Sleuth , Gail Bowen has taken the mystery out of writing mysteries, and in her insightful and humorous and compendious way (she cleverly cites Elmore Leonard, Richard Price and others) Gail actually describes the building blocks that form the basis of any novel, mystery or not. I expect this book will become a standard text for writing classes of all levels. ian hamilton, author of the ava lee novels

Psst! Want to write a wildly successful mystery novel? Buy and read Gail Bowens Sleuth . You couldnt be in better hands. alan bradley, New York Times bestselling author of the flavia de luce series

2018 Gail Bowen

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any meansgraphic, electronic, or mechanicalwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or placement in information storage and retrieval systems of any sort shall be directed in writing to Access Copyright.

Printed and bound in Canada at Marquis. The text of this book is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with earth-friendly vegetable-based inks.

Cover and text design: Duncan Campbell, University of Regina Press

Copy editor: Dallas Harrison

Proofreader: Kristine Douaud

Cover art: Vintage engraving of a magnifying glass isolated on white Can Stock Photo / HypnoCreative

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Bowen, Gail, 1942-, author Sleuth : Gail Bowen on writing mysteries.

Includes bibliographical references. Issued in print and electronic formats. isbn 978-0-88977-524-4 (softcover). isbn 978-0-88977-525-1 (pdf)isbn 978-0-88977-526-8 ( html )

1. Detective and mystery storiesAuthorship. I. Title. II. Title: Gail Bowen on writing mysteries.

PN3377.5.D4B69 2018 808.3872 C2017-907457-1

U niversity of Regina Press, University of Regina Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, s4s 0a2 tel: (306) 585-4758 fax: (306) 585-4699 web: www.uofrpress.ca

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. / Nous reconnaissons lappui financier du gouvernement du Canada. This publication was made possible with support from Creative Saskatchewans Creative Industries Production Grant Program.

Contents

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Writers on Writing

The Writers on Writing book series offers readers witty, conversational reflections on a wide range of craft-related topics, as well as practical advice for writers and the writing life at any level. The books are accessible and handy, yet they dont shy away from the challenges of writing. Theyll become your friends. Think sitting down in a coffee shop in conversation with a smart, friendly, veteran author. Part inspiration, part advice, part anecdotetotal oxygen after all those stuffy writing textbooks.

Jeanette Lynes, Series Editor

for more information on the writers on writing series, contact:

University of Regina Press

3737 Wascana Parkway

Regina SK S4S 0A2

uofrpress@uregina.ca

www.uofrpress.ca

Chapter 1

The Push toward Writing

I began writing when I was forty-three. I mention this because a surprising number of people believe that, if they havent written something significant by the time theyre forty, its game over. Luckily for us all, the muscles required for writing are not the same as the muscles required for ballet. By the time youre forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, or ninety plus, the well is primed. You have something to offer that no one else does, so if you have always longed to write this is the time to get started because this is the time you have.

I became a writer by chance. My youngest sons godfather, Ron Marken, a professor of English at the University of Saskatchewan, was editing a book titled An Easterners Guide to Western Canada/A Westerners Guide to Eastern Canada. The book was what I always think of as an airport bookthe kind of book you buy at the airport kiosk and read and leave on the plane. The premise was fun. Writers from western Canada were to write humorous accounts of how effete easterners could survive out here in the wild and woolly west, and writers from eastern Canada would respond with humorous accounts of how we bumpkin westerners could survive in the rarefied atmosphere of Toronto or Montreal.

That was a busy time in my life. My husband and I had three kids, two dogs, and an old house crumbling around our ears. I was an assistant professor of English at the university, and Ted was a speechwriter for the premier of our province. It was a typical frantic Sunday afternoon when Ron called and asked me for help. After describing the book, he said the person who had submitted the entry for Saskatchewan had written something poetic, elegiac, and utterly unsuitable for a book supposed to be amusing and a little bawdy. The writer refused to rewrite the piece, and Rons deadline for getting the westerners half of the book to the publisher was the following Wednesday. He asked me if I could write something.