Advantages of Spreadsheets
This is going to be fairly short and sweet. Concentrate on the word ORGANISE in that pyramid.
I am not an organized writer. I’m a pantster. I wing my way through my books and that has served me very well while writing romance. Okay, there have been moments when I’ve completely forgotten my heroine’s name, the colour of her eyes and how old she is. Ditto the hero. And I do sometimes have to go back and check when I use the same location and characters from previous books.
But the books are fairly short and all of the action is centred on the two main characters. There have been no disasters – at least none that have been brought to my attention. I did once spell a Welsh word incorrectly but I’ve fixed that in a recent re-release.
Moving on to a crime series all that changed.
First, it’s crime so you need suspects – that means more characters.
Second, it’s a series, so you have continuing characters. Friends, neighbours, family, an entire small town with shops, streets, churches all of which need names. And you need spreadsheets to keep track of them. (I’ve tried index cards but I work better on a keyboard).
You need spreadsheets not just to keep track of who runs The Buttery, the corner shop, and the name of the receptionist at The Queen’s Head. You need it so that you don’t repeat names. In Murder Among the Roses there was a moment when I realised that I had three minor characters called Steve. It took my editor to point out the Molly, Polly, Olly debacle.
I’m still not the most organized writer in the world – I need to grow up and learn to plot – but these days the first think I do when I start a new book is set up a spreadsheet and I add each character as they appear.
Some are major and are in every book and I copy and paste those from my main spreadsheet. My Maybridge bible.
This one has all the people and all the places broken down into groups. The family, friends, the police, the businesses, the places.
The other thing I do when I start a new book is spend a little time creating names for the kind of characters in various age groups who are likely to turn up. The name may not stick – names are somehow linked to character - but it means I don’t have to stop and think up a suitable name – or make the mistake of using a similar name that would confuse the reader.
Spreadsheets. Learn to love them!
Liz Fieding
Liz Fielding has a new book out:
MEET ABBY FINCH. SHE’S A BUSY MUM OF THREE, AN EXPERT GARDENER AND THE STAR OF YOUR NEW FAVOURITE COZY MURDER MYSTERY.
One part jealousy. Two parts rage. Somewhere in Abby’s sleepy little village, the perfect murder is brewing . . .
Abby enters the Maybridge Flower Show, never dreaming for one moment that she’ll win the gold. Or an invitation to appear on telly, alongside gardening legend Daisy Dashwood!
Some people say Daisy’s a tiresome diva. But starry-eyed Abby can’t wait for the cameras to start rolling. Until . . .
Daisy staggers out on stage. Only to collapse at Abby’s feet.
Her demise might seem like a tragic accident — resulting from a cocktail of booze and hay-fever medicine.
But Abby’s not so sure. She starts digging, to uncover shifty suspects at every turn. From snarky co-stars to a toy-boy lover, they all had reason to want Daisy dead and gone.
And that’s not the only puzzle playing on Abby’s mind . . .
In life, Daisy went nowhere without her trusty caddy of healing teas. Now it’s vanished.
What if someone’s been tampering with Daisy’s favourite cuppa?
Buy on:
Amazon Kindle Amazon UK Amazon Aust
Multiple Giveaway Alert!
Kindle copy of Murder Among the Roses
Kindle copy of Murder Under the Mistletoe
Kindle copy of Murder in Bloom
Audio codes for Murder Among the Roses & Murder Under the Mistletoe
Let us know in the comments which giveaway would you like to go in for!
