Ask the Experts guest writer and organizer of KIDS LOVE A MYSTERY WEEK, Janet Riehecky.

Subject: Childrens Writers Chat-JRiehecky

Author: Janet Riehecky

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Date: 2/18/2000

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Ask the Experts guest writer and organizer of KIDS LOVE A MYSTERY WEEK, Janet Riehecky.

What, when & where:

Tuesdays

9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT), Writers Workshop

Children's Writers chat - writers and illustrators of children's books meet for specific topics and special guest speakers, moderated by HOST WRTR WBABE & HOST WRTR CGaley, with HOST WRTR sUe & HOST WRTR Neely (Greeters).

***file disinfected using Anti-Virus 7.8***

<HTML>Childrens Writers Chat 2-15-00

Kids Love A Mystery

Guest: Janet Riehecky

WriterBabe: We are going into protocol now. When it's time for audience

participation,

WriterBabe: type ? for a question, ! for a comment, and wait your turn in

the queue to be called on.

WriterBabe: Type GA for Go Ahead (guests, too) when you've finished

speaking.

WriterBabe: Tonight I'm delighted to welcome as our guest writer and

organizer of KIDS LOVE A MYSTERY

WriterBabe: WEEK, Janet Riehecky.

WriterBabe: Hiya, Janet!

JRiehecky: Hi everyone!

WriterBabe: Before I forget--co-host Chuck Galey is allowed to pop in with

questions at will.

WriterBabe: Wave, Chuck.

WriterBabe: Oh, Chuck....

CGaley: Hey!

WriterBabe: There he is.

WriterBabe: Janet, would you like to tell us what KIDS LOVE A MYSTERY WEEK

is and then I'll hit you with

WriterBabe: some questions?

JRiehecky: "Kids Love A Mystery Week has existed for three years.

JRiehecky: It was started by Joan Lowery Nixon when she was president of

Mystery Writers of America.

JRiehecky: She ran it the first year with help from Barnes & Noble.

JRiehecky: The second year Barnes & Noble bowed out and Joan didn't have

time to run the program, so I

JRiehecky: got the chance to run it.

JRiehecky: We are hoping to encourage kids to read and write mysteries.

JRiehecky: We Sponsor events all over the country.

JRiehecky: Kids can sign up at a local bookstore, school, or library.

JRiehecky: Some people host reading programs. A kid gets an certificate from

Mystery Writers of America

JRiehecky: for reading one book and gets one ticket in a drawing for each

mystery book read.

JRiehecky: We had authors all over the country donated autographed books for

the prizes in the drawing.

JRiehecky: The writing program is similar. Kids write a story and everyone

get a certificate.

JRiehecky: The Stories are judged by a panel and the best stories win

autographed books.

JRiehecky: This year Carol Higgins Clark has agreed to be our Honorary

Chair--after all, she learned to

JRiehecky: love mysteries as a kid! GA

WriterBabe: A great program, Janet. I'm curious--why did B&N bow out?

JRiehecky: They said they didn't make enough money from having authors come

to the store for signings.

JRiehecky: They did great with big names but not so great with midlist

writers. GA

WriterBabe: That's a shame.

WriterBabe: This year I had the honor of chairing the YA panel of the Edgars

(the mystery/crime fiction

WriterBabe: awards).

JRiehecky: They also left me hanging for several months, thinking they were

going to do somethings.

WriterBabe: We got quite a few books, but felt that many of them were NOT

mysteries (or crime fiction).

WriterBabe: Janet, how do YOU define a mystery?

WriterBabe: GA

JRiehecky: I think there needs to be a crime to be solved and that there

must be a character who seeks

JRiehecky: to solve it. GA

WriterBabe: How major a part does the crime pay in the book? GA

JRiehecky: I think it should be the main plotline. If there's a secondary

story, such as a romance, it

JRiehecky: shouldn't overwhelm the detective work. Otherwise, it's a

romance, not a mystery.

JRiehecky: GA

WriterBabe: Our feelings exactly. But the publicists seem to be confused.

WriterBabe: I wonder if it's more difficult on a YA level to define a

mystery. Do you think it is? GA

JRiehecky: My books are intermediate readers, so I haven't tried a YA novel,

but I think the same

JRiehecky: standards should apply. GA

WriterBabe: I've asked Joan Lowery Nixon this question, and now I'm going to

ask you:

WriterBabe: why do kids who won't read other books read mysteries? GA

JRiehecky: I think it's several things. Mysteries and fantasy are about the

only places left where

JRiehecky: there is a clear-cut definition of right and wrong, good and bad.

JRiehecky: Most kids feel more secure knowing the boundaries. Also

curiosity sets in. They want to

JRiehecky: know the answer to the mystery. And usually the characters are

people you care about. GA

WriterBabe: Great answer.

WriterBabe: Someone said that mystery writers set the world to rights. It

sounds as though you agree wi

WriterBabe: Let's talk about your writing a bit.

WriterBabe: Which do you start with, character or plot, or does it vary? GA

JRiehecky: I start with a plot. I always know how it ends and work from

there. GA

WriterBabe: I've written some mysteries and find that working out those

jigsaw puzzles hurts my brain!

WriterBabe: Give me and everyone else some tips on organization. GA

JRiehecky: I keep a file of things--clues, incidents, even lines a character

might say--even if I don't

JRiehecky: know where they are going to fit in the story. When I get stuck

I always look at that list.

JRiehecky: An outline also helps. My outlines are vague, because my

characters usually take over and

JRiehecky: tell me what they're going to do next. I do think mysteries,

especially if you want the

JRiehecky: reader to be able to solve the crime also need to be well

organized. If you could see my

JRiehecky: office, though, you wouldn't think I knew anything at all about

organization. GA

WriterBabe: Great tips!

WriterBabe: Let's talk about those characters.

WriterBabe: There are many detectives out there and many gimmicks have been

used to create them.

WriterBabe: How can we create fresh characters? GA

JRiehecky: I think it helps to model characters after real people. Real

people do and say unexpected

JRiehecky: things all the time. Of course, you have to be careful about

libel.

JRiehecky: GA

WriterBabe: LOL

WriterBabe: A few more questions from me, and then let's open this to the

audience.

WriterBabe: How important is setting? Atmosphere? What are some techniques

for creating those? GA

JRiehecky: Setting and atmosphere are very important to a mystery. I think

sensory detail expressed in

JRiehecky: fresh metaphors and similies helps a lot. GA

WriterBabe: Thanks.

WriterBabe: What are the rules of good mystery writing? The no-no's?

WriterBabe: And after that, it's the audience's turn! GA

WriterBabe: (Start typing ? and !, folks)

JRiehecky: Unfortunately, the most important rule right now is: Be

politically correct. It seems like

Lauryntwo: Hi I Like To Write About Dogs

JRiehecky: publishers care more about that than anythig. I think you need

to have a clearly defined

JRiehecky: situation and characters actively working to solve the mystery.

I think good should triumph

Neely f: Lauryn. We are in a meeting. Turn on your IMs for inside

information.

CGaley: (Sorry Lauryn, this chat is in protocol, Please read your IM's...

:-))

JRiehecky: over evil and that you should have your readers feel as if you

played fair throughout the

JRiehecky: whole book. GA

Neely f: (Lauryn's IMs are turned off.)

WriterBabe: Janet, you're wonderful! And I noticed that in your books, you

have a warmth and a good

WriterBabe: feeling for family, which I think is pleasing to kids.

WriterBabe: An underlying safety, if you will.

WriterBabe: I'm assuming that's quite intentional. GA

JRiehecky: Yes, one of the many joys of writing for children is just that!

GA

WriterBabe: Okay, folks, it's your turn.

Aplbrk: ?

WriterBabe: Anyone have ? or !

WriterBabe: Wow--lag there for me!

WriterBabe: Barbara, you're first.

Aplbrk: You said there is always a crime to be solved; must it always be a

crime, or

Aplbrk: can it be a loss of something, or someone acting strangely, etc.

JanssD: ?

JRiehecky: You're right. It doesn't have to be something against the law as

long as there is something

JRiehecky: strange that requires an investigation to explain. GA

Ekbruno: ? Would ghost stories be considered a true mystery?

Aplbrk: Thanks.

WriterBabe: A real puzzle, in other words, right, Janet and Barbara? GA

JRiehecky: I think it depends on what happens. If nothing requires an

explanation, if it's just a

Aplbrk: !

JRiehecky: scary story, then I don't think it qualifies as a mystery. But

if the ghost leads character

JRiehecky: s to investigate something, like the cause of its death, then it

could easily be a mystery.

JRiehecky: GA

Aplbrk: I agree.

WriterBabe: So do I. Barbara, do you have another comment?

Aplbrk: Yes.

Aplbrk: In recent books I've read,

Aplbrk: it seems the secondary plot begins the story, but that leads to the

Aplbrk: main mystery line; that's one feature peculiar to mysteries, or so

it seems.

Aplbrk: That is, when you don't start right out with a crime or question to

solve.

Aplbrk: ga

LYPHIS: ?

WriterBabe: Janet, do you want to comment on Barbara's comment? GA

Aplbrk: (did that come out as muddled as I think it did?)

JRiehecky: I do that in my books to build suspense. If you start with the

biggie, you've got nowhere to

JRiehecky: go but down. One idea I use when I teach about writing for

children is to put a conflict on

Neely f: I:I:I:I:I:::I:I 15 MINUTE WARNING I:I:I::I:I:I

JRiehecky: the first page to draw the reader in, but that little conflicts

should lead up to the big

JRiehecky: one. GA

Aplbrk: Interesting...and enlightening! Thanks.

WriterBabe: This is a marvelous discussion! Thank you both.

WriterBabe: Derek, you're next.

JanssD: Staying on the subplot-vs.-mystery question:

JanssD: You mentioned the character subpl. shouldn't be secondary to the

mystery plot--

JanssD: (Er, vice versa: Mystery shouldn't be secondary, sorry)

JanssD: --But how secondary is TOO secondary?: It always helps a mystery,

IMO, to

JanssD: have some kind of character devel. story, otherwise, a crossword

puzzle never becomes

JanssD: a story. GA

JRiehecky: Yes! These days the story has to be character-driven. If the

secondary plot doesn't

JRiehecky: help the reader understand the characters better or else further

the main mystery

JRiehecky: there's little point in including it. GA

WriterBabe: Phyllis, your turn.

LYPHIS: Please speak about the art of planting clues,

LYPHIS: including those imbedded into the setting

LYPHIS: ga - sorry

JRiehecky: A red herring should be treated exactly the same as a real clue

or else it's obvious that

JRiehecky: it's a red herring. There's an old saying that if you mention a

gun over the mantel, that

JRiehecky: gun has to be fired sooner or later. Play fair with your reader.

Introduce important clues

JRiehecky: early enough that they can sink in. Don't hide them in the

middle of description a reader

Neely f: IOIOIO 10 MINUTE WARNING IOIOIOI

JRiehecky: is likely to skim over. Try, though, to make it so natural that

the reader can think you'd

JRiehecky: have mentioned it whether it was a clue or not. GA

WriterBabe: Fabulous tips!

WriterBabe: The queue's empty. More questions, folks?

LYPHIS: Gt - thanx ga

Aplbrk: !

WriterBabe: Go ahead, Barb.

Aplbrk: Just a really big thank you for this session; it's been most

helpful!

Aplbrk: Thanks, Janet.

LYPHIS: ?

WriterBabe: Phyllis, your turn.

LYPHIS: What are some examples of clues embedded into the scenery or milieu?

LYPHIS: ga

JRiehecky: Of course, my mind is a complete blank. It would be something

like a character getting a

JRiehecky: glass of orange juice and mentioning that she never drinks coffee

and then having that be

Neely f: mnmn-- 5 MINUTE WARNING -nmnm

JRiehecky: important, such as the criminal drank a cup of coffee while

waiting for the right moment to

JRiehecky: commit the crime. GA

LYPHIS: Gt - and what about into the background, the scenery or something?

LYPHIS: ga

JRiehecky: Maybe a tree or bush screens the area while a crime happened

except for one direction where

JRiehecky: a witness was. GA

LYPHIS: aaah, thanx so... ga

WriterBabe: Excellent information.

WriterBabe: Janet, any parting words of wisdom for us?

WriterBabe: GA

JRiehecky: Never give up. If you write something you like there will be

people out there that like it

JRiehecky: too. GA

Aplbrk: Hear, hear!

end

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