Pulling A Fonzie

I'm about halfway through reading Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie. It's the first of the Miss Marple books, and I'm wondering if Dame Agatha had planned to start a series when she wrote it. My guess is no.

The book is written in first person from the perspective of the vicar. Miss Marple is, at this point anyway, a secondary or even tertiary character. She's the old busybody who lives next door to the vicarage. One of many old busybodies in the village. But she is more fully fleshed than any of the other characters. Was this on purpose? Or did Christie just fall in love with the character and give her more attention than the protagonist? Was the format a purposeful device to introduce Miss Marple?

I know there are biographies of Agatha Christie. I don't know whether any of them go into these issues. Would anyone other than a writer care? But I'm smelling more research in my future. Of course the big question is, does this impact what I'm doing with my own mysteries?

Possibly. What if in HM, Caleb becomes the stronger character? Pulls a Fonzie, so to speak. Is this something to protect against in the writing by making sure Sloan is the more interesting of the two? Do I slight Caleb in order to elevate Sloan? Would it really matter?

I think I need to trust my gut and just write it. There should be room for two, or more, strong characters.

Prompt of the Week

When you hear the word "summer" what images come to mind? Pick one or two and write about them.

Bonus prompt: Write a poem using these images.

Research or Distraction?

I like to do research. It's learning new things. I was one of those kids who looked forward to the new school year. Doing research is one of the joys of writing for me.

But there are times when I think I overdo it. In HM, the protagonist has a job that I know only a little about. So I need to research it. No problem there. Buy a magazine that caters to the person who does this job. Except it isn't one magazine. It's all 4 titles on the shelf. For several months in a row. Do I really need that much information?

The same with D&D. They own a particular type of business. This one doesn't have a lot of magazines on the shelf, but I buy what I can find. Then I decided that someone they know should make jewelry. Ali and Mary are both wonderful jewelry makers. Great sources. But I also bought 5 jewelry magazines the other day.

Maybe it's not a research problem, but a magazine addiction.

To emulate Ali, I'll pose a question: How much research is too much?

Prompt of the Week

Christmas in July. How would you change the way you celebrate Christmas if it fell on July 25th instead of December 25th? If you don't normally celebrate Christmas, which holiday would change for you and how if it was held in mid-summer instead of the usual date?

Relief

About fifty pages into the reread, and it's not as bad as a I feared. That may change when I get further in, but for now it's looking okay.

Yay!

I decided to read through what I have already and make some notes. Not a full rewrite, but at least get down what I feel is wrong.

It feels like positive motion.

Hallelujah!

Prompt of the Week

In honor of Bastille Day: What would be worth going to prison for?