From a Crime to a Book: An Inside Look at a Mystery Author's Process
Every author’s process is different, and we’re always interested in hearing about how an author manages to move from an idea to a fully fledged book. We recently sat down with Spun Yarn author Steve Wechselblatt to talk about the strange journey his mystery novel has taken from genesis to execution.
The Spun Yarn: How long have you been writing?
Steve: I started writing fiction about eight years ago. My first book ended up in a drawer after three years when I finally admitted to myself that my idea was wildly impractical and/or far beyond my ability as a fledging novelist. During this frustrating time, I started working on very short fictions that later became the basis for Diamonds and Moths (2017).
The Spun Yarn: How did you come across the idea for the mystery novel you’re working on now?
Steve: In 2014 I began to look around for an idea for a novel that I could actually complete. I decided I wanted to work on a mystery because I always believed that mysteries are the place where reason (epitomized in the detective) confronts the irrational (humankind’s destructive emotions). Beyond that, I believe life itself is a mystery.
The Spun Yarn: Did the idea just come to you, or were you actively looking for something to sink your teeth into?
Steve: I wanted to start with something I thought was uniquely interesting. I began rummaging around the section on weird events that used to be part of the Huffington Post before it changed its format. I found the story of a young girl found nude in a water tank located on the roof of a Skid Row Hotel in L.A. Her body was discovered only when guests started complaining about the water’s peculiar smell. No one could figure out how she got up there or even why. I researched articles about the case. A tape of the girl in the elevator just before her death intrigued me and many other viewers. It sparked all kinds of theories. She looked scared, disoriented. Was she being chased? Was she on drugs? I obtained a copy of the autopsy report, which did not find any illegal substances. The old hotel had been the haunt of serial killers, which added to the frisson to the case. When the police decided it was an unfortunate accident, many people suspected foul play or even some kind of supernatural event triggered by the once-notorious Night Stalker, one of the mass murderers who stayed at the hotel.
This was just what I was looking for: a case where conventional detective work and the irrational (here, the supernatural) confronted each other in a stark way. The fact that the mystery had a built-in audience of interested observers didn’t hurt. I decided that exploring the story would require two distinct and equally credible narrators. I wanted them to start with totally different assumptions about reality, so I made one a detective and the other a psychic. I did want them to have something in common, so I made them both outsiders.
The Spun Yarn: So how did you begin to work on your idea? Are you a panster or a plotter?
Steve: I am a born pantser. It’s hard for me to plot. Having a somewhat established story helped me. That said, I still found plotting hard. It is difficult for me to think in terms of cause and effect because I ultimately think life is so irrational. I also found it challenging to weave between two narrators with different events and viewpoints until the story brings them together. It was only with the third draft that the plot finally began to seem somewhat plausible. I say somewhat because it will have to evolve further. At this point, the plot changes are less important than making the characters respond believably to the strange circumstances I’ve put them in.
The Spun Yarn: What kind of research did you do?
Steve: The idea itself came from the internet. Once I started writing, after researching the original crime, the victim, and the hotel history for a few weeks, I wrote and did follow-up research more or less at the same time. When I ran into trouble with the writing, I’d go back to the internet. My research was all online. I even found a photo of a house in Silver Lake I thought my psychic might have chosen to live in. Of course, I would have loved to travel to L.A. to see the actual places I’ve described, but I couldn’t since I’m a full-time caregiver. I had to do the best I could with articles and pictures of Skid Row and other places in LA. Many of the places I described are from websites about LA. Various posts about people reacting to the crime were terrifically helpful.
The Spun Yarn: So how long have you been working on the book, and how much longer do you think it will take?
Steve: The first draft took about a year. I’ve been revising since then. I really don’t know how to revise, otherwise I might have been able to do this more efficiently. Even now, as you know, I’m not done. There’s more work to do to make this what I think it should be. (Compulsively readable, of course). I have been working on this book for about 5 years (while doing short stories also).
Every idea evolves in the writing. I am still finding things I want to bring out – metaphors I want to highlight, not to mention different aspects of each character’s personality. The Spun Yarn Manuscript Report highlighted that I need to work more on the voice of one of my protagonists, a dramatic scene that readers didn’t feel was sufficiently motivated, and a stronger ending. That’s what I’m doing that now!
The Spun Yarn: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us, Steve. We were fascinated by your idea, and your readers were too. Looking forward to seeing your book out in the world!
Steve Wechselblatt
is the author of Diamonds and Moths, and is published in Circa, a Journal of Historical Fiction, Chicago Literati, Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Journal, among other places.