A gathering of assorted people intent on murder, in
the Lit and Phil, on a wet snowy night - it could be the start of a
Golden Age crime novel, and who knows, several novels
and stories may emerge from the twenty writers who attended my Workshop
last night.
The old massively-carved tables had been arranged in a long
line, as if some League of Assassins were expected. Some attendees had
dabbled, or tried, crime fiction, and others
were hesitating on the brink of villainy, as I assigned writing
exercises to produce Chandleresque 'first lines' to grab the reader by
the throat, to create villains, and to evolve their detective
protagonists who might become as famed as Vera, Lord Peter
Wimsey or Jack Reacher.
I was not slow to remind them of one of the
joys of crime writing, REVENGE! on school bullies, cheating exes and
abusive bosses. 'Favourite tip tonight "Murder them horribly"' posted one on facebook later, one who may need to be silenced...
bwahahahaha!
Valerie Laws
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