Why I Write

How do I write?

Like many writers, I find it difficult to find time to write. Most of us have day jobs, and in today’s economy, most employees are putting in many hours, and fighting the fatigue that goes along with that. However, it is still possible to find time to write. I have several strategies that I use.

I frequently get up a half hour early and go straight to the computer. Making writing my first daily priority works well for me.

If I need to write at another time during the day, I use music to activate the right side of my brain and put myself in the mood of the story. I have a couple of “right brain” tracks that serve this purpose well. If I need to think of the plot, or find myself stymied with the progression of the story – I’ll put on my soundtrack from Phantom of the Opera. Those first notes from the organ get the thoughts flowing.

I have a couple of close friends who function as my muse. One of them is my husband, and I have a few other acquaintances who also fill this role. Most are male, and I find this interesting because they all approach life very differently than I do. I’ll discuss the story with them, and they frequently have ideas or perspectives that I’ll incorporate into the novel. I am kind of surprised at how well my husband does this, because he is not a writer. But – he is a reader of mysteries.

I write from several points of view in my novels. I literally imagine myself “inside the head” of the particular character I’m writing about. If I’m describing action, I imagine the scene around me, how I would be seeing and feeling it, and I try to get that mental picture to the page.

These are my strategies. They work for me, once a actually sit in the chair, and begin to write.

C. L. SHORE

                C. L. Shore is a health care provider and educator. She grew up reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series and remains an avid fan of the mystery genre.

Her first mystery, Seeker of Truth, was published by Eternal Press early in 2011. The novel takes place in Indianapolis following the world’s largest half-marathon. She is currently finishing Maiden Murders, a mystery involving a serial killer and a thousand-year-old assassination.  

C. L. Shore lives in Indianapolis with her family and an ornery tabby cat. She continues to read mysteries whenever she has the chance.  Visit her website at www.clshoreonline.com.