Writers' Rituals - Beverle Graves Myers
The Mysterious Writing Habits of the World's Top Crime Writers
Oct 13, 2008
Are writers obsessive-compulsive? Superstitious? Do habits and rituals provide a security blanket for them? Searching for clues to the secrets of writing, Suite 101 has an exclusive interview with Beverle Graves Myers. Beverle is best known for The Baroque Mysteries featuring singer/sleuth Tito Amato.
Q: How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
A: Since I write historicals, I do a great deal of research on the setting and time period. I also spend several weeks plotting out the main points of the novel, all the while knowing they will change as I write.
Q: What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
A: My golden writing time is 8am to noon, though I try to go on until mid-afternoon. I'm so much of a morning person that I find it difficult to write in the evening at all. What doesn't get on the page by 2pm will have to wait until the next day.
Q: Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
A: I'd rather not take breaks because it takes a while to get back into the swing of the narrative. However, I have a dog who must be walked (we live in the city), so I break every couple of hours.
Q: Where do you write?
A: My office on the second floor of my home.
Q: What do you write with?
A: Computer.
Q: ...and why is that your preference?
A: When I'm rolling, it's the fastest. I've actually had dreams where words are shooting out of my fingers at the computer. That's what it feels like on a good day.
Q: What do you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.
A: Dictionary, thesaurus, map of Venice (the setting of my series), several of my basic research texts about early opera, Venice, and 18th-century matters that constantly crop up (like food and clothing). And a biggie -- the binder that houses my chapter-by-chapter outline, character sketches, and period portraits that remind me of my characters.
Q: What can you see when you look up from your writing.
A: Above the computer monitor, there's artwork pinned to the wall, mostly scenes of Venice. If I turn to look out the window, I see old trees that line the street, leafy or bare depending on the season.
Q: What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
A: A short story entitled A Baroque Phantom, in which an opera house ghost solves a mystery. It appeared on Fables, a now defunct ezine.
Q: What is your latest book?
A: The Iron Tongue of Midnight (Poisoned Pen Press, 2008)
Beverle Graves Myers lives and writes in Louisville, Kentucky, where she was born. Visit her website for more information about her and her books.
Source:
Interview with Beverle Graves Myers conducted by E-mail, October 2008
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