Writers' Rituals – Carl Brookins

The Mysterious Writing Habits of Crime Writers From Around the World

Feb 27, 2009 Janice Hally

Writing a novel requires an idea, the right words, and something extra. Writer Carl Brookins shares the secrets of his approach to writing, from idea to execution.

Are writers obsessive-compulsive? Overly superstitious? Or do habits and rituals provide security for writers who never know where the next idea, or the words to write it, will come from?

Searching for clues to the secrets of writing, Suite 101 has an exclusive interview with Carl Brookins. Carl writes three different series of books: a third person sailing adventure series, a first person private detective series, and an academic amateur detective series. His best-known character is Sean NMI Sean. He’s only 5 foot-two, but he’s a fine detective, and fast on his feet!

How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?

Almost none. I do a lot of research but not for a specific book. That’s because I write in linear fashion, from start to finish. Most times when I start a book I don’t know exactly how it will end. Sometimes I’ve discovered who the “real” murderer is only very late in the book. I do outline, the way I was taught in school, but only after I’ve finished the first or second draft of the book. So plot happens to me just as it happens to my characters and, I hope, in surprises to my readers as well.

As far as research goes, I’m constantly doing research, observing people, considering happenings in society, talking to experts and ordinary folks. When I have specific questions I consult experts, cops, brokers, lawyers. When I do that I listen carefully and take away some of their jargon, their odd phrases. By inserting such language in my stories, I think I’m able to add a level of verisimilitude or reality.

What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?

I usually write early in the morning. That’s when my ideas seem to be the freshest and my energy levels are highest. But I can and do write almost anywhere and any time if the mood or the idea strikes the right note and I’m in a place to write. When I travel, I always carry a laptop with one or more in-progress projects in it.

Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?

Yes, to be with my wife, Jean, to do some photography, to read because I review crime fiction from time to time. I also soak in hot water. Years ago we installed a wooden hot tub in one corner of the bathroom. There are plants and a glass wall that allows me to observe nature in my back yard. The water is 400 gallons, solar-heated, and it’s where I get or develop a lot of my nastiest plot ideas.

Where do you write?

I write in my office in the basement of our home in Roseville. The room is lined with cedar plants and bookshelves. The shelves are overflowing with the bulk of my library, mostly crime fiction and my growing collection of resource volumes.

What do you write with?

I have, on occasion, used all sorts of devices. But mostly I use a computer because I can’t read my own handwriting and I tend to write fast and edit extensively later. Sometimes I use a speech-recognition program, because I can pace and wave my arms. But I haven’t yet found a program that is fast enough.

Describe what you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.

A cup of fresh coffee and later a bottle of cold water. Books, lists, sometimes a CD or the radio.

Describe the things you can see when you look up from your writing.

A gorgeous monochrome of a nude woman I photographed about forty years ago, a spray bottle of glass cleaner for the scanner, a calendar, endless curling reminder notes, piles of CDs, the radio, my printer, my turntable and my shelf of a score of reference books.

What was the first thing you wrote which was published?

Hah! In Seventh grade I submitted a handwritten story to a Western pulp magazine. The mag sent me fifty cents.

What is your latest book?

Bloody Halls, a traditional American mystery in which Jack Marsden, mid-level administrator in a Minneapolis college confronts murders, organized crime and pedophilia.

Find out more about Carl Brookins and his books, here.

Read about Peter May, Jane Finnis, Ruth Dudley Edwards and many other Writers' Rituals

The copyright of the article Writers' Rituals – Carl Brookins in Writing Fiction is owned by Janice Hally. Permission to republish Writers' Rituals – Carl Brookins in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Carl Brookins

Bloody Halls by Carl Brookins

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