Writers' Rituals – Darden North

The Mysterious Writing Habits of Crime Writers From Around the World

Mar 16, 2009 Janice Hally

Writing a novel requires an idea, the right words, and something extra. Writer Darden North 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 Darden North, author of House Call, a Finalist in Mystery/Suspense in the 2008 New Generation Indie Book Awards, Points of Origin and Fresh Frozen.

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

Since I am presently writing fiction in the mystery/suspense/thriller genre that is generally centered around contemporary medical themes, much of my research was done during my 24 years of formal education to become an MD. However, when there's a plane crash, an explosion, a criminal investigation, or an extremely specialized medical situation that steps beyond those 24 years, I call in the experts. I do a lot of my character research by simply talking with people.

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

I spend at least an hour or two daily in writing or promoting my novels -- the promotion efforts centered in networking/Internet blogging, setting-up and attending book signings, and being interviewed by the media. Because I am a full-time ob/gyn physician who loves what he does in his primary career, I scrounge for that one or two daily hours. It would be a luxury for me (and much simpler) to be able to sit down at the laptop during a set time each day and write.

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

Eat, watch TV, work in the yard, walk around the block with my wife, play with our dogs.

Where do you write?

I write in small home office, under the porch outside our bedroom, in the plane on vacation, in the doctors' lounge, or early on a Saturday morning if I'm not on call and cannot sleep late. But, seriously, I never write during patient clinic hours or when I need to be at the hospital taking care of a patient. Long waiting room times are not the result of my novels!

What do you write with?

I write with a computer keyboard and am proud that I have taught myself to type while becoming an author. I never took typing in high school because most guys didn't and I was afraid that the typing teacher might ruin my straight A average ( Please, remember that I wanted to go to med school). Anyway, from the looks of my typing today, I probably would have ruined that A average.

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

A Diet Coke

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

A bulletin board crammed with notes, clippings, print-outs, to-do lists, and the phone numbers of local pharmacies.

What was the first thing you wrote which was published?

I wrote a song for a high school skit called Delta Daze, promoting my high school yearbook. It was published in the Taylor Publishing Magazine in 1974.

What is your latest book?

Fresh Frozen (October 2008, ISBN 9780977112630).

Find out more about Darden North 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 – Darden North in Writing Fiction is owned by Janice Hally. Permission to republish Writers' Rituals – Darden North in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Darden North

Fresh Frozen by Darden North

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