Writers' Rituals - Deborah Sharp
The Mysterious Writing Habits of Crime Writers From Around the World
Feb 23, 2009
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 Deborah Sharp, who writes the funny, Florida-set series, the Mace Bauer Mysteries. 'Mama Does Time' (Oct. 2008) is her debut and next up is 'Mama Rides Shotgun,' in July 2009; the third book, 'Mama Gets Hitched,' comes out in 2010.
How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
I'm a Florida native and long-time former reporter in the state, so a lot of the things I put in the books I've already done research and stories about (gator hunting, Indian casinos, hurricanes, roaming around in swamps). But I brush up, as in doing the week-long, annual Florida Cracker Trail on horseback, since the second book is set on the ride.
As for plotting, I make a detailed outline, up to 35 pages, which usually takes a couple of weeks to complete.
What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
I like to write in the mornings, but if I miss that, I can fit it in any time. I usually write for 2 to 3 hours at a stretch, but I'm not disciplined enough to write every day. Luckily for me, I'm a fast writer after all those years of newspaper deadlines.
Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
Yep, breaks to stretch out my shoulders and neck muscles ... and to eat, which I do too much of while writing.
Where do you write?
Everywhere ... my husband calls me the Goldilocks of authors ('this chair's too hard; this one's too soft) as I'm always in a different spot, including at libraries, coffee shops or outside: On a picnic table at Ft. Lauderdale Beach, overlooking the Kissimmee River at our wild land near Okeechobee, Fl .; on a bench in a nature park.
What do you write with?
I never use a tape recorder, as it feels too much like my days in journalism. I write first draft in long-hand on cheap, composition-style booklets, the same ones I've used for years as journals. I refine and rewrite on a laptop or desktop.
...and why is that your preference?
Creating is easier for me in longhand, and I like the portability of those little booklets
Describe what you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.
A cup of Earl Grey tea, lots of sugar and cream
Describe the things you can see when you look up from your writing.
Varies, since I write in so many places, but right now at my upstairs office desk I see a flamingo in a Florida souvenir snow globe; a picture of my mama posed in Western regalia on a bull; and lots of outdated press passes tacked to a bulletin board
What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
Way back in school, I left a psychology graduate program for journalism. The Red and Black (University of Georgia's paper) ran a story I did on an old, abandoned girls school that I wrote in the voice of the ghost of one of the long-dead girls. Very daring!
What is your latest book?
'Mama Does Time' came out in October 2008; 'Mama Rides Shotgun' will be out in July 2009
Find out more about Deborah Sharp at her website.
Read about Peter May, Jane Finnis, Ruth Dudley Edwards and many other Writers' Rituals
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