As with many writers, my desire to write fiction took a back seat to life and making a living till the kid were grown.
My first serious attempt at a novel fell short of my expectations and sat unpublished in a drawer for years. I have since released it under a pen name, not because I'm ashamed of it, but because the genre is quite different from what I write today.
Disheartened, I stopped writing for quite awhile. Then, while on vacation, I sat down and sketched the outline for a new book, a fun book. I began to work the characters and story as best I could. Then one day, as I was reviewing my detailed notes and outline, it occurred to me that perhaps the story might be better cast as a screenplay.
I knew nothing about writing screenplays, so I bought some books and eventually joined a screenwriting work group and forged ahead.
For a number of years I threw myself in writing screenplays and eventually wrote four of them: Red Sky (a drama about two middle-aged people who are disillusioned with their lives and want a do-over), OMG! My Boyfriend's a Secret Agent! (a farce/romantic-comedy, my wife's favorite), Gorilla's in the Bisque (a comedy/fantasy about a young man who comes to realize that his only passion in life is to be a gorilla) and last but not least, My Favorite Vacation -- which was essentially was the story I'd tried to write as a novel. It eventually led to the Margie Murder Mystery series and became Nice Woody -- the prequel to the series. I eventually paused in my efforts to consider what I knew about screenwriting and my prospects for success. I'd learned two very important things: 1) that breaking into screenwriting was iffy at best, and 2) it was hard to pitch screenplays to producers in California when you lived in Minnesota.
Which brought me back to long fiction.
Since my characters for Margie's Murder Mysteries (Margie and Joe) often kept me awake at night with their antics it seemed only natural to focus on them. Thus Dropped Dead in Kona was born. It found some local acclaim and sold pretty well, so I wrote An Invitation to Murder which was followed by Nice Woody. which has been followed by Baby's 1st Murder.
Having struggled for many years with my characters, their stories, their subplots and whatnot, How to Write Fiction began innocently as a personal challenge. Could I actually help people learn to write fiction? The answer is 'I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.' And like the little engine who thought he could, the answer remains to be seen, since the release date for How to Write Fiction is set for September 1, 2019. Wish me luck.
Gerry lives and writes in St. Paul, Minnesota with his wife and two feisty terriers. Most winters he escapes to sunny Kona, Hawaii. You can send email to Gerry@eleanoravenuepress.com.
