Ladies of Mystery: Those Pesky Revisions by Susan Oleksiw

 Ladies of Mystery: Those Pesky Revisions by Susan Oleksiw 

Trace Evidence: Who is This Person? by Susan Oleksiw

 Trace Evidence: Who is This Person? by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery: Writing and Rewriting by Susan Oleksiw

 Ladies of Mystery: Writing and Rewriting by Susan Oleksiw 

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: MYSTERY AUTHOR SUSAN OLEKSIW TALKS ABOUT TITLES AND INDIAN DIETIES

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: MYSTERY AUTHOR SUSAN OLEKSIW TALKS ABOUT TITLES AN...: Susan Oleksiw has lived in India and returned often for short visits. The Anita Ray series is set in a part of South India she knows well, S...

Ladies of Mystery: Foreshadowing by Susan Oleksiw

 Ladies of Mystery: Foreshadowing by Susan Oleksiw 

Ladies of Mystery: Discovering the Story by Susan Oleksiw

 Ladies of Mystery: Discovering the Story by Susan Oleksiw 

Ladies of Mystery: Managing the Timeline by Susan Oleksiw

 Ladies of Mystery: Managing the Timeline by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery: Tactile Pleasure of Mystery Writing by Susan Oleksiw

  Ladies of Mystery: Tactile Pleasure of Mystery Writing by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery: From First to Third by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery: From First to Third by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery: Writer’s Block or Writer’s Rest by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery: Writer’s Block or Writer’s Rest by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery: The Question of the Victim by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery: The Question of the Victim by Susan Oleksiw

One Writer's World: What's in an Ending? by Susan Oleksiw

One Writer's World: What's in an Ending?: After writing every day for three months I'm coming up to the final scenes in a new stand-alone. This is usually an exciting time fo...

Ladies of Mystery: Setting and Its Limitations by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery: Setting and Its Limitations by Susan Oleksiw

SMFS Member Publishing News: Susan Oleksiw

SMFS list member Susan Oleksiw’s short story, “Kenny Orslow Shows Up On Time” appears in the Mystery Weekly Magazine: February 2020 issue. The read is available from the publisher  and at Amazon in both print and digital formats and other vendors.

Synopsis:

  

At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Weekly Magazine presents original short stories by the world’s best-known and emerging mystery writers.
The stories we feature in our monthly issues span every imaginable subgenre, including cozy, police procedural, noir, whodunit, supernatural, hardboiled, humor, and historical mysteries. Evocative writing and a compelling story are the only certainty.
Get ready to be surprised, challenged, and entertained--whether you enjoy the style of the Golden Age of mystery (e.g., Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle), the glorious pulp digests of the early twentieth century (e.g., Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler), or contemporary masters of mystery.

In this issue:
“Kenny Orslow Shows Up On Time” by Susan Oleksiw: Petty criminal Kenny Orslow is pushed off a bus to the County House of Corrections and finds himself homeless and friendless.
“Mr. Deshaw's Sculpture” by Jeff H.: An obscene sculpture is erected in a small town and no one knows why.
“Left Out” by Michael Wells: A delay in dropping off a library book sets Marcus on the path to commit murder.
“The Sizzle” by Jill Hand: Danielle faces a bleak future until her smooth-talking Uncle Everett offers her an opportunity to join him in his casket-sales business.
“We Suffered Such A Man As This” by Anthony Lowe: Arriving in the small mining town of Copperopolis in fall of 1899, Georges Armadale, self-proclaimed detective extraordinaire, has taken it upon himself to solve a murder recently committed in a local church. At the standard rate, of course.
“The Russian Triple Agent” by Arthur Davis: A mystery writer meets his characters that save his life.
“Where There's Smoke” by Eric B. Ruark: You can help Sheriff Tracy Hyers as she drops in at a fire scene and soon discovers that accidents don't always happen in this month’s You-Solve-It mystery.

Ladies of Mystery: Changing over Time by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery:  Changing over Time by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery Blog: Writing without Pen in Hand by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery Blog: Writing without Pen in Hand by Susan Oleksiw

The Ladies of Mystery: Writing the Whole Person by Susan Oleksiw

The Ladies of Mystery:  Writing the Whole Person by Susan Oleksiw

SMFS Member Podcast: Susan Oleksiw

SMFS list member Susan Oleksiw reads her short story, “Variable Winds” from Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine: October 2016. After her reading, as noted on the podcast home site, she discusses writing, characters, and current projects.

Guest Post: "If you’re going to give advice . . ." by Susan Oleksiw

Please welcome SMFS list member Susan Oleksiw to our blog. Her guest post today originally ran on her blog back in August 2013 and she shares it again here today.

If you’re going to give advice . . . 

Everyone who writes at some point has the same experience. I finish a short story or a novel, go over it for the tenth or twentieth time, and print out a clean copy to give a friend to read. Perhaps I’ve been reading chapters to the members of my writing group as I go along, or perhaps I am a solitary writer with no group and a strong reluctance to share my work till I think it’s finished. But at some point it will be finished enough to share, and I will have to show it to someone. What I get in return can be significant. 

A recent discussion on a chat list for writers touched on the problem of getting nothing but negative feedback from a first reader. The reader even went so far as to tell the writer to stop writing. The reaction of the other writers, including me, was that this negativity is not useful. It’s destructive and there’s no point in destroying a new writer’s dreams and determination. The discussion and comments reminded me of two things—my early efforts and how kind some of my first readers had been and a story I was asked to read by someone who thought he was destined to write the great American novel. In my opinion I didn’t think he could write a grocery list. I learned from both experiences how to make useful comments without judgment. (And I have always been grateful to the editors who were kind. When I look back at my early work . . .) 

First, I ask the writer to describe the “aboutness” of the story. What is the story about? Tell me in one or two sentences. Don’t give me a plot summary—that’s different. Tell me what this story is for me as a reader. Some writers will never have thought about this, and it helps any writer focus on the story and what is or is not relevant in the telling of it. 

Second, I ask about the opening line (and sometimes about the closing line). Where did it come from? What is it supposed to achieve? Is the writer satisfied with it? I’m almost never satisfied with my opening lines, but I sometimes am very happy with the closing lines. Are there alternatives that were discarded? Why? 

Third, I try to find a sentence with an interesting or unusual word usage and ask about that. Why did he or she choose this word? What is the writer trying to achieve? 

Fourth, if the story is a mystery or paranormal or science fiction, I try to ask relevant questions on structure and formula (I’m limited to mystery fiction mostly), and how the writer understands the formula. 

Fifth, I might ask about characters’ names if there is anything unusual about them, or if too many characters are named Joe or Mary. I might also point out that the ethnic identities of the characters do or do not match the setting or story line. 

I could go on, but you get the idea. There is nothing in any of my comments that is a judgment or an evaluation. Each comment is meant to take the reader and the writer deeper into understanding the story and the writer’s goals. This can be edifying for both writer and reader because getting another writer to articulate a way of viewing the world and trying to present it means that I have to stretch my thinking. 

In addition, if I read something I think is awful and have to discuss it, I am forced to dig deeper, to reach beyond my prejudices and blinders. I have to listen to another writer’s reasons for doing something I probably wouldn’t have done. And I have to read with possibility in mind, with the idea that the writer is reaching for something. All of this makes me think harder. 

Being asked to read someone else’s work is a compliment as well as a responsibility. Anyone who agrees to do so, therefore, is, in my view, obligated to provide something useful and productive to the writer. Offering up a visceral reaction isn’t enough, and that doesn’t count as any kind of thoughtful reading. There is nothing to be gained by telling a struggling writer that he can’t write. I am well aware that the one person whom I think can’t write a phone message may turn out to be the next Scott Turow.

Susan Oleksiw ©2013, 2018

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: MYSTERY AUTHOR SUSAN OLEKSIW ON THE SETTING FOR HE...

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: MYSTERY AUTHOR SUSAN OLEKSIW ON THE SETTING FOR HE...: Susan Oleksiw is the author of twelve mysteries in three series. Below the Tree Line is the first in the Pioneer Valley series. Her shor...