Growth & Expectations

I think two of the biggest threats to a writer’s career are stagnation and growth. I know this sounds like a bit of a contradiction, but I just finished Mark Billingham’s latest Thorne novel, BURIED, and it really got me thinking:

Sucks to be Mark.

The reason I say that is that I have seen, again and again, the differing opinions over some of Mark’s books. I’m specifically thinking of an old fight, about 18 months ago, on Val McDermid’s forum… I’ve seen people get hostile over the books in the series that didn’t work for them as well as other books in the series did. Mark’s series has provoked strong reactions from some readers, and this is something authors should be mindful of.

I’ve thought about it at length. Why is it that the book I love the most, THE BURNING GIRL, always seems to elicit extreme reactions from readers? In general, there’s little middle ground with TBG. People either love it or loathe it.

Now, I’ve thought about this for ages, and I even talked to Mark about it when I interviewed him. But reading BURIED made me think about it all again.
I know that some of the critics lashed out against TBG because it was a book that broke the ‘formula’. They didn’t like it because it wasn’t like the first three in the Thorne series.

To which I say, Thank God. Not because the first three books weren’t great books in their own right. But it goes to one of those two threats writers face: Stagnation.

Tuesday the new issue of Mouth Full of Bullets will go live, and my apologies for the fact that my face will be plastered on the home page of the site for the next three months. BJ Bourg has interviewed me, and he asked me which of the short stories I’ve written is my favourite, and why.

The why is easy. Because I gave myself a challenge, to do something new and (for me) difficult, and felt like I’d achieved my goal. For me, that’s what short fiction is about. You’ll find me writing about butchers who may or may not be cutting people up, serial killers, hitmen and (in the case of the story I name as my favourite, which you’ll have to wait a few months to read) unsafe sex.

And those of you who have read my book will know that the subject matter of those short stories is pretty far from the tone of my debut novel.

The thing is, I never want to feel like I’m writing the same book twice, or that I’m just covering the same old ground again and again. And eventually fans will tire of that as well – I gave up reading one series I’d enjoyed when, a dozen books along, I had the sense I’d been reading the same book over and over again for a while. For me, every time I work on a story or manuscript I’m giving myself new challenges. It might be as simple as saying, “Do better on your descriptions” or as complicated as saying, “Write a book from the perspective of the criminal,” which is something I haven’t done yet. I’ve written plenty of short fiction from the criminal POV, but not a manuscript.

Not yet.

This is where the second threat writers face comes in. Growth. How can growth be a threat? Well, readers begin to develop expectations. They are, after all, fans for a reason. They like what you’re doing. So, if you push yourself to grow, and move in different directions, sometimes you’ll lose some of those readers because they simply don’t like what you’re doing anymore.

See? The two threats - stagnation and growth.

This is one of the reasons I have such a high level of respect for Mark. He pushes himself. He doesn’t stay in his comfort zone and stick with what’s expected. He takes risks, and they always come from his desire to continue to grow as an author.
I got a wonderful message recently, from someone who had great things to say about SC. And then, what has become the inevitable, a comment about hoping to see more of Farraday…

I absolutely love getting the feedback from people who’ve enjoyed the book. It’s fantastic – there really is no greater feeling than knowing that people have read your stuff and enjoyed it. Each person who’s written has given me a buzz, no question.
But as I was thinking about BURIED, and about the fact that Mark is presently working on a standalone novel that won’t be part of the Thorne series, I got thinking about the fact that WHAT BURNS WITHIN has a lot of differences from SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. It’s a different series. Different location. Different characters.

The tone isn’t the same.

And that’s one of the things that will work for it and against it, same as the other manuscript that’s presently in limbo-land (ECHOES AND DUST). The tone of E&D is very different from SC. Some of the people who read and loved SC will have no problem making the transition to something darker, something truly noir, but there are others who won’t be able to handle it. I had one person abandon E&D after the first murder, all of a few pages in.

But I wouldn’t change the tone of the book just to make it more suited to the people who liked the tone of SC. The book would never work. It’s about people who are fundamentally different from the people in SC, and they don’t see the world the same way. With a different perspective comes a different tone. That is not necessarily good or bad… Just different.

I think it will be easier for people who liked SC to make the journey over to WBW, and I do hope WBW can launch a new series, one I can really sink my teeth into. The second book is already in the early stages.

But after that, I’m going to write a standalone. I’m lucky. I can do a draft fast – on average, 6 weeks. Which means that even if I’m under contract to do one thing I can squeeze in luxury writing on the side. Until now I’ve focused on short stories as a way to push myself, but I want to write a standalone.

And then I’ll write a PI novel, just because.

Just don’t bank on me coming out with a cat mystery any time soon.

Oh, and another reason I love THE BURNING GIRL? Precisely because of how close to the edge Thorne gets, how the lines blur. It was a darker, edgier Thorne, one I could really respect. That might sound like a contradiction to some, but I don’t like guys who are weak, manipulated by women or who let themselves be pushed around at work all the time. When you’re willing to cross lines to get to the truth it shows just how determined you are to get a result, no matter the cost to your soul.
And people are very interesting when they come face to face with the darkness within themselves.

I haven’t said much about BURIED here, because that wasn’t the point of the post. I do recommend it and I think Porter is a keeper. For me, the Thorne series has become one of my mainstays, along with Rebus, and Billingham an author I turn to when I’m in need of a great read because I know he’ll deliver.

Next up, an indulgence. Ken Bruen, another author who has proven that – Brant, Taylor or standalone – there isn’t a damn thing he can’t do. And whatever he does, he does it all soooo incredibly well.

And if you haven't joined Crimespace yet, what are you waiting for? I've got a place for you at the bar.