A Few Things I've Learned Using TikTok

 By Elaine L. Orr

A better blog post would be what I have left to learn. Except I probably don't have the vocabulary to make that list.

I have always liked taking photos, even back when we had to pay to develop film. This was especially true when I traveled -- and I have the albums to prove it. I didn't get into making short movies (we didn't say videos) as a teen or young adult, in part (probably) because the people I saw doing it were guys. And it was a relatively expensive hobby.

As an author, I need to reach readers in ways they like -- which means videos they can watch on their phones. It's not just younger readers who use them -- anyone can watch a short video while waiting to pick up a kid after school or sitting in a physician's waiting room.

The key is to create a video people want to watch. Digression: My husband and I were in a community writers' group in the mid-1990s, and people were discussing what they tried to achieve in their writing. The last person said what really mattered was to "write something catchy." To this day, my husband can be walking through a room in which I'm writing and tell me to be sure it's catchy. I said it was a digression.

General advice: Don't worry about your background beyond making it neat and uncomplicated. We have less space in an apartment than we did in a house, so there's no space for a single-use room or designated area. However, a corner of the dining room table, with books behind me, works fine. 

A Few Things I've Learned

• Find a friend or family member to hold the camera -- at least the first few times. If you're trying to do a selfie, you'll have to focus on more than your content.
• If your friend or family members wants to do a lot of stage direction, go back to selfies.
• Take videos in landscape mode. Ignore this if you know how to edit videos (as in rotate a portrait video to become landscape). 
• I find that ClipChamp (a free Microsoft program) is easier than other software to rotate and add captions, but I still forget a lot in between each use.
• Do lots of Google searches when software stumps you. One of the responses will be understandable for a novice.
• Check to be sure you're holding your book right side up, that your hair is combed, and (for me) lipstick is fresh. (I look like a ghost without it.)
• Don't aim for perfection! You want to look professional (or funny -- whatever), but it's not an audition tape for a movie. Perfection can be the enemy of the good. 
• Make many TikTok videos about things other than your books. I like gardening, and one of my sleuths is a gardener. I posted photos of the day we had ten purple Morning Glories and did a demonstration on harvesting marigold and zinnia seeds to plant next year. My post with the most views was one I titled, "Who said the mall is dead?" I took it from the 2nd floor of the White Oaks Mall, showing Santa and decorated trees below. Who knew?
• Make adding videos a habit. Even if you only do it once per week, you have to appear regularly to have much impact.
• Don't forget to add hashtags that relate to your book, its location, or content. Don't forget to include #booktok.

That's it for now. If you want to see my videos, here's a recent one. https://bit.ly/3S1a78U. My TikTok site is https://www.tiktok.com/@authorelaineorr/.

Don't stop with TikTok. Lots of sites let you add videos. The more you do it, the more comfortable you'll be.

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My Elephant in the Room

By Elaine L. Orr

The expression, the elephant in the room means a problem that is not discussed because it's uncomfortable to do so. 

In business, if a meeting features a company's new product (let's say generic spell check for writers), it may be announced in glowing terms. However, you and a couple other staff have tested the program and found that it changes the spelling of some common words to naughty expressions. Developers are frantically working to fix that. 

You glance at your colleague with a knowing smile, "I notice President Flimflam is avoiding the elephant in the room." (And wouldn't you love to know how to code software to do something like that?)

The elephant-in-the-room concept can be useful in fiction. A houseguest has just discovered Uncle Cluster in the wine cellar, passed out with a corkscrew and his favorite bottle of wine in his lap. Since the guest has been sent to retrieve the exact bottle, she gently lifts it from Uncle Cluster's lap and goes back to the party.

Upstairs, people are politely commenting on the uncle's absence. Perhaps he's simply running late. Maybe he's having car trouble. Uncle Cluster's drinking problem is the elephant in the room. And in this case, a character knows about it but conceals his whereabouts. Interesting...

I have my own elephant in the room. In 2014, I published a post called "Linda Rae and the Nellie Chronicles." I highlighted the life of my fun-loving cousin Linda, who died at 62 of colon cancer. She had never had a colonoscopy, and she'd actually had symptoms. My advice was, "Don't let your life end before it should because you didn't have time for a cancer screening."

Nine years later, after my sixth colonoscopy, I learned I have colon cancer. It can't be more than 3.5 years old, because I had none at my last screening. (Linda's doctors told her she'd had it for at least 10 years.) 

Because the illness runs so strongly in my mom's family (grandmother, uncle, and two first cousins who were not that uncle's daughters), I have been vigilant. This time I also had to be mildly adamant. The GI doctor (new to me) advised I could wait five years, which would comport with current guidelines for someone who 'only' had one precancerous polyp in 2020. I insisted and, when I explained the family history, he readily agreed on three years.

The cancer may be ensconced in my colon. If it has spread some, it won't be much. I learn my surgery date next week.

I'm optimistic because I had those six screenings. In fact, my husband tells me not to be so damn chipper. Much harder on him than on me.

I'm not going to write about this a lot. I hope in a  year or so to report that I am cancer-free. 

I'll end with what I said about screenings back in 2014. Do it. Now. 

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Blogs for Mystery Writers

By Elaine L. Orr

You could spend a day going from blog to blog about writing mysteries, learning about mysteries, or just plain reading them.

My favorite blog is Writers Who Kill, which has varied and thought-provoking posts from a group of mystery authors and occasional guest posts. Usually 15-20 posts per months. You might like a recent one on creating content for your blog. 

https://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/

If you want an overview of several sites, check out this article on the top six sites (updated in 2022). Detailed descriptions of sites such as The Mystery Writers Forum and several organizations for writers, such as Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/2013/04/top-5-sites-for-mysterythriller-writers_3.htmlg

More for readers than authors is the Cozy Mystery List Blog. Excellent compilation of upcoming books in this popular genre. Superb index so you can scan years of books.

https://cozy-mystery.com/blog/ 

If you're just getting into mysteries, go beyond current authors. Ah Sweet Mystery! covers the golden age of detectives. Think Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock -- a great mix of authors and characters such as Lord Peter Wimsey, Miss Marple, Dr. Gideon Fell, Father Brown, Inspector Maigret, Edgar Allen Poe, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Charlie Chan, Ellery Queen and Nero Wolfe! 

https://ahsweetmystery.com/

This will get you started. I'll post more another time.

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To learn more about Elaine L. Orr, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter. 

How Life Experiences Affect Writing -- Even if You Don't Know it

By Elaine L. Orr

Characters in my books or stories periodically end up in a hospital emergency room, usually because of a diabolical act by another character. They don't stay long, but I'm often told how realistic my hospital scenes are. 

I should hope so. I can't count the number of orthopedic incidents (for want of a better term) I've been through. I could win any race on crutches. What it's given me is perspective. What's it like to ride on a gurney? You can count ceiling tiles or lights as you whiz by. When you're wheeled into an operating room, it's really cold.

Here's an exchange at the beginning of Vague Images, a Jolie Gentil book.

 IF IT HADN’T been for the deer that ran in front of my car I wouldn’t have hurt my foot jamming on the brakes. If I hadn’t hurt my foot I wouldn’t have gone to Ocean Alley’s hospital. If I hadn’t been in the hospital I wouldn’t have seen him. Not that I could follow him. I was on my butt in the emergency room.

Doctor Birdbaum raised his voice. “Jolie, you need to lie still while I wrap your ankle.”

“I need to…”

“You need to be still.” His voice was firm.

I stared at the fluorescent light above me and winced. “Ow. Does it have to be that tight?”

“Only if you want it to do any good.” Dr. Birdbaum is a short, round man who rarely exhibits any sense of humor. I didn’t think he was kidding now.

Riding a subway helps with scenes where people are squeezed together so tightly burping is not an option. If you've every rear-ended the car in front of you, you'll remember the feelings of guilt and the strong desire to yell at yourself for following too closely. You don't have to write a car accident scene, the sense of how-could-I-be-so-dumb can apply to many settings.

In talking about her character, Miss Marple, Agatha Christie said: "She's had a long life of experience in noticing evil, fancying evil, suspecting evil and going forth to do battle with evil. - Author: Agatha Christie

Dame Agatha added many experiences for Miss Marple, and she seized them all.

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To learn more about Elaine L. Orr, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter 

Gun Metaphors in Everyday Language

By Elaine L. Orr

As a mystery writer, I have learned more about guns than I ever thought I would. I don't use them a lot in my books, because I write traditional or cozy mysteries. Murders are more often spur-of-the-moment action or are committed with items that could be in a household. Think fireplace poker or a shove down the stairs.

The other day I heard someone say, "Don't go off half-cocked," -- an expression my dad used. He was telling us not to jump to conclusions or act without thinking something through.

That led my mind to wander to the many gun-related expressions in American English.These metaphors crop up more often in a country that started with a revolution and then bore the scars of a civil war than, for example, in Canada, where the country was settled in a more orderly fashion. I'm not attaching a value judgment to either situation, it's simply a difference.

Here are a few expressions that come to mind quickly:

Don't shoot your mouth off -- advice to think before you speak.

Keep your powder dry -- be careful or look ahead

Shoot from the hip -- acting quickly, without thinking clearly

Big guns or big shots -- important people in a business or town

Set your sights on something -- establish a goal

Come under fire -- take criticism for an opinion or action

Take flak -- see come under fire

Dodge a bullet -- fortunate to avoid a problem or accident

Silver bullet -- an almost magic solution, as in there's no silver bullet 

to solving a plot problem in a novel.

Naturally, I'm not the first to put together such a list. When I was considering examples, I came across a National Public Radio transcript on the topic -- Gun Metaphors Deeply Embedded in English Language. It's worth a read if the topic interest you. Feel free to add more examples in the comments.

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The Reality Balancing Act

By Elaine L. Orr

Reality is not the first concern when writing fiction, but individual scenes have to be realistic --- within a book's  premise or setting.

If a book deals with mayhem or murder, an author can't describe a massive wound or injury and then have the character recover in a couple of days. The mean kid at school is not suddenly a kind volunteer (without substantial intervention), and no one gets across New York City in ten minutes.

As a traditional/cozy mystery writer, I've created sleuths who have (to me) interesting jobs -- real estate appraiser, landscaper, graphic artist, and small-town police chief. I also like my characters to be involved in things besides solving a mystery. Unless it's your job, who would stop all activity to pursue suspects?

In fact, I once made the amteur sleuth a teacher. That left too little time for crime-solving, so she broke her arm and had to be off work for a couple of weeks.

Wat about those other "things" sleuths do? 

On my website, I say this:

     "What makes Elaine’s fiction different from other traditional mysteries? Some might say the dry humor (only a few say lame), but she thinks it is the empathy her characters show to others. Fiction can’t ‘lecture’ readers. But it can contain people whose paths we cross every day — whether we know it or not. The bright colleague or grouchy neighbor who’s actually in severe emotional pain, the families struggling to provide enough food for their children, the vet with PTSD. While characters solve crimes or plan silly fundraisers, they can tacitly let us know there is a world beyond those activities. And maybe they can make it a little better."

For me, reality is recognizing the world around us isn't perfect and quietly doing something about it. However, people read fiction in part to escape reality. So, if one character runs a food pantry, part of the attention to it is through a silly fundraiser.

I think one reason I like M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth books is his involvement in things around him beyond the crime he's solving. Admitedly, sometimes his fixes are pretty unlikely. But, he is a constable (at least when he's demoted) so he can do a lot.

None of a character's 'other activities' are meaningful unless they tie into the story. I've learned it's easier to have a real estate appraiser involved in many activities and get all over town than for a graphic designer. But even bad guys could need a TikTok video.

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To learn more about Elaine L. Orr, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter 

Twelth Anniversary of Blogging. Who Knew?

By Elaine L. Orr

On October 16, 2011, I wrote the first post on this blog, Irish Roots Author. Its title was "First time blogger at what age?!" Below is the post:

I have long been a writer, but have never blogged.  It took me a couple years to get a Facebook account, and I still prefer email -- faster and fewer distractions.  Now that I have "retired" I am publishing more of what I write, and would love to have people read my books or articles.  Does that happen if you sit in a home office and keep the cat off the laptop keyboard (which kitty believes is her electric blanket)?  Nope. 

So, here I sit with not a clue about how to use a blog to my advantage and willing to learn.  Did I mention I can't update my web site because the host site (Yahoo) no longer allows Microsoft Front Page?  Learning new software for the web site and creating a blog?  Yikes.

If you had told me I'd write hundred of posts on reading, writing, publishing, and what I term musings, I would have scoffed. (There's a word you don't get to use too often.)

Early posts were shorter than most current ones. However, as I learned more about publishing, I tried to share what I'd learned. It didn't take me long to figure out that I might spend hours learning how to do something (load a book to a website, develop marketing ideas), but I would use two minutes of those hours to get the job done. I kept trying to compress the information so others could take less time.

Now I try to write mostly about writing, though I diverge or relate what I write to other aspects of life. The hardest part is to write steadily. I've set on three posts a month, and appreciate forcing myself to do it. When you write fiction, self-discipline is your friend and your nightmare.

No words of wisdom today. Just acknowledging that I'm still here, pushing the electronic pencil.

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To learn more about Elaine L. Orr, visit her website or sign up for her newsletter