Author: ladyjabberwocky

Prompt of the Week: Like a Dangerous Woman

~ ladyjabberwocky ~ 4 Comments

Create a character – or write a story or poem- based on the Femme Fatale archetype.

Write your response in the comments below. Best entry gets a shout out next week!

Write with Heart,

Lady Jabberwocky

Follow me on Twitter

Born a Bloodhound (Detective Mystery Flash Fiction)

~ ladyjabberwocky ~ 3 Comments

Hello Super Sleuths,

This work on fiction is based on last week’s post, the 5 archetypes of fictional detectives. Enjoy!

In every lifetime, I’d been born a bloodhound.

The city was a graveyard, grey and cold and deadly silent. It was near midnight. On a lonely street corner by the museum, I stood there in the pouring rain. Fedora and trench coat drenched. Smoke rose from the sewer grate.

She stood beside me, a viper in heels. Eyelashes sharp like butcher knives.

“Finn, darling,” Her hands slip inside my coat, warm as a shot of ice cold whiskey. She whispered into my ear. “Let’s forget about this little museum jewel heist. The robbers are probably long gone by now,” The minx kissed me, full and feverish. Lips were red like a stop sign. “Couldn’t we just run off together instead? It’d be so easy.” Easy, she says. Easy like a bullet to the head.

I lit a cigarette and eyed the moon. “A dame like you is going to be in a world of trouble someday.” She snickered, her fingers inched towards the gun holstered on my hip. I snatched her wrist. “Quit playing games and fess up already. I know about your little scheme. Now, you want to tell me where that million-dollar diamond is? Or do I have to search you myself?”

Eyebrow raised, she offered a wide wolfish grin, full of teeth and poison. “Please do, inspector.”
———————————————————————————————————–

Every incarnation, there is a trail I’m bound to follow.

That sunny summer morning on Cherry Blossom Lane, I sat cozy in my armchair. On the coffee table, there’s a tray of tea and oatmeal cookies. The rain would arrive later, my bones could sense it. 

“Miss Finnegan, are you feeling alright?” The aid, Gloria, handed me a porcelain teacup embellished with golden roses. Accepting the cup, I nodded with a smile. Looking out the window once more, I watched the new neighbors shuffle cardboard boxes. Lady Whiskerdown, my faithful companion, leapt into my lap.

“Dear? Did you hear about Mister Massey next door?” I asked.

She hummed. “They said it was a robbery gone wrong, yes? Poor thing.”

“His son moved in so quickly after his father’s death, don’t you think?” I pondered. As soon as the yellow police tape was removed, the son was quick to move into the lovely estate. How odd. Lady Whiskerdown thought it odd too.

“Miss Finnegan, you are being nosey again,”  The nurse teased, wagging her finger. As Gloria left the room to fetch my afternoon pills, I gripped my walker, hoisting myself up. “Where are you off to now?”

I may be retired, but an old dog like me can sense trouble when it’s around. Like the rain, my bones could sense it. I gave her a sweet, harmless smile. “Only saying hello to the new neighbors. Where’s the harm in that?”

Every breath dedicated to unraveling the most tangled of life’s mysteries.

After hours, school gave me the heebie-jeebies. Once bustling with classmates, the hallways were eerily empty. Flashlights in hand, my pals and I the snuck around. With the janitor’s permission, of course. He wasn’t thrilled about the recent hauntings and kidnappings either. Our sneakers squeaked against the linoleum tiles. A heavy mini backpack strapped to my back, full of everything a good detective needs to catch a ghost. Fishing net included. Scrunchie on my wrist, in case of emergency.

We found locker #66G. I pried open the metal locker with a screwdriver, its contents spilling out on the floor. Let’s see. A stack of overdue homework. A half-eaten cheeseburger. A bag of glow-in-the-dark powder. I gulped. “Guys,” I turned to my gang of cohorts: The mathlete with thick rimmed glasses, the blonde vixen in a cheerleader uniform, the skater with the tie dye shirt, the dog. “I think I found something.”

Above us, the lights flickered. A strained, moaning sound rang through the halls. Suddenly, a specter in white rags with a phantom mask appeared, floating and glowing a ghoulish green. Rattling chains looped around it’s arms.

“It-it-it’s the Grahamsville G-G-Ghost!”

“Yikes!”

“Finley, run!” My friend called out to me. The Grahamsville Ghost hovered towards us.  

Real ghost or not, I wasn’t looking to become the next missing victim. New plan: Run!

I tried experimenting with different tones here, different subgenres of mystery fiction. Sometimes, It’s good to write outside your comfort zone. In the first part, I was aiming for noir vibes, second part was more a cozy mystery and third part was based on Saturday morning cartoons. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. I’m open to feedback.

Happy sleuthing!

Write with heart,

Lady Jabberwocky

5 Archetypes of Fictional Detectives

~ ladyjabberwocky ~ 11 Comments

Hello sleuths!

Welcome to May of Mystery, an entire month dedicated to detective fiction and mystery lovers alike.

At the heart of every mystery story is a detective ready to crack the case. In detective fiction, any character can become a sleuth. Detectives can come from any background, any walk of life, and have differing methods of deduction. Let’s investigate the various types of fictional detectives, shall we? Here are 5 classic archetypes of detectives in mystery fiction.

Amateur Sleuth

This is somewhat an general term for any mystery solver who has no connection with law enforcement. Nor do they get paid in assisting in an investigation. These types of fictional detectives can be adventure seekers, inquisitive reporters or simply nosy neighbors. Regardless of their reason for investigating, Amateur Sleuths are guided by their curiosity and desire for knowledge and justice. Because they may lack the skills a “proper detective”, their investigations tend to be a learning experience for them.

Hardboiled Detective

A staple in noir fiction, the hardboiled detective is one of the more notable archetypes. All a hardboiled detective needs is a trench coat, a gun and their acholic beverage of choice. With their tough exteriors, they have a cynical outlook on the world. Their morals are grey, there is no right or wrong. Protagonists are often depicted as Anti Heroes, or characters who act in self-interest and don’t have typical heroic qualities. An untraditional knight in shining armor, if you will. Perhaps that’s why they sometimes get tangled up with Femme Fatales. Famous fiction detectives such as Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade are noted as quintessential hardboiled detectives.

Private Investigator

Next up, the private investigator, another notable type of fictional detective. Usually self employed or cooperating alongside law enforcement, they follow their own rules and their own means of investigating and deduction. In some cases, private investigators have had previous experience working for law enforcement, and may still have connections. Most of the time, they are hired by clients who are in desperate need of their sleuthing skills. Genius great detective types, like Consulting Detective Sherlock Holmes would fit this archetype.

Little Old Lady

For a more cozy mystery, call on grandma to save the day. From years of wisdom and experience, they seem to have a knack for this mystery solving thing. Using their unassuming appearance to their advantage, they attract little attention and can work around the cops. Instead of having intense interrogations, suspects sometimes confide details on the case willingly. Constantly underestimated, who would think a sweet little old lady could crack the case? The iconic Miss Marple, created by Agatha Christie, is the perfect example of this type of fictional detective.

Kid Detective

Often designed for a younger audience in an adventure-centric plot, a kid detective is another type of detective found in mystery fiction. Though they may not need to be an actual child, this archetype includes sleuths who are minors. These young snoops must sneak passed the suspicious adults without getting in trouble with their parents. They rely on trickery and sneaking around to obtain evidence. Being juveniles, they face difficulty asking questions of adults and convincing police that a crime was committed. The cases they take on never involve violence or truly dangerous situations, their antagonists are harmless. Some would argue that Mystery Inc. from the Scooby Doo Franchise would fall under this category.

What are you favorite types of detective characters? And for all the mystery writers out there, which archetype would you categorize your sleuth under? Talk to me in the comments. As always, I love to hear from you guys.

Happy sleuthing!

Love,

Lady Jabberwocky

Follow Me on Twitter

Camp NaNoWriMo – Week Four Update & 1,300 Followers!

~ ladyjabberwocky ~ 3 Comments

Hello Writer Bees!

This was my last week at Camp NaNoWriMo. Here’s how it went.

This was my first time participating in the event and I’m honestly happy I tried it out. Sometimes, we need a challenge like NaNoWriMo to push us to our end goal. I’m definitely a lot closer to that holy grail of a final draft than I was on April 1st. Feeling like I made good progress on my WIP. Camp NaNo helped me stay focused and motivated to work on my story a little everyday. With some more editing, It’ll be ready to read through the draft in its entirety.

Also, my devious plans for May of Mystery are finished. I’m super excited. Already dusting off my detective hat. For those new to the blog, May of Mystery is an entire month dedicated to mystery fiction. All prompts and posts will be mystery themed. Now that a posting schedule is in place for May, I’m all set to talk about all things mystery. Hope you all stick around and enjoy. And happy sleuthing!

If you’re feeling stuck, or want to write something new, try participating in a NaNoWriMo event. It’s a great way to get motivated and meet other talented writers. I highly recommend joining in. More the merrier. I had a great time at camp, even if I was in the editing trenches the whole time. Editing can be a difficult process. But this fun little event helped me trudge through.

My head is spinning from the seemingly endless rewrites and edits. I’m looking forward to taking it easy this weekend with my boyfriend. Play some DnD, watch some Sailor Moon, and eat copious amounts of takeout. A writer’s job isn’t always sunshine and roses. Make sure you take a break when needed, to recharge those beautiful creative juices.

On a side note, something else happened this month. This blog reached 1,300 followers. What!? That’s amazing! Thank you all so much for the love and support and positive writing vibes. You guys keep me writing and keep this blog going.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.

How are your creative endeavors going? What progress have you made lately? Are you looking forward to May Of Mystery? Talk to me in the comments. As always, I love to hear from you.  

Write with heart.

Love,

Lady Jabberwocky

Follow Me on Twitter

Camp NaNoWriMo – Week Three Update

~ ladyjabberwocky ~ 3 Comments

Hello Writer Bees!

Hope you all are staying safe and staying creative.

Thank you all for the lovely, supportive comments the past few weeks. I really do have the best readers out there. You guys made me feel so much better about my “same name” problem from last week. Maybe I’ll toss my worries away about naming characters and go with my writer gut. Thank you again for all the kind words and positive thoughts.

Life’s been busy this week. All good things, nothing bad. Didn’t have much free time but made do with the time I did have. Only able to get a little editing and writing done during my lunch breaks. Writing wise, I’m filling in tiny gaps and smoothing out transitions. Editing wise, I’m beginning to break down the story into even chapters. Didn’t realize until now that what I considered as chapter had vastly different word counts. Some were too short, some were too long. I’m working on find the goldilocks of things, so each chapter is around the same word count.

I’m still aiming to have a read through of a final draft by the end of Camp NaNoWriMo. I doubt it, but cross your fingers for me anyway. Right now, I’m stuck in a cycle of perpetual editing and writing to no end. Hard to see the end of the tunnel.

Question for the published writers and final drafters out there. How did you go about your final draft before publishing? Was it a lot of tweaking and editing before the plot just grows wings and flies out the nest? How did you know when your story was complete? I’m curious to hear what you have to say.

Aside from editing, my other goal for Camp NaNoWriMo was to plan May of Mystery. All the mystery prompts are scheduled ahead of time. Check that off my to-do list. Every month, I try to post one short story or flash fiction on this blog. Since May is detective themed, I’m playing around with a detective inspired story idea. Already starting the bare bones first draft. Hope you guys like it. If you have any ideas for mystery themed posts, or questions on detective fiction, let me know in the comments.

That’s been my third week at Camp NaNo. Working on both my WIP and on new content. Really looking forward to how my creative endeavors turn out.

How are your creative projects going? How is your Camp NaNoWriMo adventure?  

Write with heart.

Love,

Lady Jabberwocky

Follow Me on Twitter

Camp NaNoWriMo – Week Two Update

~ ladyjabberwocky ~ 5 Comments

Hello Writer Bees!

Whose dish is on the chopping block? Apparently, my mystery WIP.

This week has been a massacre. Spent most of the week trimming unwanted tidbits from my story. Chunks of paragraphs are being considered for removal. When I’m editing, I underline sentences to mark that they will either be moved or cut altogether. Looks much better than a scary red pen scratching words out. And I’m seeing a lot underlined, starting to get a little nervous. Despite some self doubt, I continue to march on and eat my feelings in Chinese takeout.

Someone once gave me the advice to not delete words of the story. Instead, to set them aside in another word document. They called it the ‘graveyard’, a place to store material that could be used in future works. Some smaller plotlines and inconsequential sentences are being moved to the graveyard, for safe keeping. Maybe they aren’t right in this story, but they may be useful in another story.

Writing and editing has its ups and down. Last week, I felt great about my WIP. In good spirits. Felt like my work was decent, at best. This week, however, I asked myself ‘who would read this trash?’. Yes, the creative process may be a rollercoaster. But if you ever feel like I do, please, keep working and just hold on for the ride. It’ll all be worth it in the end, I’m sure.

In other news, I have a question for you guys. I’ve considered changing the name of two of my characters. As I looked through potential names, I realized a name I really liked is the same name as a notable real person. Then that got me thinking. Is that alright? I mean, I guess this was bound to happen, since I’m using realistic human names. So, I’m opening the floor to you. What do you think of characters that coincidently share a name with a real-life person? How do you go about that? Curious what you all have to say on the matter.

Let’s s see what week three of Camp NaNoWriMo has in store for me. Hope everyone participating in Camp NaNoWriMo is making good progress on their work.

Happy Easter and Passover to anyone celebrating!

How are your creative endeavors coming along? Talk to me in the comments!

Write with heart,

Lady Jabberwocky

Follow Me on Twitter