{"id":6,"date":"2006-09-10T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-09-10T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orcutt.net\/weblog\/?p=6"},"modified":"2013-12-18T01:34:10","modified_gmt":"2013-12-18T01:34:10","slug":"his-pen-was-quick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/his-pen-was-quick\/","title":{"rendered":"His Pen Was Quick"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mickey

Mick\u00adey Spillane, late in life.<\/p><\/div>\n

On July 17, Mick\u00adey Spillane, cre\u00adator of the infa\u00admous Mike Ham\u00admer PI series, died. He was 88, and by all accounts he lived a pret\u00adty cool life.<\/p>\n

In addi\u00adtion to writ\u00ading sev\u00ader\u00adal best\u00adselling nov\u00adels that read\u00aders adored, Spillane played a mys\u00adtery writer on the 70s TV show Colum\u00adbo<\/em>, appeared in sev\u00ader\u00adal com\u00admer\u00adcials for Miller Lite beer, and mar\u00adried a hot sec\u00adond wife, Sher\u00adri Mali\u00adnou, who posed for the cov\u00ader of his nov\u00adel The Erec\u00adtion Set<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There are far bet\u00adter obit\u00adu\u00adar\u00adies about Mick\u00adey out there, so this entry won\u2019t detail his accom\u00adplish\u00adments. Rather, I\u2019d like to talk about cer\u00adtain ideas on writ\u00ading that he espoused (or sug\u00adgest\u00aded through his work) and what I learned from him. For lack of a bet\u00adter name, I shall call these the \u201cSpillane Prin\u00adci\u00adples.\u201d I believe that all of us aspir\u00ading mys\u00adtery writ\u00aders can learn a lot from Mr. Spillane.<\/p>\n

Ulti\u00admate\u00adly these ideas all come down to the num\u00adber one ingre\u00addi\u00adent nec\u00ades\u00adsary for com\u00admer\u00adcial fic\u00adtion: nar\u00adra\u00adtive dri\u00adve. The best def\u00adi\u00adn\u00adi\u00adtion of nar\u00adra\u00adtive dri\u00adve I have found is on the sec\u00adond page of Lar\u00adry Beinhart\u2019s book<\/a> How to Write a Mys\u00adtery<\/em> (it\u2019s excel\u00adlent by the way): \u201cNar\u00adra\u00adtive dri\u00adve is the promise\u2014or threat or tease or suggestion\u2014that some\u00adthing is going to hap\u00adpen.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spillane Prin\u00adci\u00adple #1:<\/strong> Don\u2019t take the read\u00ader where he wants to go.<\/p>\n

Time and again in the Mike Ham\u00admer nov\u00adels, when Spillane ends a scene, the scene that fol\u00adlows has noth\u00ading to do with what has just tran\u00adspired. For exam\u00adple, if he clos\u00ades a scene with Ham\u00admer in a lusty embrace with a nude dame, you want him to open the next scene with hot details about the act, or at least some inter\u00adnal mono\u00adlogue by Ham\u00admer about what hap\u00adpened. Instead, Spillane puts you in a room with a new corpse and three fat, sweaty detec\u00adtives.<\/p>\n

Anoth\u00ader way that Spillane doesn\u2019t take the read\u00ader where he wants to go has to do with clues. Ham\u00admer finds a bul\u00adlet, a piece of evi\u00addence the cops miss. We want Ham\u00admer to start fol\u00adlow\u00ading this new line of inquiry imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly. But no, Spillane pur\u00adpose\u00adly strings you along, mak\u00ading you won\u00adder why he doesn\u2019t pur\u00adsue this new clue, almost to the point that you get frus\u00adtrat\u00aded with Ham\u00admer, and then he goes there. The art is in know\u00ading how long you can tease the read\u00ader before he throws your book in the trash.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spillane<\/strong> Prin\u00adci\u00adple #2:<\/strong> Keep sequels short and to the point.<\/p>\n

\"That's

That\u2019s Sher\u00adri Mali\u00adnou, one of Spillane\u2019s wives, on the cov\u00ader.<\/p><\/div>\n

By sequels, I\u2019m not refer\u00adring to movies like Jaws 2<\/em> or Indi\u00adana Jones and the Tem\u00adple of Doom<\/em> (I loathe that movie). In sto\u00adry\u00adtelling par\u00adlance, a sequel is a brief peri\u00adod of reflec\u00adtion and\/or plan\u00adning by the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist fol\u00adlow\u00ading a scene with con\u00adflict. The idea is that a sto\u00adry is a series of scenes and sequels strung togeth\u00ader: con\u00adflict-reflec\u00adtion-con\u00adflict-plan\u00adning-and so on.<\/p>\n

In the Mike Ham\u00admer nov\u00adels, after a scene of con\u00adflict Ham\u00admer doesn\u2019t spend a lot of time mulling over his trou\u00adbles or what to do next. In fact, if any\u00adthing, the crit\u00adi\u00adcism of Ham\u00admer has been that he acts too impul\u00adsive\u00adly, with vir\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly no vis\u00adi\u00adble moti\u00adva\u00adtion. Clear\u00adly this approach doesn\u2019t work for lit\u00ader\u00adary fic\u00adtion, but in the realm of genre, or com\u00admer\u00adcial fic\u00adtion, it\u2019s near\u00adly a com\u00admand\u00adment.<\/p>\n

Relat\u00aded to this, and per\u00adhaps obvi\u00adous to mod\u00adern read\u00aders, is the idea that your char\u00adac\u00adters shouldn\u2019t take a lot of time get\u00adting from place to place. Mick\u00adey Spillane, Don\u00adald West\u00adlake, and most of the noir writ\u00aders from the pulp era were among the first to rec\u00adog\u00adnize the impor\u00adtance of this. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, some\u00adbody for\u00adgot to tell the TV writ\u00aders dur\u00ading the 1970s, because if you watch close\u00adly at least \u00bc of every episode of Hawaii Five\u2011O<\/em> showed peo\u00adple dri\u00adving. (I\u2019m con\u00advinced the pro\u00adduc\u00aders were being paid off by auto man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtur\u00aders.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spillane<\/strong> Prin\u00adci\u00adple #3:<\/strong> When your detec\u00adtive dis\u00adcov\u00aders an identity\u2014particularly the killer\u2019s\u2014don\u2019t have him reveal it imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly.<\/p>\n

In the cli\u00admac\u00adtic scene of I, the Jury<\/em>, when Ham\u00admer fig\u00adures out who killed his best friend, Spillane strings the read\u00ader along for a cou\u00adple of pages. This might seem obvi\u00adous, but I think that mod\u00adern TV detec\u00adtive shows have made writ\u00aders for\u00adget the impor\u00adtance of delay\u00ading grat\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion. Even if your sto\u00adry is in 1st per\u00adson, if your nar\u00adra\u00adtor has been forth\u00adcom\u00ading with thoughts, the\u00ado\u00adries and events through\u00adout the rest of the book, he deserves a few moments of pri\u00adva\u00adcy. And it\u2019s at this crit\u00adi\u00adcal junc\u00adture that I believe the detec\u00adtive has earned that pri\u00adva\u00adcy.<\/p>\n

Doing this allows you to entice the read\u00ader to the solu\u00adtion, and it gives the read\u00ader an oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty to solve the case her\u00adself. The idea is that if you\u2019ve played fair with the read\u00ader, pre\u00adsent\u00ading all of the infor\u00adma\u00adtion and clues your detec\u00adtive uses to solve the case, your read\u00ader should be able to solve it as well. Cre\u00adat\u00ading this brief delay between the detec\u00adtive fig\u00adur\u00ading out who\u00addunit and the sum\u00adma\u00adtion allows the read\u00ader to par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpate, invest\u00ading her more deeply in your char\u00adac\u00adters and the sto\u00adry. And if you do it right, and the read\u00ader guess\u00ades incor\u00adrect\u00adly, she will para\u00addox\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly love and respect you all the more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spillane<\/strong> Prin\u00adci\u00adple #4:<\/strong> Sex and vio\u00adlence, in their vary\u00ading degrees, are real\u00adly the only two col\u00adors on the writer\u2019s palette.<\/p>\n

This is the Spillane idea I\u2019ve got\u00adten the most out of. When you think about it, all scenes have (or should have) a con\u00adflict with tinges of sex or vio\u00adlence in them. Now, by sex Spillane didn\u2019t nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly mean hard\u00adcore, on the rug, chic\u00adka-wa-wa screw\u00ading; sex can be a kiss, the promise of an embrace, or as lit\u00adtle as a flir\u00adty exchange. And by vio\u00adlence he didn\u2019t nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly mean that one char\u00adac\u00adter had to pum\u00admel anoth\u00ader one with a pipe (although this hap\u00adpens, and aren\u2019t we read\u00aders glad for the cathar\u00adtic joy these events bring?); vio\u00adlence can be extreme\u00adly sub\u00adtle, like one char\u00adac\u00adter nudg\u00ading anoth\u00ader while on a line, a woman\u2019s cat\u00adty remark about anoth\u00ader woman\u2019s shoes, or sim\u00adply one character\u2019s refusal to do some\u00adthing anoth\u00ader char\u00adac\u00adter wants.<\/p>\n

Think\u00ading of scenes and inter\u00adac\u00adtions between char\u00adac\u00adters in this way has, for me, sim\u00adpli\u00adfied the writ\u00ading process. I\u2019m not say\u00ading it\u2019s easy or that I\u2019ve mas\u00adtered it (or even think I will). What I\u2019m say\u00ading is that approach\u00ading the writ\u00ading of fic\u00adtion with this metaphor in mind has giv\u00aden me some\u00adthing con\u00adcrete to gauge my writ\u00ading against. I think of the sex-vio\u00adlence writ\u00ading palette metaphor as those slide bars in Pho\u00adto\u00adshop that con\u00adtrol col\u00ador, bright\u00adness and con\u00adtrast. For every scene, at least sub\u00adlim\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly, I think about what degree of sex I want to con\u00advey, and what degree of vio\u00adlence the scene should have. This idea of Spillane\u2019s, besides the nov\u00adels them\u00adselves of course, is his great\u00adest gift to writers\u2014especially those of us endeav\u00ador\u00ading to write com\u00admer\u00adcial fic\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spillane<\/strong> Prin\u00adci\u00adple #5:<\/strong> Be clear about why you write.<\/p>\n

\"Spillane

Spillane when he was a young buck. I love how nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly he\u2019s pos\u00ading, point\u00ading at the book.<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019m not sure if this is apoc\u00adryphal or not, but alleged\u00adly Spillane only wrote when he need\u00aded mon\u00adey and spent the rest of his time deep-sea fish\u00ading. In a 2001 inter\u00adview, he told the Asso\u00adci\u00adat\u00aded Press that writ\u00ading \u201c\u2026is an income-gen\u00ader\u00adat\u00ading job.\u201d Think\u00ading of writ\u00ading this way, I believe, keeps it clear in the writer\u2019s mind exact\u00adly who they\u2019re writ\u00ading for. It shouldn\u2019t be for your\u00adself. It should be for the read\u00ader, the guy or gal who\u2019s going to plunk down $24.95 for your hard\u00adcov\u00ader book.<\/p>\n

And even if you don\u2019t care about sell\u00ading your work, remem\u00adber that writ\u00ading is only blank ink on paper or dots on a screen until some\u00adbody reads it. As my first writ\u00ading men\u00adtor, Thomas Gal\u00adlagher, once told me (two weeks before his death), \u201cChris, writ\u00ading is com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion.\u201d Sounds like some\u00adthing the vil\u00adlage idiot would say, but it\u2019s actu\u00adal\u00adly a pro\u00adfound point. Until some\u00adone takes in your mes\u00adsage, process\u00ades it and is affect\u00aded by your words, you haven\u2019t done any\u00adthing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sad\u00addened by the death of Mick\u00adey Spillane because I always thought his fic\u00adtion was rich\u00ader and bet\u00adter writ\u00adten than the crit\u00adics ever gave him cred\u00adit for, and while he won some awards dur\u00ading his life\u00adtime and was rec\u00adog\u00adnized by his peers, the \u201cliterati\u201d wrote him off as a hack. This is unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate because I believe that in 20 years or so, aca\u00add\u00ade\u00admics will do seri\u00adous \u201cstud\u00adies\u201d of 20th cen\u00adtu\u00adry pop fic\u00adtion and dis\u00adcov\u00ader that he was one of a hand\u00adful of writ\u00aders who gave birth to mod\u00adern com\u00admer\u00adcial fic\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

How\u00adev\u00ader, I have to admit my feel\u00adings of loss aren\u2019t entire\u00adly altru\u00adis\u00adtic. I\u2019m also sad\u00addened by Mick\u00adey Spillane\u2019s death because as soon as my mys\u00adtery nov\u00adel, A REAL PIECE OF WORK, was accept\u00aded by a pub\u00adlish\u00ader, I planned on fly\u00ading down to Flori\u00adda and beg\u00adging him (or fight\u00ading him\u2014he was 88, so I prob\u00ada\u00adbly could have tak\u00aden him) for an endorse\u00adment of my book. That isn\u2019t going to hap\u00adpen now.<\/p>\n

Good\u00adbye, Mick\u00adey, and thanks for your wisdom\u2014even if you didn\u2019t know you were teach\u00ading us. And say hel\u00adlo to Doyle, Ham\u00admett and Chan\u00addler for me, would you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On July 17, Mick\u00adey Spillane, cre\u00adator of the infa\u00admous Mike Ham\u00admer PI series, died. He was 88, and by all accounts he lived a pret\u00adty cool life.<\/p>\n

In addi\u00adtion to writ\u00ading sev\u00ader\u00adal best\u00adselling nov\u00adels that read\u00aders adored, Spillane played a mys\u00adtery writer on the 70s TV show Colum\u00adbo<\/i>, appeared in sev\u00ader\u00adal com\u00admer\u00adcials for Miller Lite beer, and mar\u00adried a hot sec\u00adond wife, Sher\u00adri Manilou, who posed for the cov\u00ader of his nov\u00adel The Erec\u00adtion Set<\/i>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,19,36,13,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craft","category-fiction","category-mystery-writing","category-writers","category-writingexperiences"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5095,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions\/5095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}