I have started reading another Wilkie Collins novel No Name.
I am so intrigued by how well Collins builds characters and
suspense. I have learned quite a bit from
his writing and am grateful for his skill as well as his stories—which,
frankly, are just hard to put down. While
it is difficult to stomach some of the Victorian era values, Collins’ writing
still wrestles with the stuff I like to wrestle with—injustice, the
inconstancies (great Victorian word, yes?) of the human character, mercy, hope
and justice.
Because of my reading of Wilkie Collins, Chesterton’s Father
Brown mysteries, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock, John Grisham and my
constant intrigue with good television mysteries, I think my next journey in
novel writing will be my first attempt at a mystery. So, how about a mystery buried in the time of
Ancient Israel and the early decades of the Mosaic Law?
As I’ve read and discovered, it does take far more
preparation to build a mystery than it does to approach, say perhaps, a fantasy
novel where I make up the rules. So, the character charts and timelines are
already being built and revised as the days go by. I do enjoy a good mental puzzle, so I hope
that I can at least give a courageous stab at this genre.
In the meantime, the never-ceasing stream of short stories
rolls through my brain. Short stories
are such good exercises for novels. They really force an author to render down
the details and settings, much like a good sauce. The elements then become more potent and
powerful. But they are more than just a
means to an end. They are delights in
and of themselves.
Copyright M.R. Hyde 2015
