The question most often asked of writers is, “Where do you get your ideas?” Novel writers are lucky. They don’t need to come up with a new idea more than once a year (or twice if they’re prolific). On the other hand, short story writers are more likely to produce a whole story, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, as often as once a month. The superstars among us seem to be able to do it even more often than that. I have no idea how they manage it.
As for me, my annual New Year’s resolution for the last six years has been to write, rewrite, and rewrite again, and then submit a story to an editor or publisher at least once a month. Please don’t ask me how often I’ve managed it. Somehow, though, I’ve been fortunate to have 31 of my stories accepted for publication thus far.
I had no idea what I was doing at first, but the key to the dilemma of pulling new ideas out of the air became a lot easier when I learned to look for anthologies that were seeking submissions. The advantage of anthologies over magazines and other potential markets was that anthologies always have a theme. To be considered for publication, all you have to do is find a story to fit the theme. Not as easy as it sounds, though.
When I stumbled on the call for submissions for Peace, Love, and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Songs of the 60’s, I had an aha moment. How hard could it be to come up with a song from an era I knew, up close and personal? When I researched the top songs of the era, I was surprised to see that “Nights in White Satin,” one of my favorites because of its poetic ambiguity, wasn’t actually called “Knights in White Satin.” The lyrics made more sense without clunky armor being involved.
The story showed itself in the guise of a beautiful old mansion a block from my house that was frequently rented out for weddings. White satin! It would be the perfect setting for a murder. Adding to the mix, PTSD was in the news often. I envisioned a wedding photographer who had survived Afghanistan only to find herself caught up in the hazards of trying to keep prima donna brides happy.
You’ll have to read the story to see how it all worked out. I’ll just say that unlike in romance stories, happy endings are not guaranteed.
An Orchid To Die For – Part Two
This is the second in a series of articles on how I get my story ideas. “An Orchid to Die For” appeared in Autumn Noir, an anthology published in February 2022 by Unsettling Reads. The publisher’s name gives you a hint about the direction they wanted.
The Call for Submissions included specific requirements. Here’s an abbreviated summary:
1. Respect genre norms for crime, mystery, noir, suspense and/or thrillers.
2. Feature the autumn season.
3. Pick from one of four quotations. The one I chose was from Gillian Flynn. “Dark sides are important. They should be nurtured like nasty black orchids.”
I couldn’t resist that one. I’ve grown orchids for years with varying degrees of success. What I didn’t know at the time was that my collection would be destroyed by Hurricane Ian by the end of that year. The reference to black orchids in particular was also a plus, since Nero Wolfe was one of my favorite detectives, and his orchid-growing skills were far above my own attempts.
I decided to use one of my favorite characters, private investigator Zoe Tanner, and set the story in the fictional Florida town of Porta Larga. I decided she would be hired to find a stolen black orchid amidst hints of evil, death, and power, which superstitions attributed to black orchids. It was my first woo woo story, and it put Zoe in peril. Spoiler alert: She survived and has appeared in several other of my stories. This one remains one of my favorites, especially because of the fun twist at the end.
I should also add that after leaving Florida behind, I started a new collection of orchids. To my surprise, they’re flourishing with me in the Pacific Northwest.
Wendy Harrison is a retired prosecutor who turned to short mystery fiction during the pandemic. Her stories have been published in numerous anthologies including Peace, Love & Crime, Autumn Noir, CRIMEUCOPIA: Tales from the Back Porch, The Big Fang, Gargoylicon, Death of a Bad Neighbour, Checkpoint Charlie, Never Cheat a Witch, and CRIMEUCOPIA: One More Thing to Worry About, as well as in Shotgun Honey.
When Hurricane Ian destroyed her home in Florida, she moved to Washington State, as far from Florida as she could get. She now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and first reader, Brooks.
