The fruits of discipline

From the daily diary of a mystery author:

There is nothing like a little self-deprivation to get a work-in-progress unstalled. Temporarily shuttering my accounts on Facebook and Twitter three days ago has enabled me to get nearly 15 new pages done (I write slowly and for only about a couple of hours a day, but over time that will add up to a new novel).

I've adopted the old trick Michael Connelly uses in his new The Scarecrow: inserting into his first-person narrative an occasional chapter written from the point of view of his serial killer. This turns the novel into a cat-and-mouse game and heightens the tension. I only hope I can pull it off as well as Connelly has.

I've also created a new character to add to the pile of possible suspects my detective hero has to sift through. This is one of the best parts of writing fiction, fleshing skeleton figures with history and personality, making them come alive.