What I Learned in 2023 About Plotting a Novel

And About Aging as a Writer, A Tale Told Partly in Pictures

2023 was one of the most enthralling and rewarding yet difficult and demanding years ever for me as an author. Which makes sense if you believe the saying that “nothing worth having ever comes easy.”

I published my first suspense novel, landed a deal for a second, and learned a great deal more about plotting, but it was NOT a smooth ride. Not even close.

Let’s go back a little . . . or a lot. My very first book Sisters and Lovers—women’s fiction—was published when I was a spry, young 40-something-year-old and let’s just say that was decades ago. That period in time was also enthralling for me but for far different reasons. That first novel hit the bookstores with a huge buzz in the air, I went on a whirlwind tour all around the country, and the book went on to sell more than a half million copies. My very next novel hit the New York Times bestseller list, and on and on with more book deals and ever increasing advances.

Photo by Ashleigh Bing

Then it all came crashing down several years later. I had published about eight books by then, one every year or two. I got married, adopted children. I was bobbing and weaving between juggling a growing family and writing books. Add to that a few big, heart wrenching personal setbacks. It reached a point where I needed a change. A big one. So I stopped writing. At the time, I wasn’t sure I’d write another book ever again.

But as I’ve often heard and now know to be true: if you’re a writer, you must write. You might put the writing off and engage in other pursuits for a while but sooner or later you have got to put pen to paper. It’s as if writing is what you were born to do.

So about 10 years after my departure from the writing scene, I decided I was ready to return. But being ready was one thing. Could I? I was in my 60s by then. Was I too old or had I been away too long?

During my absence, the publishing business had undergone major changes. When I had written my last book, authors were just beginning to send manuscripts to editors and agents via email instead of printing out hundreds of pages and shipping them off by way of UPS or FedEx. Can’t hardly imagine doing that now. We were also just beginning to buy books online, and many independent and chain bookstores like Borders soon vanished. Then came Covid-19 and major upheavals in everything including publishing.

Whew!

Fortunately, I soon discovered that my age and time away meant little, in no small part due to my wonderful agent Victoria Sanders, who has been with me from the very beginning. She has always believed in my work and was enthusiastic about my return. It took a while—longer than it ever had when I was in my prime as a writer. And at one point, after a couple of rejections, it looked as if all my work—my query letters, proposals, sample chapters—would prove fruitless. But with persistence and planning, we eventually landed not one, not two, but three book deals from two major New York publishers. One of the best things about this line of work is that you never really grow too old.

Not only that, as mentioned earlier, two of the deals were for suspense novels, something I had envisioned writing for some time. This would be far different from writing women’s fiction and I knew I had big challenges ahead of me. I quickly came to realize that nothing tests a writer’s planning and plotting skills like a suspense novel. I was going to need to up my game.

With reading, study, and a lot of revisions I learned more than ever about pacing, foreshadowing, and red herrings. I got better at letting events and details drip out slowly to keep readers hanging on with the promise of a big reveal at the end. Although mastering these literary devices is essential when writing mysteries and suspense, they would help any storyteller hook and hold onto readers to the end.

So, below you have it–scenes from a very memorable if not exhausting year, courtesy of this old-timer, mostly in images. While the year reminded me of all that I love about writing–the planning, plotting, and crafting, the collaboration behind the scenes, the meeting and hearing from readers–I was also reminded of the things I hate, er, could easily do without, like fast-approaching deadlines and constantly having to put my introverted self out there to promote my work. These days that also means hustling on social media even when I may not feel up to it.

Anyway, enough griping. I have so much to be thankful for. Let’s focus on that. The year started with my first domestic thriller and ended with another thriller in the works. Between them both came a gorgeous, tabletop, photo-essay book in collaboration with photographer Milton Washington.

You Never Know. As I mentioned, I had to really push myself on my first domestic suspense novel and I picked up a great deal about plotting along the way.

This was a really big deal—a complimentary blurb from thriller writer Karin Slaughter. You know, the world-famous author who wrote Pieces of Her, the Will Trent series, and many other stellar, mega-bestsellers.

I had an engaging, thoughtful conversation with author Victoria Christopher Murrary at a bookstore in Washington, DC. Victoria is also a New York Times bestselling author of fiction and nonfiction. Her most recent book is The First Ladies, co-authored with Marie Benedict. 

I also had a fantastic chat in Philadelphia with award winning author Diane McKinney Whetstone, author of Our Gen and many other fine books. 

And then came this about a year later—Stepping Out: The Unapologetic Style of African Americans Over 50, a photo essay book (my second) in collaboration with photographer Milton Washington, who took these and many, many other spectacular, soulful images for the book.

Me signing bookplates.

The book quickly became a hot bestseller on Amazon.

Finally, Stepping Out was showcased at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture bookstore. I have visited this amazing museum a few times and having one of my books here is a dream come true. Not only did it get in, it was featured on display!

And so the work goes on. My second suspense novel will be released soon.