We’re starting the new year without one of mystery’s
luminaries. She was gracious to new writers at conferences, but tough
nevertheless. She had an opinion and she wasn’t afraid to use it!
One of her many admirable stances related to the integrity
of her work. She wouldn’t allow a film version—neither TV nor movie—to be made
of any of her books. I’m sure she didn’t want the inevitable Hollywoodization
of Kinsey. Accordingly, she also made clear that no ghost writers were to take
up a partial manuscript and complete it. Her work would end with her. Admirable, right?
At the last conference where I heard her speak, Left Coast
Crime, she was quite clear on a number of points about another writing
perspective. Among other viewpoints expressed, she was against writing groups and
critique partners because she thought they aided and abetted the abrogation of
the writer’s responsibilities.
She said that we should know if something is working, and if
not, we should know how to fix it. She implied that using a writer’s group or
critique partner would be a lazy way out and shirked the writer’s ultimate role
and usurped the writer’s authority.
Well, I’d bet that 90% of the writers in that audience had a
group or partner or both. It shook me. And I felt the tremors around the room.
Was I avoiding the hard work by shoving it off onto others?
Was I such a poor writer and editor of my own words that I needed hand-holding?
Maybe. That is a tough cookie to choke down.
She said we get better at being our own editors if we just
do it. And be honest with ourselves. Then fix it.
It’s true. We know when something isn’t right, isn’t
working, doesn’t make sense. But, we/I expect others to tell us the hard truth because
we keep hoping we’re wrong. That the manuscript is okay. That it’s “good enough
for government work.” That we can collect our “how wonderful”s and get on to
something else.
No, Sue Grafton insisted, you will get it right. That is, if you want to call yourself a
professional writer.
She was funny, brilliant, insightful, and helped open up the
world of female detectives to those who would follow. All of us, mystery
writers and others, hope you and Kinsey are at peace now after your fight with a
devastating cancer. As your daughter said, “The alphabet now ends at Y.”
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