What Did You Say?

Conversation–that two-way street of someone speaking, someone listening; then reversing roles, the first person listening, the second speaking. If I had any advice for a young couple just beginning the journey of marriage, my advice would be to talk things over. (Nobody has asked my advice lately about anything, much less marriage)

Decisions made by a husband or wife without consulting the other often lead to a disastrous conclusion. Inclusion is comfortable and exclusion is not. Talking, listening; listening, talking, discussion about an event or problem or decision moves a relationship along in the right direction. It works in storytelling too.

In the Darcy and Flora cozies, I use dialogue to move the story along. Darcy and Flora solve many mysteries over a cup of coffee while they sit at the hundred year old table. I think the longest discussion between the two happens in The Cemetery Club just after they arrive home after discovering Ben’s body at Goshen. Flora fills Darcy in on her past relationship with Ben about which, even though she knows her mom well, Darcy has no clue. But Darcy listens and asks questions; This is an essential part of the story which lays the groundwork for the rest of the book.

Conversation, whether it is in real life or fiction, is essential to a healthy relationship. It makes problems seem less unsolvable. It is a bond that can’t be imitated. I heartily recommend it–if anyone ever asks my opinion or advice, of course.

(Tomorrow my friend Sharon Mierke will give a few opinions and maybe offer some advice as she guests posts on how she came to write the Parson’s Cove Mystery series.)                                  __________________________________________________________________________________

You can read more of the conversation and dialogue and maybe a bit of advice from Flora in Blanche’s cozy mysteries, The Cemetery Club,  Grave Shift,  and Best Left Buried at these places:

http://pen-l.com/Mystery.html

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=blanche+day+manos

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/blanche+day+manos?fs=0&_requestid=48028