October Murder with McBain
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December Murder with McBain
January Murder with McBain
February Murder with McBain
March Murder with McBain
April Murder with McBain
Rob Holden: Hello Evan, and welcome to May's edition of Murder with McBain at ReadersRoom.com. Great to see you again!
Ed McBain: Great to be here!
Rob Holden: How has April treated you? Except for the 15th of course ....
Ed McBain: Fine, so far. Lots of what I call homework. Correcting page proofs and such. And yes, tax returns.
Natalie R. Collins: Homework! I like it.
Rob Holden: Enough of THAT most unpleasant of subjects ... let's get to this month's topic! It comes from our old friend Jean Pierre -- who has been so persistent, that we decided to ask his question. And so without any further ado -- Nat?
Natalie R. Collins: "Why write a novel, (for example in the Matthew Hope series), or a short story, in the first person and another in the third person POV-form? First person, as you did with--for example--Don't Crowd Me or Nobody Knew They Were There and third person as you did with Streets of Gold or The Paper Dragon or Far from the Sea...." And away we go!
Ed McBain: I hate to correct JP, but I think Streets of Gold was first person. And the Hopes switched from first in the earlier books to third later. Cinderella, I believe it was. And not a single critic noticed.
Rob Holden: Which takes us to the topic of POV -- or writing 101! So let's start with this Evan, how do you decide how you are going to write a novel?
Ed McBain: In terms of voice, do you mean?
Rob Holden: Yes sir.
Ed McBain: That's the hardest thing to choose. Writing in first person is both easier (for beginners) and harder for more experienced writers.
Rob Holden: Well, can you give us an idea of how you make the choice? What processes you go through?
Ed McBain: First person gives a sense of intimacy. Me directly to you -- but it's limiting in that you can't go into anyone else's head. Third person allows freedom to explore other's thoughts, and events that happen beyond your own purlieu. I sort of feel my way into it, see which feels right to me. I can always switch persons later if it feels wrong.
Rob Holden: Well, that isn't always true, is it? You took readers into Annie's head quite effectively in The Moment She was Gone -- at least, I thought you did.
Ed McBain: Yes, but that requires a sleight of hand beginners shouldn't try.
Natalie R. Collins: So, Evan, how often have you started a work in one POV, and ended up switching it?
Ed McBain: You know, except for some short stories (where first person is easy to use) and some earlier work, there are very few things I've written in first. First seemed right for the early private eye stuff. Hard-boiled tone, you know, "listen to me, kiddo!".
Natalie R. Collins: So you prefer third?
Ed McBain: Oh sure -- get into everybody's head. Male, female, police dog, goldfish. More fun.
Natalie R. Collins: I always like the fish's POV.
Ed McBain: Gulp!
Rob Holden: With the exception of a few snippets written by Ollie Weeks in Fat Ollie's Book, I don't recall you ever using first person in the 8-7 books. Have you ever considered writing a first person 8-7? Would you consider it?
Ed McBain: Right, but Ollie's a rank amateur, so he chooses first. I'd never do an 8-7 in first person -- never. Too many heads to enter. Good guys, bad guys, wow! Third gives you freedom, but you have to be skilled to use it.
Natalie R. Collins: First person can be limiting. I am currently experimenting with first and third alternating. How do you feel about this type of, uh, maneuvering?
Ed McBain: I did that in one book, I forget which now. JP will be able to tell us. It worked for me. Be careful, it's tricky. Just make sure the reader knows where he's at all the time. You're talking to him, remember.
Natalie R. Collins: Excellent advice.
Rob Holden: So what is your decision based on initially? How you feel about the story? The main character? A combination of both?
Ed McBain: There's this cold body of water below you, and you're on a diving board. You have to jump in. Do you say, "I was walking down Main." or "He was walking down Main."? Do I say, "I am walking down Main." or "He is walking down Main." So you jump and you see how the water feels.
Natalie R. Collins: What if you can't swim?
Ed McBain: Sometimes you drown.
Rob Holden: And, generally, how long does it take you to sink or swim?
Ed McBain: Sometimes two or three pages. Sometimes 50 pages before you know you're floundering and you'd better reach for the flotation device. And that's enough of this metaphor!
Rob Holden: Let's go back to the start of your career. Back when you were starting out, did editors and publishers have a preference for which person they wanted your novels to be in?
Ed McBain: Nobody said a word about that. For the markets I was hitting, all they wanted was more sex. Speaking of sex, you may feel more comfortable writing a sex scene in the third person.
Natalie R. Collins: There seems to be a "bias" today in publishing against first person unless you are an established author. What advice would you offer new writers about choosing a voice?
Ed McBain: Choose the one that feels right. If you choose first person, remember you're stuck with that guy or gal for the rest of the book. If you choose third, you'd better know how to switch viewpoints and you'd better know how to assume different characters. It ain't easy.
Rob Holden: Let's stick with switching "voices" for a moment. Now that I think of it, I am wondering why you chose to write BOTH halves of Candyland in third person. During the book, I was wondering why you hadn't written the first half of the book from Ben's perspective.
Ed McBain: Candyland? It would have been too jolting to switch POV and person. Besides, third seemed VERY personal throughout.
Natalie R. Collins: Evan, when you read a book, what do you prefer? First person or third?
Ed McBain: Either is okay with me, as long as the writer knows what he's doing. I can tell in the first two paragraphs if I'm on the right bus and can trust the driver.
Rob Holden: Okay, Evan, I think that's about as far as we can go with Point of View -- and since Mickey is putting on his brass knuckles ...I think we should wind this up.
Ed McBain: It always seems so soon.
Rob Holden: Next month -- as a reader suggested -- let's talk about Let's Talk -- and about cancer in general
Ed McBain: Okay. Painful maybe, but okay..
Rob Holden: For this chat, we are going to invite questions -- not topics, but individual questions -- from our readers.
Ed McBain: Great. Happy to answer them.
Rob Holden: As you said to me the other day, the only way to make cancer go away is to talk about it, so that's what we'll do.
Ed McBain: I'm ready.
Rob Holden: And with that Evan, as always it has been a pleasure and we'll see you next month!
Ed McBain: I'll be here waiting. So long, everyone!
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