One Writer's Secret: Thank Goodness For Twizzlers

Hank Phillippi Ryan: Hear that sound? It’s the wail of the poor pantser, who, even after several books, has forgotten–maybe like childbirth–the utter pain of having to think of a new character/theme/setting/plot/everything. And write 95,000 or so as-yet imaginary words.

Now, you know Tracy Clark. And you know she always manages to make it fabulous. (and her newest book HIDE was a massive bestseller--more about that below!) But she does have…throes of uncertainty. Thing is, she also has a secret!

Thank goodness for Twizzlers!
By Tracy Clark

Prepping for a new book series is a little like getting ready for the first day at a new school. You’re excited that you’re starting something new, of course, but also a little nervous. You don’t know these new people. Your friends, the ones you’ve known since first grade, are back at the old place. What if you can’t find your way to the cafeteria? What if no one talks to you? What if your locker door won’t open?

Out with the old, in with the new is all well and good, but what if you liked the old? What if the old was working for you? Tough nuts. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly. Keep it moving.

So, with a little excitement and a little nervousness, I quieted the old characters in my head (even though some of them didn’t want to be quieted) and searched around for new voices. I needed new book people, a new world, a new vibe, a new everything. Do you know how daunting it is to know you need a new everything?

The new series couldn’t be a carbon copy of the old series. I would have to move from my sweet spot of PI fiction and my snarky PI, Cass Raines, to something different, someone different. That someone different couldn’t be all the things Cass was, so, how different could I make my new main bestie? 

I got out my Twizzlers. They always help me think my way out of tough writing spots. I think it's the chewing action. It takes time to polish off a Twizzler. Thinking time. M&M’s go down too quickly. But I digress.

Well, first off, I needed a name. I already knew my protagonist would be female. I knew she would be strong, independent, flawed, smart. I knew she would be African American. But who was she? Who was she?

It took forever to settle on the name Harriet Foster. Det. Harriet Foster. Homicide cop. Chicago Police Department. Sounded good, but before I decided on it, I had tried so many name combinations. Nothing felt right, until Harriet, for Tubman, who followed the North Star to freedom, and Foster because it was succinct and strong, fit her. Say it aloud. Foster. Foster. The nickname Harri came quicker. Harri, not Hari. Something about the double R’s appealed to me.

OK. Now I had a framework, a main character, a name, a subgenre—police procedural. Cops. (I decided to walk on the wild side and see how the other half lived.) I swapped my much-loved (by me) independent operative with a penchant for picking locks, climbing into other peoples’ places, snooping into bad guy’s files, basically, Nancy Drew if Nancy Drew were a 36-year-old African American female ex-cop turned PI infamous for a biting retort and a dogged determination to pursue justice, for a 43-year-old African-American female homicide detective, who couldn’t pick anything, climb through anything, or snoop at anything, or else she’d lose her good city job and pension. Oh, the constraints. Oh, the writing hours wasted wrestling with those constraints. Warrants? Cass didn’t need no stinkin’ warrants! But Harriet did. Harriet had to follow the law. Heck, Harriet was the law. Back to the Twizzlers.

Now I needed a plot, a case that Harriet could sink her teeth into. You know that antsy feeling you get when a train is late, and you stare down the tracks checking for lights and the sound of whistles as the minutes tick by? You need that train. You’re going to be late for the opening curtain of Hadestown, or whatever. But the train ain’t coming; the tracks are silent. You paid $200 for that Hadestown ticket. You begin to pace on the platform. You’re gonna miss that curtain. Magnify that by ten.

But funny thing about writers, it doesn’t take much to spark the imagination. Characters and stories, like trains, eventually come, as it did for me and Harriet. This story, Harriet’s debut, even came with a title HIDE. The title carries a double meaning, which is also kind of neat. I like to keep things witchy.

So, I was off to the races.

But the writing was slow-going and tough. Harriet wasn’t Cass. Her vibe was different. Her backstory wasn’t easy to craft. Harriet was older, more flawed, solemn, wounded, brilliant on the job, a mess off duty, and I had to dig for her like a miner 49er had to dig for gold dust. Still do.

But that’s really my process for every writing project. I’m a pantser, which means I approach a new book without a firmly developed plan. I have ideas. I have thoughts. I just don’t have a roadmap written down. I craft that as I go, line by line, page by page.

I’m firmly in the new series now. I think I’ve finally got a good handle on Harriet. She’s aloof, methodical, intuitive. She thinks more than she speaks. Cass is still there waiting for her next turn up at bat, but, meanwhile, I’m finding Harriet an interesting nut to crack. I’ve even given her an eclectic investigative team with stories of their own to tell.

 I’ve found the new voices and have built a new world with a great vibe. I kind of knew I would, but writers always worry. Right now, the new school is working out. I’ve found the cafeteria and my locker works just fine.

I keep the Twizzlers close, though. Pantsers never have an easy time of it.

HANK: SO true! But I have to agree, Twizzlers are the BEST. (And I love the name Harriet, too…. :-) And congratulations, Tracy, on your wild success!

What about you, reds and readers? Twizzlers fan? How about the not-red ones? The fake ones? The little ones? Let’s twist again! And do you have a go-to snack when you’re reading or writing?

Tracy Clark, a native Chicagoan, is the author of the Cass Raines Chicago Mystery series, featuring ex-cop turned PI Cassandra Raines. A multi-nominated Anthony, Lefty, Edgar and Shamus Award finalist, Tracy is also the 2020 and 2022 winner of the G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award. She was also nominated for the 2022 Edgar for Best Short Story for “Lucky Thirteen,” which was included in the crime fiction anthology “Midnight Hour.” She is a proud member of Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime and serves on the boards of Bouchercon National and the Midwest Mystery Conference. Her latest book, RUNNER, was released in June 2021. Her debut novel, BROKEN PLACES, has been optioned by Sony Pictures Television. Her next book, HIDE, featuring Det. Harriet Foster, releases in January 2023.

HIDE by Tracy Clark

When a young red-haired woman is found brutally murdered in downtown Chicago, one detail stands out: the red lipstick encircling her wrists and ankles.

Detective Harriet Foster is on the case, even though she’s still grieving the sudden death of her partner. As a Black woman in a male-dominated department, Foster anticipates a rocky road ahead acclimating to a new team―and building trust with her new partner isn’t coming easily.

After another victim turns up with the same lipstick markings, Foster suspects she’s looking for a serial killer. Through a tip from a psychiatrist, Foster learns about Bodie Morgan: a troubled man with a twisted past and a penchant for pretty young redheads with the bluest eyes. As Foster wades into Morgan’s sinister history, the killer continues their gruesome assault on Chicago’s streets.

In her desperate race to catch the murderer before they strike again, Foster will have to confront the darkest of secrets―including her own.