Writers' Rituals - Deb Baker

The Mysterious Writing Habits of Crime Writers From Around the World

Feb 27, 2009

Writing a novel requires an idea, the right words, and something extra. Writer Deb Baker shares the secrets of her approach to writing, from idea to execution.

Are writers obsessive-compulsive? Overly superstitious? Or do habits and rituals provide security for writers who never know where the next idea, or the words to write it, will come from?

Searching for clues to the secrets of writing, Suite 101 has an exclusive interview with Deb Baker whose Yooper mystery series is set in the Michigan Upper Peninsula and features Gertie Johnson, mother of the local sheriff. The stories are fun romps through the backwoods. Deb’s Dolls To Die For series are more traditional mysteries involving Gretchen Birch and her Phoenix doll collector’s club (Gretchen is learning that dolls aren’t child’s play and that some dolls are worth killing for).

How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?

Plotting? Very little. I’m a seat-of-the-pants, let what happens happen type of writer. Sometimes that’s wonderful. Other times, I back my characters into impossible situations and have to scheme to get them out.

Research is more organized. For the doll series, I do quite a lot of research using online resources, attending doll shows, and working with a doll restoration artist I know. For the Yooper series, I sit in the local bar with my dad and listen to the stories. I couldn’t make up anything nearly as incredible or as amusing.

What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?

I work best and am most creative in the morning. I write anywhere from two hours to five, depending on how tight my deadlines are. The hardest thing about writing two series books every year is planning to meet deadlines. So far, after seven books, I haven’t missed a deadline yet.

Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?

Sitting at a computer all days is hard on the body. I take breaks often, walk a little, stretch, eat things I shouldn’t eat.

Where do you write?

In the basement, but it isn’t a dingy, typical basement, because it’s exposed. Sometimes for variety, I move to the kitchen table or outside if the weather is decent.

What do you write with?

...and why is that your preference?

I started out writing short stories by hand, then transferring them to a computer. That seemed redundant so I began writing everything on the computer. I could never go back.

Describe what you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.

Describe the things you can see when you look up from your writing.

I write in an exposed basement with a beautiful view of an apple tree and maples and oaks beyond. Bird feeders hang from the apple tree’s branches, so visitors come and go – birds, turkeys, deer, and an occasional opossum.

What was the first thing you wrote which was published?

The very first was a short story that appeared in a literary journal called Passages North. It was about a boy in Michigan and a new guy in town. That launched my next writing effort in the direction of my birth, which was the U.P., and all the quirky characters I grew up with there. My first full-length mystery sold after winning an international contest, first in the mystery category then best of show.

What is your latest book?

In the Yooper series – "Murder Talks Turkey". In the Dolls to Die For series – "Ding Dong Dead". I’m also thrilled to be working on a new series for Berkley Prime Crime about a Wisconsin beekeeper.

The copyright of the article Writers' Rituals - Deb Baker in Freelance Writing is owned by Janice Hally. Permission to republish Writers' Rituals - Deb Baker in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.