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Beverly Connor, author of the murder mystery Skeleton Crew, spoke in Demosthenian Hall Oct. 30 as part of the “Authors on Campus” lecture series sponsored by University Libraries. Some highlights:
“The book Five Chinese Brothers really captured my imagination and left a great impact on me, giving me my first inkling of interest in archaeology. . . . The idea of finding lost, wonderful things and figuring out what they are about . . . helped lead to Skeleton Crew. . . .
“Part of what I did with Skeleton Crew was write a diary in its entirety, and in order to do so I have to know a great bit of detail. . . . As a writer, I am taking information from anthropologists and historians and trying to figure out how my characters would behave, given their culture.
“One of the questions I get asked a lot is whether I write first and plug in bits of research or research first and then write. And the right answer is, do the research first! The reason is that your plot comes from the characters, and the characters come from the setting. . . . You’ll have a much better book if you do the research first. . . .
“Keep in mind that research is to make the book seem like reality. With a really good book, you forget that you are reading and feel that you are there, having been carried somewhere else. . . . Writers are absorbed in this, too. . . .
“Another question people frequently ask me is if I make an outline. The answer is no, absolutely not. One of the reasons is, I don’t know who is going to get killed. If I’m not having fun, the reader is not having fun, so I don’t do an outline. If I know how it’s going to end, then why write it? I’m also writing to have fun for me.”
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