I was born in Germany and raised in the U.S. Even here in the U.S. I’ve moved around a lot and know what it’s like to be new to a community. I suppose that’s why I often write about outsiders. Each time I’ve moved, I felt excitement about exploring a new place, all the intriguing nooks and crannies, and yet oddly alone because no matter where I went, I knew I would not see a single familiar face.
When I wrote the first two books in my Outsiders mystery series, I consciously drew upon those feelings. Surprisingly, as I work on edits of my next two books, Liars’ Games and Cobblestone, I find that those feelings have infiltrated those books, as well, even though they aren’t part of the series. It wasn’t really a conscious plan. I’m not sure what this says about me, though I do realize I’m an introvert and find it sometimes difficult to make friends.
Something else that has surprised me is that ever since my first book In the Shadows: An Outsiders Mystery was published, I keep hearing the phrase ‘in the shadows’ on television–in TV shows and movies. I don’t know if it’s because it’s a common phrase, or if it’s because my mind zeroes in on the phrase now.
20 Comments
May 23, 2014 at 3:26 pm
Sadly in my own country these days Susan. It has changed beyond belief in the last 10-20 years and I am like many others, just don’t feel it is ‘home’ or anywhere I feel familiar with. Trouble is I cannot find anywhere else to call home either…an outsider indeed. 🙂
May 23, 2014 at 3:28 pm
I can understand that, Jane. This country has changed a lot, too.
May 23, 2014 at 4:48 pm
And not necessarily in a good way.
May 24, 2014 at 9:18 am
Oh I know. I see it all the time.
May 23, 2014 at 4:10 pm
I can completely relate to what you are saying about feeling an ‘outsider’ at times and how this infiltrates your writing. For me it was a conscious decision to create characters within mainstream, commercial women where my characters don’t squarely fit into the society they are in. You probably had part of the German culture as you were growing up in America as I had the Greek-Cypriot culture being born and raised in England. It can at times be challenging, but it is also enriching and I find it easy to learn foreign languages and adapt to foreign cultures. It did not take me long to learn German and feel very happy living in Germany because I was used to being different by growing up with two cultures. Our experiences do come out one way or another whether it is the themes we choose, the characters we create or our writer’s voice. Do you think you were drawn to set your story in France because of your close European roots? An American detective with French roots? Do you at times identify with your characters? I’ve read ‘In the Shadows’ and clearly loved it, so your post has got me thinking about how much of Susan was in the story too. Very interesting post, Susan.
May 23, 2014 at 7:45 pm
Thanks, Maria. It’s interesting that you also have multi-cultural experience. I chose to make Dave half American and half French and Maurelle half French and half British because I can relate to being from two cultures. I suspect that’s why my daughter is so interested in learning other languages and learning about other cultures, too. I’m finding a lot of myself in my books, especially in my time travel book.
May 23, 2014 at 4:16 pm
Wonderful post. It opens up avenues of thought. It’s probably good for an artist to feel like an outsider. It keeps us creating our own home, so to speak. I like this blog very much.
May 23, 2014 at 7:45 pm
Thanks, Marlene.
May 23, 2014 at 4:52 pm
I agree with Maria, although I don’t have that same dual-culture experience that the two of you share. I do, however, share that feeling of alienation, and it is interesting – now you’ve got me thinking about my own work, where one of the characters does have that dual-culture experience, and another whose beliefs are completely foreign to the family in which he’s raised. Perhaps it’s a bit of my own sense of alienation seeping into my work? I’d never really thought about it before, and now I’m keen to see what other parts of myself have slipped into my writing without my realizing it. Great post!
May 23, 2014 at 7:46 pm
Thanks, Kay. It’s interesting to explore our own work and sometimes find out things we hadn’t realized more.
May 23, 2014 at 8:01 pm
It really is. Some of the things that pop up in my work repeatedly are things I’m conscious of (like the MC often only having a father, the mother having died when the MC was young) because they are what I know. Looking for parts of myself that have seeped into my story unconsciously was not something I’d thought to do till now. 🙂
May 23, 2014 at 5:00 pm
Sometimes I notice a repetition in my writing that is based on my own experiences. I have two responses, one being that it is a part of myself that naturally enters my stories. On the other hand, I find myself watching so that my characters and themes do not become repetitious. I want them to offer fresh and new experiences to the readers. This pushes me into areas somewhat foreign to me at times, but as you described with arriving in a new place and wanting to explore the nooks and crannies, I feel I learn something new and offer varied themes. But the original experience always informs my starting point and my perception of where a character might want to go. In a sense, some of these original experiences are gifts that inform our characters, whether they are like me or in some way different.
Interesting blog, Susan.
May 23, 2014 at 7:52 pm
Thanks, Kathleen. I know what you mean. I try to keep my stories and themes different and refreshing, but I do see some things that repeat. Perhaps part of that is inherent in writing mystery stories, but some of it might be my way of trying to understand people and situations. It’s interesting how our writing delves into these areas and make us think.
May 23, 2014 at 7:52 pm
Sometimes being an outsider is the best thing, gives you a sense of freedom and objectivity. We all belong to the larger community of humanity, but being on the outside allows us to truly observe sometimes, which is harder to do from the inside. 🙂
May 23, 2014 at 7:54 pm
That’s so true, Sophie. I think it gives us the freedom to view scenes from different characters’ perspectives. Sometimes I’ll write a scene from one character’s point of view, and then rewrite it from another character’s point of view. It’s amazing sometimes how different the scene can be.
May 24, 2014 at 5:18 pm
Lol, absolutely. I always remember an inset at my old work, where the police visited and one of them said that four people can watch the exact same accident and they’ll get four different accounts! 😀
May 24, 2014 at 1:22 pm
Susan, like you, I moved around as a child. Almost every single year I got to be the “New Kid”, so I get it. I also finally got used to the idea looking forward to a fresh slate for reinvention. In my own writing, I’ve been testing those abilities learned as an outsider kid. Comes in handy.
May 24, 2014 at 1:28 pm
Thanks, Richard. It’s nice to know I’m not alone.
May 24, 2014 at 2:06 pm
What does being ‘local’ mean? Someone whose family roots can be traced to one plot of land for centuries? There aren’t many such people left. In that sense most of us are outsiders. My parents moved from the north of Germany to the south. So I was never ‘one of them’ to start with. I bonded with the landscape, but later lived in other countries. Some people here indicated that moving away from one’s birthplace provides a wider perspective on life, a way of stepping into many shoes. Generally beneficial for a writer. There are exceptions. The addictive novels of Kent Haruf, who never ventured far. Outsiders exist also among locals.
May 24, 2014 at 7:34 pm
Sure, moving around can give people new perspectives. Also, I think you don’t have to be new to a place or community to be an outsider or to feel like an outsider.