Kimberly Belle: 5 Things I’ve Learned From Writing Through A Global Pandemic

As an author of domestic suspense novels, I like to think that my premises are firmly grounded in reality. A cheating spouse. A missing child. Friendships turned lethal. Open any newspaper or scroll through Facebook, and you’ll find stories much like mine, tragedies that can—and do—happen all too often in the world. It’s why I think domestic suspense is so popular, because it’s so true to life. You read it and think, that could have happened to me. What would I do if that happened to me?

And then along came a pandemic, and suddenly, a murderous spouse seemed…quaint? With my latest novel Stranger in the Lake set to hit stores on June 9th, I found myself wondering if readers would really pick up a book about a troubled marriage when there were bigger, scarier things brewing outside their doors. 

Ultimately, I think (hope?) so. I think there will always be a market for domestic suspense, just like there will always be a market for romance and magical realism and yes, dystopian end-of-world stories. This pandemic may shift the genre numbers some, may tip the balance for a bit to storylines happier than the reality we’re currently living through, but readers are still reading, and they are always on the hunt for a good, engaging story. 

But the pandemic has certainly changed how I write: in a house overflowing with people. Loud people watching television and talking on the phone, playing music and throwing balls to barking dogs, making messes and constantly interrupting to ask what’s for dinner. My office—that room once known as the living room—is suddenly Grand Central Station. I don’t just need noise-cancelling earphones, I need blinders, too. No—I need a real office, one with a door. And a lock.

Yes, these past few months have been a challenge, but they’ve been a blessing, too. Here are some things I’ve learned:

Fear is universal. A murderous spouse isn’t the scariest thing that can happen, not even close. How about a global pandemic, a virus sweeping across the world like a silent killer? And no, I still don’t want to write that story, but the pandemic did get me thinking: what if a woman was forced to shelter in place with a violent husband? What if a former friend threatens to infect her immunocompromised child? A pandemic might not star in my stories, but don’t be surprised when our terrifying new reality becomes a plot device in next year’s domestic suspense. 

Taking back my time. It’s amazing how many words you can get written in a day when you don’t have to think about nails/hair/lashes/waxing/Botox. When the groceries are brought to you instead of driving all the way there and hauling them home yourself. By the time I type The End on book number seven, I will have written it in half the time it would have taken me pre-pandemic—and that’s with the full, crazy, chaotic house I described earlier. Letting go of all the frivolous errands that sucked up hours in my day has made me so much more productive. Who would have ever thought?

Downtime increases productivity. All that socializing in the living room and rolling around with the dogs on the floor? It actually helped the words flow, not hindered. Granted, my kids are grown, my dogs (mostly) potty trained, but instead of hiding in a closet with my laptop, I found myself plopping down in the middle of the chaos. Despite all the noisy beings competing for my attention, the words stacked up in my new manuscript in what is for me record time. 

Perspective is everything. There’s nothing like a pandemic to put things into perspective. Slow sales? People are dying. Bad review? People are dying. Didn’t hit your word count? You guessed it–people are dying. Yes, I love my job, and yes, I want to keep writing for many, many years, but this pandemic has certainly reorganized my priorities. I no longer sweat the small stuff because compared to people dying, it’s all small stuff. Letting go of all the petty noise helped me zoom in on the story I wanted to tell.

There’s freedom in the chaos. In some strange, puzzling way, writing during this pandemic has felt much like those early days, before agents and publishing contracts and deadlines. We are living in a time when it feels like anything can happen, and for me it’s a freedom that has translated to the page. No premise is too far fetched anymore, no plot point too extreme. As horrible as this pandemic is, it’s somehow given me permission to jump the guard rails and just write.  

I know I’m one of the lucky ones. When so many of my author friends couldn’t produce a word, somehow I was pounding them out. I found a way to lean in to our new normal, and I drew comfort in the words—reading them, writing them. For me that’s always been the magic of books: to console and inspire, to sweep us out of our own, difficult realities and transport us to a fictional world. And now, more than ever, we could all use a bit of magic.

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Kimberly Belle is the USA Today and internationally bestselling author of six novels, including her latest domestic suspense, Stranger in the Lake (June 2020). Her third novel, The Marriage Lie, was a semifinalist in the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Mystery & Thriller, and a #1 e-book bestseller in the UK and Italy. She’s sold rights to her books in a dozen languages as well as film and television options. A graduate of Agnes Scott College, Belle divides her time between Atlanta and Amsterdam. 

Keep up with Kimberly on Facebook (www.facebook.com/KimberlyBelleBooks), Twitter (@KimberlySBelle), Instagram (@KimberlySBelle) or via her website at www.kimberlybellebooks.com

STRANGER IN THE LAKE

In her small town she knows everybody’s name, but not their secrets.

When Charlotte married older and wealthy widower Paul, it caused a ripple of gossip in their small lakeside town. They have a charmed life together, despite the cruel whispers about her trailer-park past and his first marriage. But everything starts to unravel when she discovers a young woman’s body floating in the exact same spot where Paul’s first wife tragically drowned.

At first, her death seems like a horrific coincidence, but the stranger in the lake is no stranger. Charlotte saw Paul talking to her the day before, even though Paul tells the police he’s never met the woman. His lie exposes cracks in their fragile new marriage, cracks Charlotte is determined to keep from breaking them in two.

But as secrets and people from Paul’s past begin to surface, Charlotte uncovers dark mysteries that have been simmering under the lake’s waters for years. She doesn’t know what to trust—her heart, which knows Paul to be a good man, or her growing suspicion that there’s something he’s desperate to hide.

BUY THE BOOK HERE

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing