Some fans of Not About Lumberjacks have wanted even more behind-the-scenes updates about what I’m up to. So, if you want more, look no further: I’m starting a weekly progress update about what I’m up to, creatively. (This one is from a couple weeks ago, but I’m thinking about posting new updates every Monday.)

It’s possible some weeks will not have a day-by-day chronicle of progress, while other weeks might have even more going on than usual. But on the day I started the September episode of Not About Lumberjacks, I began keeping a journal. I’m sharing it with you, here.

Godspeed, Crazy Mike

The September story is a mystery called “Godspeed, Crazy Mike,” and — as you’ll see in a moment — it’s a story that’s been knocking around my head for some time.

And also, to be up front: another reason for documenting everything going on is a proof-of-concept to myself that if I do create a Patreon for Not About Lumberjacks (as some have requested), that I can keep up with providing more than just stories. (And to see if would-be patrons find this kind of thing interesting.)

One thing I’m torn about is how much to include, here. I’d love to share photos, but some of them will likely contain spoilers. I can always blur out spoilery bits or not include photos at all, but I’ve opted to provide links to the full images for those who want to not only read, but see, everything going on. I’d love to hear what you think about how I’m handling it. Feel free to comment — I’d love to hear what you think.

With that out of the way, let’s get to work!

7/21/21 – Wednesday

After letting it sit for years, I decided to write “Godspeed, Crazy Mike.”

Fifteen…maybe even twenty years ago, I passed by a plant nursery. On the business’ sign was a simple message: GODSPEED CRAZY MIKE. I assume, maybe, they had an employee they all called Crazy Mike who passed away.

And that got me thinking about a mystery set someplace with plenty of plants.

I was born in Chicago, but raised north of the city in a town called Mundelein. In many ways, we had more in common with Wisconsin than the city. Not too far from my hometown is a place called Volo Bog. It’s a quaking bog, meaning the floating mat of sphagnum moss, cattails, and sedges gives the illusion of solid ground, but it undulates like waves from the water beneath it all.

I always loved the bog and all the marshlands in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

So…I decided to set a mystery at a bog.

7/22/21 – Thursday

Woke up a little after 3:00 a.m. and wanted to work on the story. (A benefit of crashing around 7:00 the night before.)

Did a breakdown of the only mystery short story I’ve written, “Under the Big Top,” a whodunit taking place in a circus. I wanted to see how many characters were in the story and how they all came together.

I’ve talked about mysteries before, in the Behind the Cut episode from “Under the Big Top.” I mentioned it’s not that I don’t like mysteries, but they have certain expectations in their structure. You need enough characters to leave listeners and readers wondering who did it. By design, there’s a bit of an ensemble necessary to pull off this kind of mystery.

I had some characters and bits written from when I started thinking about “Godspeed, Crazy Mike” years ago. This morning, I looked at them and realized the story needed a few more people. And so…I came up with additional characters.

Each character gets a notecard of their own…with who they are, personality traits that come up while writing, notes to myself, and how they relate to the story and other characters. There’s a separate card with story ideas that come up while thinking things through. (Not sharing that card, though, because it gives everything away!)

By doing this, you get a rough idea for the story’s framework. In my case, the morning produced the killer and their motive. (Was it Wesley…or somebody else? You’ll have to wait until September to find out!)

7/23/21 – Friday

Yesterday, I cracked open a couple of the old Writer’s Digest Howdunit series books: Scene of the Crime and Cause of Death. Mostly, I wanted to get the flow of what happens when a dead body is discovered and foul play is suspected.

While laws change, some procedures have remained the same for decades. And because “Godspeed, Crazy Mike” isn’t a highly detailed procedural, I was able to get everything I needed to help rough out the plot.

I normally have a couple ideas for a story and wade into it without a bigger plan. I find my way while writing. But with a mystery, an outline is needed for me…just to see the main storyline that will unlikely change much in the writing. Things around the main line may change, but most of this story is locked down from the start.

(The outline image contains a spoiler. Not a “Whodunit” spoiler, but a cause of death spoiler. Click here if you want to see it.)

Now, it’s time to sit down and write.

7/24/21 – Saturday

Yesterday at lunch, I roughed out the second-to-last scene of “Godspeed, Crazy Mike.” It’s the big mystery reveal scene, and I wanted to rough it out because everything builds toward that.

While I often have endings in mind when I start a story, most things I write are rather malleable. I plan to record the next episode of Not About Lumberjacks today*…and I didn’t know how it ended as I wrote it. I didn’t know until I got to the end…and then…I fumbled around until I wrote something that made me tear up. (Happy tears…not sad.) That’s how I knew it was done.

But a mystery is different.

Now that I have all the little intricacies of the whodunit aspect of “Godspeed, Crazy Mike,” the rest should be establishing characters and having fun with interactions until it’s a fully-formed thing ready to record.

* I did end up recording the next episode, “Calling Out of Time,” and it’s Behind the Cut episode this morning. So that will be on schedule for August.

Recording Photos

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Volo Bog Photo by: McGheiver.