I plan out my books. I create emotional story arcs for my characters. I work out all sorts of details in advance. Then I start writing and my characters start surprising me. And I love that! It means the characters are coming alive—for me and therefore for the readers.
Right now, my black cat of the family is discovering things he didn’t know about his bride and I’m discovering those things at the very same time! The bride, meanwhile, is cooking up schemes to bring her new husband back into line and about to have some surprises of her own.
One of the things I love about writing is that element of surprise. I think that if I knew everything that was going to happen in my books beforehand I’d never end up writing them. Other writers can plan out all the scenes in advance and write from beginning to end with the characters doing just what they should.
That’s the great thing about writing—there’s no one way that everyone has to write. We all get to do it in whatever way works best for us! And thank heavens for the diversity—both in what we write and how we write. Wouldn’t it be a boring world if all books were the same?
Wishing all of you happy reading and the writers among you happy writing!
April
