Interiority by Saralyn Richard

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Interiority by Saralyn Richard

I recently attended a virtual meeting at which the author, Mark Stevens, spoke. He claimed the main reason a reader likes a fiction book is interiority. Since all writers aim for readers who like our books, I paid attention.

Mark did an excellent job of explaining what interiority is—masterful, in fact, because interiority, like voice, is difficult to nail down. Basically, interiority is the multi-dimensional way in which an author provides the internal thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of a character, so that the character comes alive on the page.

Mary Kole gives another thorough explanation of interiority in fiction here.

When I’m writing, the chief vehicle for character interiority is point of view. Each time I write another book, I learn more about point of view and how critical it is for giving readers the best story.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned:

  1. The perfect POV to serve the story is like the batter’s sweet spot. It can make the difference between a foul ball or a home run.
  2. Having too many POV characters in one book can cause “head-hopping” for the author and the reader. There are ways to accomplish multiple POVs gracefully, but they require a lot of writing finesse.
  3. The problem with having only one POV character is that character has to be “on stage” in every scene. Everything in the story is seen through that character’s interiority, or it isn’t seen.
  4. There used to be only two types of third person POV—omniscient and limited. Now there is a third person deep POV that allows access to the POV character’s thoughts and feelings.

Mark Stevens said readers, especially mystery readers, care less about plot points and more about the people who are living within those plots. I’m sure he’s right, because when I think of all the Agatha Christie books I’ve read—with multi-varied plots and settings—what do I recall most? Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. And Connelly’s Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard. And Patterson’s Alex Cross.

My own writing experience bears this out. When MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT came out, the most consistent feedback I received was about Detective Parrott. Not the wealthy and powerful partygoers who had occupied my thoughts when plotting out motivation, weapon, and opportunity. Detective Parrott, the Everyman protagonist, captured readers’ attention and hearts way more.

When Quinn McFarland appeared in BAD BLOOD SISTERS, she was the only POV character. Everything in the book was filtered through her eyes and ears, and she shared a lot of her thoughts and feelings with readers. Throughout the writing process, I identified so closely with Quinn that certain chapters caused me physical discomfort. Readers have told me they felt the same thing.

I’ve read many books where a character’s interiority left an indelible imprint on me. One example is Kya Clark, the Marsh Girl in WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING.

What examples can you think of where POV characters have stayed with you long after you finished the book?

Saralyn Richard is the award-winning author of seven mystery novels, including the Detective Parrott mystery series, and the children’s book, Naughty Nana. Her newest book, Mrs. Oliver’s Twist, is the sequel to Bad Blood Sisters. Look for it soon.

 

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Clicking Our Heels: What is the Dream Book You Always Wanted to Write?

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Clicking Our Heels – What is the Dream Book You Always Wanted to Write?

Authors dream of the day their work will be published and hopefully, read. There is nothing as exciting as holding that first published piece, but sometimes it isn’t the writer’s dream book. In fact, the second and later published works may also not be the one the author hopes to someday write. Today, the gang talks about the dream book each always wanted to write. Maybe one response will become a New Year’s resolution.

Saralyn Richard – The story of my grandparents and the 1900 Storm.

T.K. Thorne – I’ve never obeyed the “rule” of choosing one genre and have always written whatever I’ve wanted, which has resulted in an eclectic set of books from the ancient past to the 20th Century civil rights struggles to a magical current day, to the distant future. Perhaps I could have sold more books had I obeyed the rule, but I don’t regret it. I’ve learned so much from each of them.

Barbara J. Eikmeier – I have three memoir topics I want to write. My army wife stories, my nurse stories and what I call the pie project which is about the year I baked 60 pies while teaching myself to make pies.

Lois Winston – The next NY Times bestseller.

Gay Yellen – I’ve been doing research for a historical fiction on a subject that grabbed me almost a decade ago and won’t let go. It centers on a critical point in history that has been underrepresented in literature but has affected greatly world cultures around the world.

Donnell Ann Bell – The one that is in mothballs right now. It’s so hard when it’s in my head and begging me to tell the story!

Debra H. Goldstein – A woman’s fiction book.

Debra Sennefelder – An epic fantasy.

Mary Lee Ashford – I’ve always wanted to write a big bold women’s fiction book. You know the type. Women overcoming big obstacles with grit and humor. And friends. I’ve got notes…maybe someday.

Donalee Moulton – Whatever one I am working on at the moment. Sadly (or gloriously) the moment passes, and there is another dream book waiting in the wings.

Dru Ann Love – I have none.

Anita Carter – A suspense heavy book with a complex plot. Maybe someday…

Bethany Maines – A high fantasy novel. I’ve been poking at one for several years. It’s not my genre, but it’s one that I love. Maybe one day I’ll move it to the front burner.

 

 

 

IYKYK (If You Know You Know)

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As authors, the written word is our trade. We strive for authenticity in the way characters talk, the language they use, and the methods used to communicate. Dialog differentiates the speakers, but how to make a teenager sound like, well, a teenager rather than their grandparents? A judicious use of slang can establish a character’s identity, often revealing their social status and education.

What is slang anyway and why does it work? The dictionary defines slang as: “a language peculiar to a particular group, an informal nonstandard vocabulary composed typically of coinages, arbitrarily changed words, and extravagant, forced, or facetious figures of speech.”

Consider these two dialog snippets from Ready Player One, a 2011 science fiction novel by Ernest Cline:

Example 1:

“Great outfit, slick,” he said. “Where did you snag the sweet threads?”

Example 2:

“…what do you have to do to get your hands on all this moolah? Well, hold your horses, kids.”

Without much thought, you can tell the first is from a young person (actually an avatar) by the idioms and slang used. Likewise, you know right away the speaker in Example 2 is a much older person by the use of ‘moolah’ and ‘hold your horses’ — expressions common in past decades.

Historically, spoken language evolves faster than its formal written counterpart. The rise of the internet, social media, and texting has birthed a new language that is written, full of a multitude of unpronounceable expressions.

Which brings me to my conundrum. My characters are often on cellphones, texting each other. How should I use slang to individualize their texts? I’m not even clear on how to represent this dialog. In different fonts? Bolded? Indented? And how do you tag the different speakers in a back-and-forth conversation? My go-to edition of the Chicago Manual of Style has deserted me on this topic, making no formal recommendation. And, shudder, what slang do my characters use when texting?

Internet slang is a non-standard language used to communicate using symbols (emojis) and shorthand acronyms on gaming platforms, phones, chat groups, and social media. Examples most of us know are IYKYK (if you know you know), LOL (laughing out loud), and LMK (let me know). Others are more specialized to particular groups. Try GG (good game) for gamers, API (application programming interface) for software developers, or DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) for fitness groups.

Others are more arcane. How about the sarcastic GPOY (gratuitous pictures of yourself) or 403 (deny access to). My favorite example is PWNED (owned). This linguistic abomination apocryphally arose from a game developer’s misspelling of ‘owned’. I leave the pronunciation to your imagination.

Faster than the spoken language, internet slang is evolving and changing almost daily. Herein lies one of the dangers. The shorthand slang idioms used on one social media platform, say Reddit, differ from those in common usage on X or BlueSky.

That’s not to say that some of these acronyms haven’t wormed their way into everyday English, such as FOMO (fear of missing out). English, the opportunistic and omnivorous language it is, has adopted SNAFU, AWOL, and MIA among others. However, there is no predicting which acronyms will appear in the next edition of the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language or be relegated to the dustbin of archaic cliches. Using what is in favor today may, at best, only sound dated or most likely be cringe-worthy tomorrow.

You might ask why have my characters text at all. A phone call or F2F (face to face) would avoid these problems. First, today everyone is glued to their phones, even conversing over texts while at the same dinner table. Second, I use texting as a technique to create anticipation or suspense. Unlike a phone call or a conversation, a response to a text can be delayed, maybe not even seen for a conveniently inconvenient period of time. Finally, a character can carry on a text conversation while witnessing or participating in exciting action.

So, where does that leave my characters? For now, their texts will be pronounceable. They will contain punctuation. I will treat internet slang as a foreign language, using an expression only if the meaning is clear from the context. What do you think?

IIGHT (alright, okay?)

Clicking Our Heels – Wardrobes and Our Novels and Characters

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Clicking Our Heels – Wardrobes and Our Novels and Characters

When one thinks of the elements that go into a book, one thinks about things like characters, setting, voice, but the Gang members recently had a discussion about how wardrobe plays a role in our books and how we dress our characters. We thought we’d share our thoughts about wardrobe with you.

Lois Winston – Anastasia is too busy paying off the enormous debt her first husband saddled her with when he dropped dead at a casino in Las Vegas. Clothes shopping is the furthest thing from her mind these days. She’s most comfortable wearing her old Defy Gravity or NY Mets sweatshirts.

Saralyn Richard – I loved dressing Margo in Murder in the One Percent. She makes an entrance into the dining room for dinner in a smashingly elegant dress. I shopped for days online to find the perfect one!

Gay Yellen – One of the challenges Samantha Newman faces in my latest release, The Body in the News, is the “uniform” that her new employers force her to wear. The wardrobe directive inflames her natural rebelliousness and makes for a bit of humor as well.

Mary Lee Ashford – Fashion isn’t a big part of my current series, but in the Pampered Pets books Caro and Mel’s designer wardrobes were a big part of their characters. Because I’m not a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination, dressing Caro required a lot of fun research.

Donalee Moulton – One of the characters in the book I’m working on now, Bind, is a little out there, wonderfully so. She practices reflexology, is a certified yoga instructor, and may get messages from those in the great beyond. Dressing her — without making her a stereotype — is a challenge.

Debra Sennefelder – In my Resale Boutique Mystery series, Kelly Quinn is a fashionista and the backdrop of the series is her consignment shop, so I do pay attention to how the characters dress. Some are trendy, so I search online and follow fashion influencers and other characters really don’t care about fashion.

Anita Carter – In the Pampered Pets series, clothes play a large part in the characters. I’m not big into designer brands so had a subscription to Vogue, watched a lot of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and window-shopped the Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s websites.

Bethany Maines – Pinterest! Once I establish my character’s background the look becomes important and if I don’t already have something picked out Pinterest will ALWAYS be able to find me just the right outfit.

Barbara J. Eikmeier – Amanda moved from the city to a farm and I used her wardrobe to show how she is a fish out of water in the beginning. As she slowly gets accustomed to her new surroundings her wardrobe changes become an important indicator of how she’s trying to fit in. But I let her keep her stilettos because she’ll need them at the end.

T.K. Thorne – In my urban fantasy, House of Rose, Becca is always dressed well, in opposition to Rose, whose idea of fashion is a clean tee shirt and jeans. It was a fun way for the very different characters to express themselves, learn to love their differences and to recognize the deeper values that bind them.

Donnell Ann Bell – I think I’ve answered this question before. My characters are not clothes horses at this point. I garb them to suit the character. However, I occasionally write a secondary character that is well off and I describe that on the page.

Debra H. Goldstein – Wardrobe is more important for my secondary characters than for my major characters because it helps define their roles.

Dru Ann Love – No.

 

 

Location, location, location

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Where your characters live, work, and solve mysteries can be central to the story. Or not. I’ve discovered that location is not a requirement or an irrelevancy. It is a spectrum.


At one end of the spectrum, location is essential.

As a result, you spend time bringing that location to life, making it real, and of real interest to readers. This requires knowing whereof you write or researching whereof you write. Or both. My latest book, a historical mystery entitled Conflagration!, is based on the real-life story of Marie-Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman accused of burning the lower town of Montreal to the ground in 1734. Montreal as a place and as a community is intertwined with the plot and the characters, fictional and otherwise. As a result, I had to immerse myself in a time and place that no longer exist.

Move further along the location spectrum and you’ll arrive here: the location could be anywhere.

The town, island, futuristic community where your characters go about their daily lives is woven into the story but not predetermined. It’s up to you. You may choose a place that is familiar, that fits within the theme of the book, or simply resonates with you.

My first mystery book Hung Out to Die introduces Riel Brava to readers. Riel is originally from Santa Barbara but now living in Nova Scotia, which is where I live. Fact is, Riel could have been uprooted to almost any location where cannabis production is legal. (Riel is CEO of the Canadian Cannabis Corporation. He’s also a psychopath (not the nasty kind), but we’ll save that for another blog.) I chose Nova Scotia because I know this location. Less research would be required, but I also have a deeper connection to this place because it is my place. Many readers have told me how the book feels so much like Nova Scotia. That was not intentional, but it reflects a knowledge of place that goes beyond street maps, tourist locations, and Yelp reviews.

Finally, we reach the other end of the spectrum: place is irrelevant.

Indeed, a specific geographical location may not be necessary. I wrote a short story called “Moist,” that for the most part takes place in the main character’s home. Where that home is situated doesn’t matter.

After the story was published, there was a call for stories for a new anthology Santa Cruz Ghost Stories. I reached out to the editor to explain that my story wasn’t really set anywhere so it could be set in Santa Cruz. She agreed. Minor changes were made (like changing Canadian spelling to American (“savour” became “savor”) and using the name of a dollar store Santa Cruz residents would easily recognize.)

Ultimately, location is about character. The two go hand in hand.

donalee Moultondonalee Moulton is the author of Conflagration! — a historical mystery that won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). Her other books include a mystery novel based in Nova Scotia, Hung Out To Die,  and a non-fiction book about effective communication, The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say. As a freelance journalist, donalee has written for over 100 publications across North America. You can catch up with her on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Clicking Our Heels – Challenges Being a Female Writer

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Clicking Our Heels – Challenges Being a Female Writer

Sisters in Crime was founded when Sara Paretsky and other female mystery writers saw a lack of parity between male and female authors. A later advertising slogan claims: “You’ve Come a Long Way Baby.” But let’s look at reality. What has been one of your challenges in being a female mystery writer, and how have you dealt with it?

Donalee Moulton – Ironically, perhaps, the challenge I find we face as female mystery writers is convincing agents and publishers we are not all the same. As writers, we bring our own voice to the conversation and that voice is singular regardless of our gender, our age, our place of residence.

Mary Lee Ashford – One of the challenges with being a female mystery writer (and especially an older female) is that you are constantly dealing with assumptions. I have to say that I think it’s gotten better and organizations like Sisters in Crime have helped. But it’s often still a challenge to be taken seriously.

Anita Carter – Balancing the day job, family, marriage and writing. There are many times I feel pulled in all directions. I’m sure that’s not only indicative of female mystery writers, but probably just writers in general.

Debra Sennefelder – Honestly, I’ve dealt with challenges so many other authors have dealt with like getting an agent, getting an editor to fall in love with my book idea. I kept working hard. I don’t recall a situation where being a female was an added challenge to my pursuit of writing. Thanks to all those who have come before me for that.

Donnell Ann Bell – Because I’m a woman I have a tendency to put other people’s needs before my own. If I am to grow this career, I need to develop a bit of selfishness. Not rudeness or lack of consideration, you understand, but an ability to know my own limits and to realize I can’t help everybody as much as I want to.

Gay Yellen – When my first book was published, a few acquaintances confessed they wouldn’t be reading it because they were only interested in reading non-fiction or “literary” fiction. Their genre prejudice was a shock I soon got over. As for being female, I’m aware of the historic bias of mainstream publishers which made it difficult for women writers to achieve contract parity. Change is slow, but it’s happening, I hope. The antidote is to write the best book I can and, hopefully, earn validation that my work is worthy.

Debra H. Goldstein – Breaking out of being stereotyped in my work.

Lois Winston – Trust me, it was worse being a female romance author, especially when my husband’s male coworkers would ask how I research my sex scenes. (This occurred every year at the company holiday party after they’d downed one too many egg nogs!) Now I worry the FBI will come knocking because I’m researching different ways to kill people. I employed sarcasm to deal with the former, and I keep my fingers crossed to deal with the latter.

T.K. Thorne – Women writers in the genre struggle to get equal recognition, reviews, etc. as documented by groups like Sisters in Crime. When I started writing (several decades ago) I was keenly aware of this, and I think it fed into my decision to write under my initials (T.K).

Dru Ann Love – So far I have not experienced any challenges.

Bethany Maines – I think there are loads of female mystery writers and in general no one even blinks. I think it’s when the genre starts to skew more toward thriller or crime and away from cozy that readers might start to think “those are masculine!” But I think that the rise of indie publishing has sort of stomped down a lot of the genre/gender barriers. It’s one of the great benefits of indie publishing that I don’t think enough people are looking at.

Barbara J. Eikmeier – I’m still working full time so always my biggest challenge is carving out time. Not just for the writing but also the agent search, finding first readers and follow up on so many little things.

Saralyn Richard – Ironically, I detest violence of any sort and faint at the sight of blood, yet I love mysteries. Sometimes my characters put me in uncomfortable situations, and I have to write my way through.

 

 

 

 

 

The Meet Cute

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by Paula Gail Benson

Cover from First LRWA Anthology

Currently, I’m working on an up-to-10,000 word short story for the third Lowcountry Romance Writers’ (LRWA) anthology. The story must somehow involve South Carolina and a vacation.

I’m basing mine on characters I developed in my story that appeared in the first LRWA anthology. It’s been fun to give this couple its own romance since they were the antagonists in the original story. Figuring out how two basically disagreeable folks become likable and get together has been both challenging and delightful!

During a brainstorming session with some of the other anthology contributors, I described the female protagonist’s situation, background, and desires. She was focused on finding a way to connect with her 10-year-old daughter, who seemed more in sync with the ex-husband and his fiancée. I was interrupted from describing my character’s angst with the question: what’s her love interest and where’s the “meet cute”?

I’d heard the term “meet cute” and recognized the concept. Wikipedia, referencing Merriam-Webster, describes it as: “a scene in media, in which two people meet for the first time, typically under unusual, humorous, or cute circumstances, and go on to form a future romantic couple.” Wikipedia illustrated the entry with a depiction of Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting.

Image that appears in Wikipedia

Romeo and Juliet opens with a “meet cute”? I had to reread the play.

So, Romeo is pining after Rosalind, who is a Capulet niece. The Capulets are trying to fix Juliet up with Paris. Then, Romeo sneaks into the Capulets’ banquet at their home. Tybalt protests his presence, but Mr. Capulet says, don’t call attention to him. Meanwhile, Romeo sees and zeroes in on Juliet. After some fancy talk about pilgrims’ hands meeting in prayer resembling kissing, they trade a few smooches.

Okay. I understand the setup as a “meet cute.” Romeo goes to romance the girl he’s fascinated by and instead falls in love with the daughter of his family’s worst enemy. It’s the story’s tragic overtones (not to mention all the pilgrims’ hands speeches) that obscure the humor of that scene.

I thought about some of my favorite Rom-Coms: Legally Blonde, where Elle meets Emmett at Harvard, or Shakespeare in Love, where the bard first sees his muse dressed in male attire and auditioning for a role. One of my favorite romances is Lisa Kleypas’ The Devil in Winter, one of her wallflower series. The couple are acquainted but have their actual first face-to-face meeting after the male has kidnapped the female’s friend in a previous book. Evangeline Jenner is the shy, stuttering daughter of a wealthy gambling house owner who approaches Sebastian, Lord Vincent, one of London’s best-known rakes to save her from her relatives’ manipulations. That initial scene sizzles with sexual tension.

Could I do that with my characters? I’ve tried by having them reconnect at a restaurant where the female does not at first recognize the male, who is her server. I asked for some feedback from another writing group and was fascinated to hear their reactions to this couple. The group had a lot of good suggestions and questions. I always find questions encouraging because it means readers want to know more.

What’s your favorite “meet cute” scene and has it ever involved unlikable characters?

Cover of LRWA Anthology Volume 2

Entitled 2: Giving your book a title to remember

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Last month we talked about giving your story a title.

Unlike article titles, book titles are usually the domain of the writer. This may be because the writer has a closer connection to the topic, the editor wants the writer to do the work, the writer and editor see it as the author’s prerogative. But just because the book writer usually develops the title doesn’t mean the editor will accept it. They will tell you if they don’t like it – and why. They will tell you if it won’t work – and why.

Let’s look at what constitutes – usually – a good book title, and then I will use my recent BWL book as an example.

Because book titles are one of the first things a potential reader sees, they need to hook that reader. It’s recommended the title give away a little something about the plot and the nature of your book. It is going to be action-packed, romantic, whimsical.

There are three main ingredients in a strong title.


INGREDIENT #1

Length. Shorter is better. Shorter needs to be more memorable, more powerful. Some experts advocate for the one-word title, but one-word titles are more limiting for search engines. Fewer examples are found. The recommendation: three or four words.

INGREDIENT  #2

Impact.  The title should draw the reader in because it is evocative, it speaks to what lies within the pages of the book. It sets the stage for what they can expect.

INGREDIENT #3

Uniqueness. Titles that we can remember, titles that stand out from the crowd are winners. This may be a play on words, a pun, a jab, a literary reference, a phrase that speaks to mind, heart and spirit.

Titles are essential to the sale of a book.

And they are not easy. Let’s look at one title I’m very familiar with.

My first mystery novel is Hung Out to Die.  The main character is CEO of a cannabis-production company in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia. As I was writing this book, a funny aside started to take place involving a word the main character had never heard before: Chunderfuck. In my mind, that became the title of the book with asterisks replacing two of the letters in the last syllable. I then built on this concept. Future books would have similar fun but profane titles: Numb Nuts, Dick Wad…. You get the idea.

It was not meant to be. As I was starting to shop around my book, I realized the title might lead agents and publishers to conclude the book would be darker, edgier, grittier than it is. Indeed, it’s actually funny. I also didn’t want to turn off publishers before they even read the book. I went with a working title instead: So, A psychopath walked into a bar. In my mind, the book would still be called Chunderf**k, an issue I would raise with my publisher as soon as I had one. Which I did. My publisher – BWL – was more than open to changing the title. But not Chunder, and not for the reason you might think. Search engines don’t pick up asterisks.

Dammit.

So the book is called Hung Out to Die. It’s a play on words, drying plants is linked to cannabis, and the victim dies by hanging. It’s short, it’s got some oomph, but let’s face it. It’s no Chunderf**k.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on titles. And asterisks.

What Kind of Writer Am I?

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by Paula Gail Benson

I’ve heard about plotters and pantsers. In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott commends E.L. Doctorow’s advice that writing is like driving a car and only being able to see as far as your headlights, yet having the ability to complete the trip with that view.

Plotters create a road map. Pantsers have an idea of where they are going and find the path as they take it.

I’m trying to figure out what to call my writing style.

For my latest short story, I started with an idea: what if (I’m a big advocate of “what if” questions—I heard Mary Higgins Clark liked to start that way)—so, what if a former step-father gets a visit from his adult former step-daughter on Father’s Day? She’s terrified because she thinks she might have killed her husband. She goes to her former step-father because he’s the only man she truly trusts.

To help her, the former step-father goes to see if the husband needs medical help. He finds the husband bruised, but alert and with the step-daughter’s biological father. The husband and biological father are concerned the step-daughter has resumed company with those who supported her addiction. Previously, while the step-daughter received treatment for addiction, her mother served as conservator for the step-daughter’s funds. The biological father suggests he’s ready to establish a new conservatorship, with him in charge of the money.

Who should the step-father believe—his step-daughter or her husband and biological father? What should he do?

At this point, I’m not sure where the story is going, only that the step-daughter has confessed to hitting her husband with a candlestick her mother gave her as a wedding gift and that the husband and biological father are determined to control the step-daughter.

The step-father takes a long route home, figuring the biological father might have him tailed. He sees evidence of someone following him. The step-daughter doesn’t answer the phone and when he gets home, he finds she’s gone. With reluctance, he calls his ex-wife and learns she did not support her daughter’s marriage. He goes to visit the ex-wife, who gives him some potential leads for locating the daughter. Notice, the ex-wife is depending upon him to do the legwork, just as she did during the marriage.

As I’ve followed this meandering trail, I’ve figured out more about the characters I’ve met and made myself hone-in on why the husband and biological father are intent on finding the step-daughter. I’ve made myself focus on the premise of the story and the theme it will convey.

Each day, I’ve written my way forward in a notebook, setting out the steps and leaving room to fill in the details as I type up my notes. I see places to make connections and endeavor to add seamlessly to the story.

When I started, I wasn’t sure about the end. Now I have an inkling of what that might be, but it’s still subject to change.

Am I a combination, plotter and pantser—plantser? The hand-written notes seem like a form of plotting, but in fact, I’m just following where the characters lead me. What happens next? Set up the scene and I’ll sketch it out as you (the characters) live it.

Recently, listening to a talk by best-selling romantic comedy author Katherine Center (her latest novel is The Rom-Commers), a member of the audience asked if the characters spoke to her. Center replied no, but the characters let her watch as they took their journey.

I think I may resemble that remark. What do you think? Am I depending upon the headlights in a vehicle driven by my characters?

Differences in People and Writing Styles

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Differences in People and Writing Styles by Debra H. Goldstein

Recently, I flew to Denver for a very special reason: to meet my newest grandson. Because of my March back surgeries, I couldn’t be there within twenty-four hours of his birth. Instead, I had to settle for a few days shy of him being two months old. It was a treat for several reasons. He’s a very easy and seemingly happy child. He eats, sleeps, cuddles, smiles, and loves bathtime. What more could his parents ask?

Well, they wouldn’t mind getting a little more sleep themselves – not because of him but because of his twenty-month-old sister who has decided that rather than sleeping to seven or seven-thirty, wake up time is somewhere between four-thirty and five. She also isn’t too thrilled with naptime which makes for a grumpy over-tired child by dinner time. Did I mention that she is, and has always been, a finicky eater? Or, that she has always had a mind of her own. For example, she refused to roll over well beyond when she should have been doing that; however, she proved at the same time she could sit up perfectly (which proved she had core control and was simply refusing to roll). If she wasn’t so cute, she’d be a frustrating child.

What’s my point? These two are siblings. They were born from the same parents into an identical environment and yet, they are so different. Writers are much the same. They all start out wanting to write, but their works are like night and day. Even if they write in the same genre, whether mystery or literary, their books and stories are unique. Some writers may try to copy the style of other authors they admire, but the reality is that the end product always differs.

Aren’t you glad? What would it be like if people and authors were all cut from the same cookie-cutter?