My writing process

I am a very messy writer!

By that I mean when I sit down to write a novel I have no idea where it will go, the plot who knows? I sit down at my laptop and listen to the story unfold - I hear the characters’ world open up. So I write it down as fast as it pours out and that is usually fast! No time for spell check, grammar, no time for nothing! Just jump on what is going on and see where it goes. I am not alone in this approach to my writing. Some of my favorite writers are “disorganized writers.” In other words, they sit down at a blank page and just begin. The other type of writer is “organized.” They have it all plotted out, the characters are filled in, their personalities described in detail, the locations where it will take place are known and most importantly - they have outlined the plot! They know where it begins, the subplots within and even the ending!!

The one thing that I do know before I start writing is what message is this book about? What do I feel is the important point that this story makes? All of my stories have a point and the Tess Mac Gregor suspense novels all are about the spiritual abilities that one possesses. I believe that we are spirits, that we all have innate abilities and that we are not just our bodies. When you read one of the novels in the series, I hope you will recall a time when you had a feeling or experience that validates this idea.

My first novel was Sometimes These Things Happen. By the time I was nearing the exciting climax of the story, I was shocked by a plot twist. I had no idea that what was going to happen near the end was going to happen. Because of the way it ended, I had to go through the book very carefully to make sure that the one character would not be in the same place at the same time as his alter ego. Surprise! I was so surprised because none of it was pre-plotted out. It made for an exciting time for me and a lot more work too.

After lots of editing to the story, I really had to shake it out and make it make sense, I threw out parts because they weren’t relavent to how the story turned out and I had to research and then put that new knowledge into the story. Rewrites go on an on, at least five or more a book.

Now I am working on Yesterday’s Time and I am happy to have some of the characters from the first book show up in the second. I know that this will be a series of suspense novels with Tess Mac Gregor - that was a nice change! Still the plot was unknown and the new location was delightful change.

And my anchor in this malestrom of creativity is my editor and wonderful husband, Bill. Thanks to him I keep continuity, grammar and punctuation in line. Writers struggle without their editors!