Friday: Book Q & A

 As promised, Friday is Q & A day!

How long did it take you to write The Things They Didn’t See?

I enrolled in writing classes almost ten years ago (2018) and started this book a few months later when I got the courage to enroll in the novel writing series. But progressing through the series and my novel came in fits and starts. After writing the first chapter, I had a son returning home after being away on a church mission for two years. His brother was also preparing to graduate then leave for two years, so I took a break to focus on my family. I didn't get back to my book for another year when I wrote 50,000 words during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month in November.) 

Now I had a first draft, but still my book sat on the shelf. I had two children get engaged in the beginning of 2020 so I was focused on wedding planning over writing classes. And then the pandemic started.

Instead of classes, I enrolled in two virtual writing workshops and discovered how broad the writing community was and the resources offered to anyone wanting to learn to write a book.

Finally, in the fall of 2020, I enrolled in Novel 2 and stayed engaged in classes for the next two years making my way through the series and finishing another draft of my book.

The accountability and deadlines kept me disciplined. I learned that I could always come up with a story no matter how challenging a prompt seemed at first. I’d write one paragraph. Then another about something completely different. Often a third and even a fourth. And every time one of those starts turned into a bigger idea that I was excited to continue. 

Just start writing. Tell yourself you only need to write one paragraph of three completely different stories. You’ll find the one that speaks to you.

What came first, the plot or characters?

My first draft was mostly dialogue. It comes pretty naturally to me and I definitely understood the characters and their personalities by the time I was through. I imagined a scenario then placed my characters in it to find out what they’d say and what conflicts appeared. 

It wasn’t until my second draft that I added setting and body language. For me, describing setting and action is more of a challenge.

If you have a question, I'd love to answer it! 

Send your questions to me through my contact form on my website.