My hero whistles.

It came as a surprise to me. Yes, I don’t do extensive characters sketches–my characters evolve as I write. And this isn’t the first time one of my heroes whistled.

So why did my current hero Trent’s trait surprise me this time?

It’s not the fact he whistled, but how he whistles.

Cord, my cowboy hero from COMMON BOND, whistled ballads and whistled when he was herding cattle. He created a soothing tone, almost a wistful quality.

Not so for Trent. He can let out a piercing whistle, a reverberation that’ll make your ears pop. It’ll carry … Read the rest »

In discovery phase I, I do enough research to get me launched on a story–it’s the prestory writing stuff where I read a bunch of books and surf the net and acquaint myself with my characters’ jobs, story setting, etc. After that I wing it and don’t delve back into research until those blank lines I leave on the page start to connect.

That’s where I’m at now–discovery phase II. I’m deep into chapter three and need to know indepth info about what’s going on with my protagonist and her new world. See, she’s just discovering her psychic side and … Read the rest »

I’m pleased to report I’ve started the new story. And got it named. The working title is Hello, Chaos.

Oddly enough that pretty much sums up my life the past week. Family doctor appointments can suck away so much time–judging from the other faces in the waiting rooms, nobody was thrilled to sit endlessly waiting for their name to be called.

Then I totally forgot I needed to get my income tax stuff organized. Actually I did fairly well this year. I kept good records for over six months. Which meant I had six months of receipts, etc, stuffed in … Read the rest »

Other than having a solid goal, motivation and conflict in mind for the major characters, I don’t do extensive plotting before I begin a story. But I do I take a page from Amy and ponder a lot about characters and plot.

Starting a new story is a challange I absolutely love. It’s like having a mountain of Christmas packages under the tree and you have to wait an hour or more between unwrapping each one. Some you may anticipate, but those surprises fire the imagination.

For me, the story process starts with characters. Usually the protagonist steps onstage in … Read the rest »