Liz Lazarus's Blog - Posts Tagged "technique"
My Writing Calendar
Behind the Scenes: Free of Malice
Because my book, Free of Malice, takes place over 6 months, from June to December, I was recently asked if I wrote the book in chronological order. As strange as it may sound, I didn’t.
Like most authors, I outlined the story so I had the sequence of events laid out. Then, because I’m a fairly visual person, I used a huge wall calendar to outline the six months in which the book took place (see a very messy but real example from August). I then listed all the events that occurred on the calendar which helped me arrange the story and also allowed me to circle back to clues I had dropped in earlier chapters.
And though I don’t have a law degree and am not a trained therapist, I had the great fortune to consult with a criminal defense lawyer (Alison Frutoz) and a certified EMDR therapist (Karen McCarty) to be sure those portions of the book were accurate.
Spoiler alert – don’t read the calendar too closely—might give away some clues!
Because my book, Free of Malice, takes place over 6 months, from June to December, I was recently asked if I wrote the book in chronological order. As strange as it may sound, I didn’t.
Like most authors, I outlined the story so I had the sequence of events laid out. Then, because I’m a fairly visual person, I used a huge wall calendar to outline the six months in which the book took place (see a very messy but real example from August). I then listed all the events that occurred on the calendar which helped me arrange the story and also allowed me to circle back to clues I had dropped in earlier chapters.
And though I don’t have a law degree and am not a trained therapist, I had the great fortune to consult with a criminal defense lawyer (Alison Frutoz) and a certified EMDR therapist (Karen McCarty) to be sure those portions of the book were accurate.
Spoiler alert – don’t read the calendar too closely—might give away some clues!
