Stacy Verdick Case's Blog, page 8

The New Cover Is Here!

Well since there are bunch of bloggers doing a standard cover reveal I had to do something a little special for my own page. So I had a little cover reveal video made. So dramatic!

Please note that if you want to be entered into the drawing to win an advance reader copy of An Intimate Murder (available for pre-order for Kindle users) then you have to visit one of the bloggers listed below the video and follow the entry instructions.

Thank you all for stopping by and for all the support. I love my readers and my bloggers!!!

~S

 

Cover Reveal Bloggers:

1: The Certifiable Wenches

2: Room With Books

3: Our Wolves Den

4: Queen of All She Reads

5: LibriAmoriMiei

6: Amiabooklover

7: Emma Weylin

8: Undercover Book Reviews

9: Fire and Ice Book Reviews

10: Read Your Writes Book Reviews

11: The Avid Book Collector

12: Booklover Sue

13: A. Literary Mafia

14: Sexy Adventures Passionate Tales

15: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews

16: The Avid Reader

17: Andi’s Book Reviews

18: BookSkater

19: Louise Lyndon Blog

20: SBM Book Obsession

21: Bookgirl Knitting

22: Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews

23: Welcome to My World of Dreams

24: Deal Sharing Aunt

25: Long and Short Reviews

Cover Launch on Tuesday

I have to send a BIG thank you to the following bloggers for being part of my cover launch on Tuesday.  Shout out to each and every one of them! Don’t forget to drop by and comment on their posts for a chance to win and advance reader copy of An Intimate Murder!!!!

~S

1: The Certifiable Wenches

2: Room With Books

3: Our Wolves Den

4: Queen of All She Reads

5: LibriAmoriMiei

6: Amiabooklover

7: Emma Weylin

8: Undercover Book Reviews

9: Fire and Ice Book Reviews

10: Read Your Writes Book Reviews

11: The Avid Book Collector

12: Booklover Sue

13: A. Literary Mafia

14: Sexy Adventures Passionate Tales

15: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews

16: The Avid Reader

17: Andi’s Book Reviews

18: BookSkater

19: Louise Lyndon Blog

20: SBM Book Obsession

21: Bookgirl Knitting

22: Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews

23: Welcome to My World of Dreams

24: Deal Sharing Aunt

25: Long and Short Reviews

Dear Luke, We Need to Talk, Darth – Very Funny!

Dear Luke, We Need to Talk, Darth by John Moe is worth the time investment if you’re looking for a little escape.

I admit, I’m a sucker for brain candy. I have long days that require my full attention so when I can get hold of a book that allows me to take a brain vacation I’m in! Dear Luke didn’t disappoint.

If you’re a pop culture junkie you will love this book but bring you sense of humor. It’s hard to escape the humor of seeing Darth Vadar as an estranged father trying to connect with his son. Or the Posting to the Internet Message Board of the Walkers on Walking Dead (I’m a huge fan of the show so this got more than a snicker from me).

Not all the humor hit a home run for me (I’m looking at you Jurassic Park) but humor is subjective and they were few and far between.

If you want a chuckle, laugh, and some guffaw’s you can’t go wrong with Dear Luke, We Need to Talk, Darth by John Moe.

Enjoy guys!

~S

Giving

Stamp Out Hunger

With today being Stamp Out Hunger day in the United States it got me thinking about giving, what I want my daughter to learn about helping others, and the causes I feel passionate about. Wow, all that from a little blue bag? So powerful!

My daughter is 5-years-old and she is an amazingly generous soul. She is kind like a 5-year-old should not be, because all 5-years-olds that I have met are of the “mine, mine” variety. I’ve always known she was an old soul since the day she was born but every time I see her giving nature I am sure that this is not her souls first go round. Last week we ran to the grocery store to just pick up a couple things. Normally when we do the “big shop” I pick up the prepacked food shelf bag that my grocery store puts together to make giving easier. My daughter has seen this since the day she was born. We go to the store and we buy a bag and she knows that bag helps people who need it right now. I always tell her, “What if Mommy and Daddy lost their jobs and we needed a little help.”

But on this trip I was in a hurry. I grabbed my two things and headed for the register completely bypassing the food shelf bags. When I get to the register I realized my daughter was no longer trailing behind me. Yep, you guessed it, she was at the kiosk with the bags GLARING at me. I walked halfway back and said, “Come on we have to go.” She stubbornly stood her ground and with brows drawn together shouted, “What if Mommy and Daddy lost their job and needed a little help.”

Yep, she cut me down to size. Eyes from other patrons and grocery store employees turned to me like they were waiting for two gun slingers to draw.  But I know when I’m bested by a 5-year-old and she was right. This is what I had taught her and what I wanted to learn. I couldn’t get mad because she had learned the lesson so well.

Our Stamp Out Hunger Donation – Walking the Walk!

I walked back to the kiosk and as we do on every trip I read her what was in each bag and let her pick which bag to buy. Sometimes it takes a 5-year-old to remind you to not just talk the talk but to walk the walk.

There are several causes I feel very passionate about. The first is making sure no one goes hungry. The second is making sure everyone learns to read. The third is making sure we honor our service men and women. And the fourth is supporting cancer research. There are other causes I believe in but these are the ones I will consistently give to without hesitation. I encourage each of you to find what move you to action. It might be clean water programs, LGBT programs, anti-bullying, homelessness – whatever your cause give generously, be it time, money, or what ever way you can help. Let’s show the world how we walk the walk!

If my causes move you below are links to websites where you can make a financial donation or learn how you can help these organizations.

Many blessings to you all!

~S

Second Harvest Heartland - On a mission to feed those in need.

Operation Gratitude - Say “Thank You” to our service men and women

Better World Books - Share your books to help literacy programs. They even pay the shipping!

Susan G Komen - Breast cancer research program I support and I don’t want any grief about it.

The post Giving appeared first on Stacy Verdick Case.

An Interview with Rainy Kaye Author of Summoned

Today I’m excited to welcome Rainy Kaye the author of Summoned to my blog. Rainy stopped by to answer some questions for us and share an excerpt from Summoned for all my friends out there in the blogsphere! For those of you interested in winning a$50 Amazon gift card click on the tour banner above to be taken to the giveaway page.

Welcome Rainy!

How did your personal experiences influence Summoned?

 Besides the last fifteen years of tinkering with words? Or the random fascination the jinn stories? I’ve also lived my entire life in Dimitri’s hometown, Phoenix, and I’ve visited the places the wishes send him.

  Did you do a lot of research before or during writing Summoned?

 No. And if you read the book, you’ll know just how bad admitting that in public is.

  If Summoned was made into a movie, who would you cast as Dimitri & Syd?

 My cover model, Adam Jakubowski, portrays Dimitri spot-on. At the moment, I have a difficult time picturing anyone else in that role.

For Syd, I have no idea. Readers, leave your suggestions in the comment. This will be fun.

  What was your favorite book as a child?

 Like, a wee child? The Fox and the Hound. I don’t know why. I think because it had a puppy. I was a very profound child. Or not. Either way, I had the gist of it memorized, aided by pictures, before I learned to read. As soon as I learned to read, I realized it was crap and moved on to books where stuff gets obliterated. Never looked back.

What’s on the horizon for you?

 Three more standalone Summoned books, a ten-book series called Fly into the Dark, and a few other novels wedged into the nooks and crannies of my brain. In short, a lot more coffee.

Find Rainy on the Web:

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rainyofthedark
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rainyofthedark
Blog: http://www.rainyofthedark.com
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20624580-summoned?ac=1
BookLikes: http://booklikes.com/book/5476398/summoned-rainy-kaye
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/summonedtheseries

Summoned by Rainy Kaye An Excerpt

Doctor Phillip Ballantyne prattles on for a quarter past forever, but the clock lies and shows it has only been two hours. My ass is numb. I never sit this long except when I’m scoping a mark or owning on a first-person shooter. With the latter, at least I have an awesome chair.

These conference seats could get a confession from the innocent.

I head for the door, then realize I’m a moron. No going back to my hotel yet. I pat my pockets like I lost something, though most people are busy politely shoving through the crowd out the exit, and make my way back to my Guantanamo special edition chair.

Phil—I hope I can call him Phil—is standing to the side of the podium conversing with some women from the audience. They are talking in rapid excitement, even giggling. My boy here is a regular Tommy Lee.

He glances up and his gaze lands on me. His grin is so wide he looks like a damn Jack-o’-lantern.

“Hello, hello!” He comes toward me, arm outstretched.

I pull to my feet and shake his hand, squeezing a little too hard accidentally on purpose. His flinch is quickly subdued.

He talks like every sentence ends with an exclamation mark. “I hope you found my conference enlightening! I haven’t seen you at the others! If you enjoyed it, I will be holding another one next month in Houston!”

I give my temple a short rub with my palm and try to vomit up some sunshine right back. “It was excellent, uh, Phil.”

“Doctor,” he says, with a reprimanding raised eyebrow.

“Doctor. Yes, Doctor.” I struggle to find the next words. “Your piece on the Canary Islands was quite . . .  brilliant.”

The women have gathered around us, and they nod and move in closer until we’re all such close buddies. Wouldn’t be surprised if we started holding hands and singing Kumbaya.

“Have you read my work?” He’s still grinning at me.

I have an urge to shove the barrel of my gun into his mouth.

“Uh, no, I have not,” I say, then add, “but I have been meaning to.”

If I worked the conversations with ladies at the bars this well, I really would be a virgin still.

“Oh, there’s a table out in pre-function. I’ll let Doris know to send you home with a copy of my books. Here, let me give you my info.” He slips out his wallet, grabs a business card, and hands it to me. “It has my email and phone number.”

His tone is like he just gave me directions to Jesus’ tomb. The women are not-so-discreetly trying to sneak a peek. Just to be a jerk, I fold the card in half and stuff it in my front pocket.

“Thank you,” I say. “I’ll let you know how I enjoy the books.”

“Yes, please do.” He clasps my shoulder and leads me away from Team Phil. He lowers his voice. “We are opening up internships this summer, and I would be delighted if you would apply. It’s a marvelous opportunity to get first-hand experience and network.”

I still don’t even know what Phil does, besides talk about people who whistle like canaries or something.

But I play along by nodding and saying, “I’ll do that. Should I email you for details when I get home?”

“Yes, yes. At your first chance,” he says. “Let me know, and I’ll put in a personal recommendation for you.”

If I didn’t already hate Phil for being a wife beater, I would be happy to off him just because he oozes so much goodwill he must keep the heads of children in his basement. Yin and yang.

“Great, thank you.” I nonchalantly pull away from his grasp, then add in a casual tone, “So, you headed home now?”

He chuckles, though he sounds tired. I have a solution for this. A permanent one.

“Not heading home until tomorrow. Drinks with some of the other professors first, then back to my hotel for the night.” He shakes my hand again. “It was good meeting you, um, what was your name?”

“Ralf,” I say, and it amuses me that a guy named Ralf is going to have a gun to his forehead in a few hours.

I would like to ask him what bar he will be visiting or what hotel he is staying at, but both questions pose a risk of sounding alarming. I’ll do it the traditional way then.

We have a long night of hanging out—Phil.

The post An Interview with Rainy Kaye Author of Summoned appeared first on Stacy Verdick Case.

Advice for a 20-year-old Me

Awhile back I was asked to do a guest post for Tess Hardwick’s blog  about advice I would give my 20-year-old self. I recently came across the post I did for her and I wanted to share it here:

Over the years, I’ve said many times that you couldn’t pay me enough to be twenty again.  The twenty-year-old me had a fearlessness that could only come from complete ignorance. When I look back on the person I was then, I pity her, and sometimes I laugh at her arrogance. She was struggling so hard to figure out her crazy life.

If I could somehow step into a time machine, and come face-to-face with myself, I’m sure my twenty-year-old self wouldn’t listen to a word I have to say. She was that sure she was on the right path.  She knew where she was going and where she would be in five, ten, even twenty years.

Boy was that mule-headed girl wrong on so many levels.

Nevertheless, I would try to tell her to have more compassion for others. Try to see their side.  Compassion would make her a better person all the way around.

I would tell her to trust her instincts. Whenever she didn’t listen to the nagging voice inside her head, she regretted it. She should have faith in that voice, because somehow it knows when things are a bit wonky. All her logic and reasoning can’t compare to good old intuition.

With all my heart, I would beg her to stop chasing a life that others think will make her happy. Though they meant well, they didn’t know her as well as she wanted them to, and they never would.  She felt the course others had chosen was the easy route, but it never made her happy. Not for one minute.

I would beg her to step off the path she was on, and follow her heart.  Live her dream not someone else’s. Once she does, everything else falls into place.

She should not spend one more moment with people who are negative.  They are a burden and make her doubt herself. Do not indulge them for the sake of being nice. Be positive, and stay positive, no matter what.  See what’s good in this life and embrace it.

Speak only when you have something worthwhile to contribute. Sometimes the most intelligent thing you can do is to remain quiet. Listen. Don’t make verbal white noise just to fill the silence. Often the only way to a solution is to get quiet and stay that way.

The most important thing I would tell her is how much I love her.  Even if she doesn’t listen to any of the advice I give her, I LOVE HER, because every time she stumbled, and fell she got up stronger, and wiser. Each time she got up, she etched a small piece of who I am today.

After thinking it over, I guess I would tell her not to change a thing. Instead, I would hug her, and let her that everything will work out fine. Yes, I could spare myself some pain, but I don’t think I want to. If she changed, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t know what I do today. I would not be the person I am today, and that I would regret.

~S

The post Advice for a 20-year-old Me appeared first on Stacy Verdick Case.

Some People Do Change & That’s Okay

So it’s a new year and I’ve been on a long hiatus.  I’ve been working hard on the next book in the series and frankly I was exhausted from the circus that is promoting a book. I now know why when my favorite artist releases a new album they take a two year break before their next one.

The back to back of putting a book out every year for the last three years was too much. I retreated into myself, my family, and back into writing. During this time, I reconnected with some old friends who I hadn’t seen or heard from in years. They remember me from the “Good Old Days”. Isn’t that an interesting term.

I don’t look back much and if I do I tend to focus on the parts of me I’m glad I’ve shed. Unfortunately, for some people they really do believe their best days are past. They are stuck in a time warp and they want you to be stuck there too.

Maybe they subscribe to the belief that people can’t or don’t change.  This is a belief that I don’t share. When I look back on who I was 20-years ago I can see how much I’ve changed. I’ve become a kinder more compassionate person. In that span of 20-years I’ve learned some hard won lessons that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I can’t go back and I don’t want to, no matter how fondly I remember my time with these friends.

I like the line from the Billy Joel song Keeping The Faith, “the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems”.  Sort of says it all doesn’t it.

Let’s shed the notion that days gone by are the best. Time puts a glamour or the past that isn’t real. Instead let’s look forward to what comes next. That’s what I’m going to. I’m here now and I’m ready for the challenges and triumphs that are yet to come. To all my friends past and present, I hope you’ll join me here as I am now.

Love you all!

-S-

SPEAKING OF CHANGE MY BLOG IS MOVING TO MY WEBSITE AFTER THIS POST SO IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR MY LATEST POST HEAD OVER TO WWW.STACYVERDICKCASE.COM.

Filed under: books, Change, New Years Tagged: Change, Friends, Looking Forward, writing

Some People Do Change & That’s Okay

So it’s a new year and I’ve been on a long hiatus.  I’ve been working hard on the next book in the series and frankly I was exhausted from the circus that is promoting a book. I now know why when my favorite artist releases a new album they take a two year break before their next one.

The back to back of putting a book out every year for the last three years was too much. I retreated into myself, my family, and back into writing. During this time, I reconnected with some old friends who I hadn’t seen or heard from in years. They remember me from the “Good Old Days”. Isn’t that an interesting term.

I don’t look back much and if I do I tend to focus on the parts of me I’m glad I’ve shed. Unfortunately, for some people they really do believe their best days are past. They are stuck in a time warp and they want you to be stuck there too.

Maybe they subscribe to the belief that people can’t or don’t change.  This is a belief that I don’t share. When I look back on who I was 20-years ago I can see how much I’ve changed. I’ve become a kinder more compassionate person. In that span of 20-years I’ve learned some hard won lessons that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I can’t go back and I don’t want to, no matter how fondly I remember my time with these friends.

I like the line from the Billy Joel song Keeping The Faith, “the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems”.  Sort of says it all doesn’t it.

Let’s shed the notion that days gone by are the best. Time puts a glamour or the past that isn’t real. Instead let’s look forward to what comes next. That’s what I’m going to. I’m here now and I’m ready for the challenges and triumphs that are yet to come. To all my friends past and present, I hope you’ll join me here as I am now.

Love you all!

-S-

The post Some People Do Change & That’s Okay appeared first on Stacy Verdick Case.

Pantser vs. Plotter No Right Way to Write

It’s a debate as old as writing itself to plot or not to plot. There are those who are very passionate in their belief that there’s only ONE right way to write a book . . . THEIR WAY!

They are wrong. There’s only one way for each of us to write and that method is as personal as your underwear.

I am a classic pantser. I don’t plan anything and my good friend Christine Lashinski is the ultimate plotter. Reams of paper are dedicated to her pre-writing. It’s mind boggling to me, but we both get the job done.

We thought it would be fun to pit the plotter against the pantser and answer a few questions about our process. Maybe we can dispel the myth of one right process and start the healing between our two factions.

1) How do you start a book?

Pantser: Usually I get a spark of a story idea somewhere (I don’t really know where – the creative ether) and then the voices in my head start talking, and I start writing.

Plotter:  For me, every book starts with a character.  I have to get to know them before I can begin their story.  What’s their name?  What do they look like?  When is their birthday?  Then the character needs a goal and someone to get and under their skin?

 2) Is it okay to not know how the book will end?

Pantser: Sure. I hardly ever know how my stories will end. I once thought I knew how a book was going to end and then I ended up killing my heroine. I sat in my office staring at the screen thinking, “Huh, I didn’t see that coming.” It really makes life interesting when stuff like that happens.

Plotter: Yes.  Even though I start out with an idea of what will happen, once the characters come alive there is no telling what trouble they will get themselves into.  The end is built on each decision they make along the way and the consequences of those decisions.

 3) How technically accurate do you have to be?

Pantser: I try to be as accurate as possible on things like weapons and wounds, but only after I write the whole book do I go in to figure that stuff out. I once heard of a writer who timed a trip from one place to another in traffic just so it would be right in her book when she wrote “45 minutes in traffic” that level of detail is insane to me. I just estimate stuff like that and I probably would have come up with the same 45 minutes.

Plotter:  I love research.  Facts are cool, and great story fodder, but learning can be addictive for me and there comes a point where I have to put away the research and write.  If there is something I’m unsure of while I’m writing, instead of stopping, I highlight it in the manuscript and come back to it on the re-write.

 4) How do you decide what time period to set your book in?

Pantser: The story dictates that. If the idea I have is contemporary (which most of mine are) then that’s what I go with. However if the suddenly the voices in my head start yammering about an 1880’s showdown I’d go with it and see where they take me.

Plotter:  For me, this comes back to character.  What is the best setting to tell his/her story.  Or, a cool fact popped up in my research, and it relates to a specific time period.

 5) How do you know when its time to stop writing?

Pantser:  There’s always a logical ending. A point where the story lines just tie themselves up neatly so I stop writing.

Plotter:  When the pen runs out of ink.  I re-write up until the moment the book is taken out of my hands, and then I still think of things I could have changed.  The book is never going to be perfect, not like the original pure concept I began with in my mind.  Acknowledging this involves pouting and chocolate.

 6) How do you know when the book is not working?

Pantser: When I take all the pages out to the back yard and burn them. I’m pretty much sure it’s not working then. The extraordinary thing is when I go back after some time away and re-read what I’ve written (thankfully my computer hard drive ignores the manuscript pyres and saves the work anyway) it usually turns out that I am on track and I was panicking for nothing.

Plotter:  When I would rather clean the toilet than write.  This happens every book when I’m not quite half way through the rough draft.  Then its back to basics.  Did I lose track of the original character goal, motivation, or conflict?  Am I forcing the characters to act out of character to serve the plot?  Does the scene have a purpose and do the stakes continue to rise throughout the story?

 7) Do you write with a theme in mind?

Pantser: Nope. I write brain candy. I want to entertain you not make you write a thesis. I realize when I say that it makes a lot of writers mad (like completely psychotic) because THERE’S ALWAYS A THEME! But I don’t sit down and say hmm what will the theme of this book be? What’s amusing to me is people always find one regardless if I intended one or not. But it’s unconscious on my part.

Plotter:  Some writers start with a theme, but I re-write with a theme in mind.  I find the elements of the theme are in my first draft, and I just need to tweak and expand upon them.  I tend to come back again and again to the same few themes.  Identity is a big one of mine.

 8) How do you tie all the subplots together?

Pantser: There’s a natural progression and they just come together. If I finish and re-read everything and notice I’ve dropped a thread I can either resolve it or completely remove it if that story line didn’t serve a purpose, which is usually the case if I dropped it during the writing process.

Plotter:  When I revise I use a white board to graph out the subplots.  I also print out the subplots and spread them out on my floor to make sure they make sense on their own and then weave them throughout the story.  Subplots need to support and advance the main plot.  A great example is Holes.  Holes used the subplot of Kate Barlow and Sam in the past to give information and further the main plot of Stanley Yalnats.

 9) How do you keep your facts straight?

Pantser: If I give someone a certain color eye or hair I will jot a note on a post-it. Other than that I don’t know. I guess sometimes I don’t and I have to fix it later.

Plotter: I have a 3-ring binder where I keep my character facts, like the color of their eyes, hair, etc.… The time line of events.  Research.  It usually ends up as thick as the actual book.

 10) What do you do when you’re stuck?

Pantser: I cry. I tell my husband I’m going to become a chicken plucker because I clearly have no talent and I never will! Then I drink myself silly and go to bed. The next day things usually look brighter. I re-read the pages I’ve written so far. Sometimes you need to cut away some dead flesh and sometimes you’re stuck just because you ran out of creative juices for the day.

Plotter: I get stuck a lot.  My house is never as clean as when I’m stuck.  I put on an old movie that I’ve watched a hundred times.  I do a load of laundry.  Clean.  Take a walk.  Do some research.  Do a timed writing exercise that has nothing to do with the current story I’m working on. I do something that takes creativity.  I get together with other writers for some brainstorming.  I switch from writing on the computer to using a notebook and a pen.  I put on music. I light a candle.  Take a nap.  Take a shower.  Spin around in my chair.

 11) How do you name characters?

Pantser: If I’m in writing flow I’ve been known to name all the character’s Bob 1, Bob 2, Bob 3 until I finish a scene and then I figure out who’s who later. But if I’m not trying to catch all the words rolling out of my head then I look around the room and see if a name strikes my fancy from some CD covers or book spines.

Plotter:  I use a baby naming book and use what the name means to create character traits.  I also try to watch that no two characters have a similar name.

 12) How do you find information?

Pantser: Depends on what I’m looking for. I’ll Google some. Sometimes I call people. I have a huge reference library.

Plotter:  I use a combination of the library, internet, interviews, and travel.  My family is always happy to go on a road trip, and there is nothing better than getting first hand knowledge in getting the nitty-gritty details that will add realism to the story.

13) How do you avoid predictability?

Pantser: I’m not sure you can. What are there only 20 plots? So if you’re writing a romance they’re going to fall in love. If you’re writing a mystery the killer will be caught eventually. Sorry if I just ruined those stories for you. The only thing you can do is make the journey to the inevitable original. Or as original as you can.

Plotter:  I come up with 10 or 15 possibilities to a scene and avoid using any of the first 5 I come up with.  I also have a critique group that helps to catch my mistakes.

Take Our Poll

The post Pantser vs. Plotter No Right Way to Write appeared first on Stacy Verdick Case.

Pantser vs. Plotter There’s No Right way to Write

It’s a debate as old as writing itself to plot or not to plot. There are those who are very passionate in their belief that there’s only ONE right way to write a book . . . THEIR WAY!

They are wrong. There’s only one way for each of us to write and that method is as personal as your underwear.

I am a classic pantser. I don’t plan anything and my good friend Christine Lashinski is the ultimate plotter. Reams of paper are dedicated to her pre-writing. It’s mind boggling to me, but we both get the job done.

We thought it would be fun to pit the plotter against the pantser and answer a few questions about our process. Maybe we can dispel the myth of one right process and start the healing between our two factions.

1) How do you start a book?

Pantser: Usually I get a spark of a story idea somewhere (I don’t really know where – the creative ether) and then the voices in my head start talking, and I start writing.

Plotter:  For me, every book starts with a character.  I have to get to know them before I can begin their story.  What’s their name?  What do they look like?  When is their birthday?  Then the character needs a goal and someone to get and under their skin?

 2) Is it okay to not know how the book will end?

Pantser: Sure. I hardly ever know how my stories will end. I once thought I knew how a book was going to end and then I ended up killing my heroine. I sat in my office staring at the screen thinking, “Huh, I didn’t see that coming.” It really makes life interesting when stuff like that happens.

Plotter: Yes.  Even though I start out with an idea of what will happen, once the characters come alive there is no telling what trouble they will get themselves into.  The end is built on each decision they make along the way and the consequences of those decisions.

 3) How technically accurate do you have to be?

Pantser: I try to be as accurate as possible on things like weapons and wounds, but only after I write the whole book do I go in to figure that stuff out. I once heard of a writer who timed a trip from one place to another in traffic just so it would be right in her book when she wrote “45 minutes in traffic” that level of detail is insane to me. I just estimate stuff like that and I probably would have come up with the same 45 minutes.

Plotter:  I love research.  Facts are cool, and great story fodder, but learning can be addictive for me and there comes a point where I have to put away the research and write.  If there is something I’m unsure of while I’m writing, instead of stopping, I highlight it in the manuscript and come back to it on the re-write.

 4) How do you decide what time period to set your book in?

Pantser: The story dictates that. If the idea I have is contemporary (which most of mine are) then that’s what I go with. However if the suddenly the voices in my head start yammering about an 1880’s showdown I’d go with it and see where they take me.

Plotter:  For me, this comes back to character.  What is the best setting to tell his/her story.  Or, a cool fact popped up in my research, and it relates to a specific time period.

 5) How do you know when its time to stop writing?

Pantser:  There’s always a logical ending. A point where the story lines just tie themselves up neatly so I stop writing.

Plotter:  When the pen runs out of ink.  I re-write up until the moment the book is taken out of my hands, and then I still think of things I could have changed.  The book is never going to be perfect, not like the original pure concept I began with in my mind.  Acknowledging this involves pouting and chocolate.

 6) How do you know when the book is not working?

Pantser: When I take all the pages out to the back yard and burn them. I’m pretty much sure it’s not working then. The extraordinary thing is when I go back after some time away and re-read what I’ve written (thankfully my computer hard drive ignores the manuscript pyres and saves the work anyway) it usually turns out that I am on track and I was panicking for nothing.

Plotter:  When I would rather clean the toilet than write.  This happens every book when I’m not quite half way through the rough draft.  Then its back to basics.  Did I lose track of the original character goal, motivation, or conflict?  Am I forcing the characters to act out of character to serve the plot?  Does the scene have a purpose and do the stakes continue to rise throughout the story?

 7) Do you write with a theme in mind?

Pantser: Nope. I write brain candy. I want to entertain you not make you write a thesis. I realize when I say that it makes a lot of writers mad (like completely psychotic) because THERE’S ALWAYS A THEME! But I don’t sit down and say hmm what will the theme of this book be? What’s amusing to me is people always find one regardless if I intended one or not. But it’s unconscious on my part.

Plotter:  Some writers start with a theme, but I re-write with a theme in mind.  I find the elements of the theme are in my first draft, and I just need to tweak and expand upon them.  I tend to come back again and again to the same few themes.  Identity is a big one of mine.

 8) How do you tie all the subplots together?

Pantser: There’s a natural progression and they just come together. If I finish and re-read everything and notice I’ve dropped a thread I can either resolve it or completely remove it if that story line didn’t serve a purpose, which is usually the case if I dropped it during the writing process.

Plotter:  When I revise I use a white board to graph out the subplots.  I also print out the subplots and spread them out on my floor to make sure they make sense on their own and then weave them throughout the story.  Subplots need to support and advance the main plot.  A great example is Holes.  Holes used the subplot of Kate Barlow and Sam in the past to give information and further the main plot of Stanley Yalnats.

 9) How do you keep your facts straight?

Pantser: If I give someone a certain color eye or hair I will jot a note on a post-it. Other than that I don’t know. I guess sometimes I don’t and I have to fix it later.

Plotter: I have a 3-ring binder where I keep my character facts, like the color of their eyes, hair, etc.… The time line of events.  Research.  It usually ends up as thick as the actual book.

 10) What do you do when you’re stuck?

Pantser: I cry. I tell my husband I’m going to become a chicken plucker because I clearly have no talent and I never will! Then I drink myself silly and go to bed. The next day things usually look brighter. I re-read the pages I’ve written so far. Sometimes you need to cut away some dead flesh and sometimes you’re stuck just because you ran out of creative juices for the day.

Plotter: I get stuck a lot.  My house is never as clean as when I’m stuck.  I put on an old movie that I’ve watched a hundred times.  I do a load of laundry.  Clean.  Take a walk.  Do some research.  Do a timed writing exercise that has nothing to do with the current story I’m working on. I do something that takes creativity.  I get together with other writers for some brainstorming.  I switch from writing on the computer to using a notebook and a pen.  I put on music. I light a candle.  Take a nap.  Take a shower.  Spin around in my chair.

 11) How do you name characters?

Pantser: If I’m in writing flow I’ve been known to name all the character’s Bob 1, Bob 2, Bob 3 until I finish a scene and then I figure out who’s who later. But if I’m not trying to catch all the words rolling out of my head then I look around the room and see if a name strikes my fancy from some CD covers or book spines.

Plotter:  I use a baby naming book and use what the name means to create character traits.  I also try to watch that no two characters have a similar name.

 12) How do you find information?

Pantser: Depends on what I’m looking for. I’ll Google some. Sometimes I call people. I have a huge reference library.

Plotter:  I use a combination of the library, internet, interviews, and travel.  My family is always happy to go on a road trip, and there is nothing better than getting first hand knowledge in getting the nitty-gritty details that will add realism to the story.

13) How do you avoid predictability?

Pantser: I’m not sure you can. What are there only 20 plots? So if you’re writing a romance they’re going to fall in love. If you’re writing a mystery the killer will be caught eventually. Sorry if I just ruined those stories for you. The only thing you can do is make the journey to the inevitable original. Or as original as you can.

Plotter:  I come up with 10 or 15 possibilities to a scene and avoid using any of the first 5 I come up with.  I also have a critique group that helps to catch my mistakes.

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Filed under: Authors, books, Writers, writing Tagged: Christine Lashinski, Pantsers, Plotters, Plotting, Stacy Verdick Case, writing