Outlines, Synopsis, and Happily Ever After...

To be as ridiculously Type A as I am, I am not what I deem a schematic writer. I don’t begin a novel with an outline, or even a synopsis. As a matter of a fact, I equate a synopsis with a root canal, and thank God, my publisher feels the same way. I sit down and begin with CHAPTER ONE. I have an idea of the characters I want to bring to life, which leads to the story I want to tell… It’s sort of like when I tell my boys we’re ordering pizza for supper, but I’m not really sure if they’ll want double pepperoni, or extra cheese.

I am certainly not discounting the importance of pacing a plot, or building a conflict characters must over come. But, for me, the creative process is more about being true to characters, and following through on what they would do, or say. I write about love and happily ever after for characters who, whether they are vampires, witches, or shape-shifters, are looking for the one who will comfort their tortured souls. Which gives all of us something in common with vampires, witches, and shape-shifters. And it’s a lot of fun to fly by night when you are creating a vampire looking for his soul mate. Yeah, really bad pun, but you get my point.

The schematics of writing can often be an important element of any story. But, sometimes the best part of happily ever after is being surprised by finding out if it’s going to be double pepperoni, or extra cheese.