Goodreads asked Patricia K. McCarthy:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Patricia K. McCarthy Don't get bogged down in plotting every single detail in your novel; work out a rough outline based on the number of events occurring in each chapter, e.g. an average novel ranges anywhere from 60,000 to 80,000 words so if the middle part represents 30,000 words (based on a 60,000-word novel) then the beginning and end will each have 15,000 words. If you decide to write 15 different events for the beginning, it means you have to conceive of each event using 1,000 words, which is not very many. Pair it down to an each number of events. Remind yourself too that you can only write one chapter at a time; novels are like snowmen... you have to build them one body part at a time, starting with the foundation, the middle, until you reach the top. And maintain familiarity with every chapter as you go along. I make it a point of re-reading from the beginning before I start to write new material for the same novel. Once I've completed my first draft, then I start all over again with shaping and revising; each time re-reading the preceding chapter in order that I stay connected. Of course it gets more complicated with a series! Years go by and you often lose sight of the details of the previous installments; this necessitates having to re-read your previous works. But it's all for the good.

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