Gemma
asked
Rachel Caine:
Hi Rachel! I've loved your books since I was a young teen! I remember being lost in the worlds and stories you created. How do you go about creating the world, the structure and the progression of your novels? Do you carefully plan in advance or do you just write?
Rachel Caine
Hi, Gemma! Thanks for the question, and I'm so happy you enjoy the books!
As far as creating the world ... sometimes it's a simple process, but it really is driven by how different the world is from our own. Sometimes it's minor tweaks (like Morganville, which still has cars and Internet and video games, etc. but plus vampires and a mad vampire scientist) and sometimes it's huge worldbuilding (like the Great Library series, which has an entirely different alternate history track and an almost entirely different world resulting from it). But no matter how it works, I spend time thinking about the ramifications of the changes I'm making to the fictional world, and how that affects the characters' personalities and actions.
I generally start from the characters and build outward, but in certain cases (like the Great Library series) I started with the world and build down from there. I do carefully plan the plot of the book (the major events, usually 5 pages of text) and then create a visual plot on sticky notes that I put up on a wall or window so I can easily refer to them while working.
Having said that, I don't make my outlines TOO strict because I want to be able to follow an inspiration if I get one.
I hope that helps!
As far as creating the world ... sometimes it's a simple process, but it really is driven by how different the world is from our own. Sometimes it's minor tweaks (like Morganville, which still has cars and Internet and video games, etc. but plus vampires and a mad vampire scientist) and sometimes it's huge worldbuilding (like the Great Library series, which has an entirely different alternate history track and an almost entirely different world resulting from it). But no matter how it works, I spend time thinking about the ramifications of the changes I'm making to the fictional world, and how that affects the characters' personalities and actions.
I generally start from the characters and build outward, but in certain cases (like the Great Library series) I started with the world and build down from there. I do carefully plan the plot of the book (the major events, usually 5 pages of text) and then create a visual plot on sticky notes that I put up on a wall or window so I can easily refer to them while working.
Having said that, I don't make my outlines TOO strict because I want to be able to follow an inspiration if I get one.
I hope that helps!
More Answered Questions
Melissa
asked
Rachel Caine:
Hi Rachel. I'm a big fan of your Morganville Vampires series! My question for you is, what is your writing process? This question always fascinates me. I know you have alot of books written, so was curious if you have found your groove in a certain way of doing things? Hopefully this hasn't already been asked too often. I couldn't see on here that it has :)
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