Lay asked Sean Gibson:

If I may ask, how do you come up with ideas, stick to them, and then write out the plot?

Sean Gibson Wait...is THAT what I'm supposed to be doing?

Oops.

It's a good question, and it's a tricky balance. Everyone approaches this differently, but for me, I tend to noodle on ideas, jot down big plot points, and then break those down into something that resembles a chapter outline. But, and here's the key--all of that stuff is in (digital) pencil. As I write, I sometimes come up with better (or at least different) ideas and need to pivot, which can have a ripple effect through the outline.

It's a balancing act, right? And it shifts depending on the nature of the story--the Heloise stories don't need to be as tightly plotted as others, so those outlines are a little more loosey-goosey. Where there's a lot of plots and subplots and sub-supblots, the outline is penciled in a little more boldly.

I hope that helps--thanks for asking!

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