Lindsay
Lindsay asked Rhiannon Frater:

Do you ever start writing a story with a certain outcome in mind, and then find yourself altering the story or characters?

Rhiannon Frater A very good question. I'm an organic writer. I let the stories grow naturally out of a seed of inspiration. By the time I sit down to write a novel (and the occasional short story), I have a pretty good idea of how it's going to end. If I leap into the story knowing the end, the ending never changes.There are only three books that I've written that I started not knowing the ending. Pretty When She Dies (the first book), Dead Spots, and the book I'm currently writing. The more I write, the clearer the path becomes and the ending reveals itself.

I just finished In Darkness We Must Abide and I've always known exactly how it was going to end. The end scene was set in stone. When I revised my twenty year old manuscript, much of the original last half of the story was jettisoned because it was a mishmash of forced ideas (I used to try to make things happen and just cram plot points into the narrative). So the entirety of Season 3 is fresh material, but it still ended like I knew it would and in a much more natural way.

Frankly, I would rather change an ending then ever force a change on a character or story. But like I said, by the time I'm writing a novel I usually know where it's going to end.


About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more