A Goodreads user
asked
Elliott Kay:
Hi Elliot, I just discovered your books and I'm tearing through them. I read a lot of sci-fi, and I'm impressed with yours. You might be my new favorite sci-fi author! I was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking a moment to go over your drafting process? Do you discovery write? Outline everything? All your plot lines merge together so seamlessly, I'm curious how you do that?
Elliott Kay
Thank you!
None of the sci-fi books had a written outline. I knew the climax points for each book before I wrote them. To be honest, when I first started out I genuinely thought the whole thing would be one long book or maybe two at the most. I had no sense of how long a book could get until I was well into the process for Poor Man's Fight. You could say I was "discovery writing" my way to the climax for all three books, though somewhere around 1/3rd of the way through, I'd do a very, very rough outline just to get a sense of how long things were and where they were going.
Those outlines were usually just checks that I used for the moment when I wrote them. I basically never looked back. On occasion, if I'm having trouble with a chapter, I outline the chapter to keep myself going, and usually that helps me get excited about things and it resolves whatever nagging questions I've stumbled upon.
My urban fantasy novels, though, are almost entirely "discovery writing" (I'm a fan of the term "pantsing" because it's appropriately undignified). With those I kinda just started going and went where the characters led me. That has its pitfalls, of course. Both books saw huge chunks cut from their rough drafts because they went nowhere. But as I'm largely indie-published, it's not like I'm holding to an editor's deadline, so I have that luxury.
As for my plotlines merging seamlessly: that's largely a matter of hindsight rather than foresight. I try to make sure every significant character is relevant in the climax, and that's usually a matter of digging back toward the beginning to figure out what needs to be resolved. I see things that would make for good story as I build them. On occasion, I go back and insert things to make sure they're foreshadowed. Ultimately, though, it's more a matter of playing with whatever I've already built than master pre-planning.
None of the sci-fi books had a written outline. I knew the climax points for each book before I wrote them. To be honest, when I first started out I genuinely thought the whole thing would be one long book or maybe two at the most. I had no sense of how long a book could get until I was well into the process for Poor Man's Fight. You could say I was "discovery writing" my way to the climax for all three books, though somewhere around 1/3rd of the way through, I'd do a very, very rough outline just to get a sense of how long things were and where they were going.
Those outlines were usually just checks that I used for the moment when I wrote them. I basically never looked back. On occasion, if I'm having trouble with a chapter, I outline the chapter to keep myself going, and usually that helps me get excited about things and it resolves whatever nagging questions I've stumbled upon.
My urban fantasy novels, though, are almost entirely "discovery writing" (I'm a fan of the term "pantsing" because it's appropriately undignified). With those I kinda just started going and went where the characters led me. That has its pitfalls, of course. Both books saw huge chunks cut from their rough drafts because they went nowhere. But as I'm largely indie-published, it's not like I'm holding to an editor's deadline, so I have that luxury.
As for my plotlines merging seamlessly: that's largely a matter of hindsight rather than foresight. I try to make sure every significant character is relevant in the climax, and that's usually a matter of digging back toward the beginning to figure out what needs to be resolved. I see things that would make for good story as I build them. On occasion, I go back and insert things to make sure they're foreshadowed. Ultimately, though, it's more a matter of playing with whatever I've already built than master pre-planning.
More Answered Questions
Mario Trujillo
asked
Elliott Kay:
Just got done with Dead Man's Debt and was wondering if this is the end for Tanner? Is he just gonna ride off into the sunset or will he have make some hard choices. And what about the remaining pirates like Lauren and Hannah? Are we(as in the readers) just gonna never hear from the them again? Do you even know yourself? :) Really enjoyed the series thus far. Can't wait for it to continue
Wolgan
asked
Elliott Kay:
I just finished reading Life in Shadows, and this weekend is the first time I've read your books (which are awesome btw). But I swear I've read the Halloween For Life story before and I remember liking it a lot. Reading it context after just finishing the other two books made it even better! I'm going crazy trying to figure out where I might've read it. Has it ever been published in an anthology or online before?
Brock
asked
Elliott Kay:
Dear Mr. Kay, Hello. I was wondering if you have started writing Good Intentions book 4...? I am hooked. Patiently waiting for more. If you could give a little hint, I would greatly appreciate it. Hoping you are well. Thanks you for taking the time to read this question. Kindest regards, Brock Knickel
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