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
Mike Laster
asked
Elliott Kay:
Looking forward to it and the audio book for Poor Mans 3. 1-2 are amongst my favorite all time books. Good intentions series as well. You're my new favorite author! Ran into your work on amazon and got them all. In the words of Jonny 5: Need more input! Will book 3 gets an audiobook and GI keeps continuing?
Rick Luck
asked
Elliott Kay:
Hello, this isn't a question, i just couldn't find a spot to comment. I just have to say i love your writing. I have read your books on multiple occasions and still enjoy the depth in your characters and the universe you create in each series. Thank you. ?(said i needed to put one in there)
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