Kaavia asked L.E. Howel:

How do you think of a plot for a story and then develop it?

L.E. Howel Thanks for the question, Kaavia, it’s a good one. There isn’t one simple answer to it. It really depends. Sometimes my mind wanders, I see things in the world today and I wonder how they might change us in the future. Everything has intended and unintended consequences and things are constantly changing. It’s interesting to consider where those changes will take us.

At other times I see events in history and I consider how we would react to them in modern times. Our lives are very different from the people of the past, but we are all human. I think history has a lot more to teach us than just a list of dates and events. We can see a lot of who were are by understanding who we have been.

The story develops as I go along. I know exactly where the story is going, but sometimes I’m surprised by how we get there. The characters have a lot to do with that. I have a very clear idea of each of their personalities and their (sometimes secret) motivations. There are times when I have gone into a scene intending one thing, only to find the characters won’t cooperate. That sounds a little crazy, but if the characters are strong enough to argue with the writer then something good has happened.

I suppose I could talk for hours on this subject, but hopefully that gives you some idea of how things work for me.

Regards,

LEH

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