Christie asked Nalini Singh:

Hi, Nalini, you are my absolute favorite author! Your world building and character development is always awesome. You always give us a complete and well-rounded story; you never just throw in scenes for the hell of it. Do you have a process that you follow to ensure that everything you write is integral to the story and that you haven't left any little bits of the story hanging? Thanks so much!

Nalini Singh The simple answer is that I do multiple drafts. Everything gets poured into the first draft (and not always in order!). Then I redraft, always keeping the heart of the story and the personalities of the characters in mind.

That's why I sometimes have deleted scenes that readers love, but that didn't make it into the book - because while that scene may be one I love, too, it didn't serve the needs of that particular story.

As for leaving things hanging, I always draft my stories as a whole - so I write a complete first draft, then a complete second draft and so on, and that helps me keep the overall story cohesive even in a big book.

With the overall series continuity, a lot of it is in my head, but I also keep detailed notes to make sure things flow smoothly from book to book. :)

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