December 28, 2020
Who’s the boss, you or the story?
Let’s switch this around a bit. Who’s the boss, you or the characters in the story?
I’ve said it before and nothing has changed – my stories are character driven. I can have a rough plot planned out and get a third of the way into the story, only to have the characters turn things around and tell me how the story is REALLY going to go.
One of my favorite examples of this is Tasha from Wolves’ Knight. (She played a minor part in Wolves’ Pawn, as well.) I had this nice little romance to a good-looking game warden all planned out for her. I even wrote out the scene of their first kiss. That’s when she stopped me. Told me it wasn’t going to happen; that she had her eye on someone else. (I won’t say who, you’ll have to read the book to find out.)
I went digging in my old files and found that deleted scene. It’s full of mistakes (it never made it into the first draft of the book) but this is the first time anyone but me has seen it.
The spray of the falling water made the cool air even chillier, and Tasha zipped her coat up part way. The bench was nothing more than a large old log that someone had sliced the bark from to create a flat area. It was low enough to the ground that Jaime had to rearrange his long legs several times to get comfortable. They sat side by side for a long while, not touching, and not saying anything. Yet the silence seemed natural to Tasha.
A patch of sky was visible through the trees, and she was watching the clouds skimming past the stars when a red streak flashed by. She pointed upward “Did you see that?”
“What?” Jaime asked, inclining his head towards hers to see what she was showing him.
“A meteor. It’s gone.” Tasha turned her head to find his barely an inch from hers.
“That’s okay. I found something else to look at,” he murmured. Then he closed the gap between them and lightly pressed his lips to hers.
Surprised, it took her a second to react, and by then he’d pulled away. “Sorry,” he said.
“Don’t apologize. It was nice.” Actually, it had been more than that, but Tasha wasn’t going to tell him. Not yet.
“Just nice?”
One side of her mouth rose. “I don’t know. Let’s see what happens if we do it again.”
This time she was prepared for the meeting of their mouths. And yes, she decided, the second time was definitely better, especially as she had the chance to return the gesture. “Hmm, better,” she said when the kiss ended. Much better. He tasted just like his musk aftershave and his kisses stirred a part of Tasha that she’d neglected too long.
“Practice makes perfect?” he asked with a grin, wrapping one arm around her waist.
“Let’s find out.”
That’s when Tasha started yelling at me. I only wrote a few more paragraphs before she stopped me and refused to cooperate until I listened to her. Then, I had to go back and make a few changes to set up the storyline she wanted. It worked out well, but it wasn’t what I planned. Jaime remained in the story, but in a different role. I still have a soft spot in my heart for him, but he wasn’t the man Tasha deserved.
And I can’t ignore Harmony Duprie, from my amateur sleuth series. (Which originally was planned as a paranormal romance and switched genres on me!) Harmony has a way of changing villains on me. I’ll have someone set up to be the bad guy, she’ll shake her head and poof! A new villain appears. I’ve learned to go with the flow. She did it again in my WIP, the Ranger’s Dogtags. I can’t give you any hints without creating a spoiler, so you’ll have to wait.
But here’s a short snippet to give you an idea of what the book is about:
Sorenson rubbed his chin. “In these days of patient privacy, hospitals won’t release any information to you. Especially because you aren’t the next of kin.”
Which gave me an idea. I texted Lando again. “Did you check his parents’ house?”
“Not there.”
Another theory shot down the drain. “Lando says he isn’t visiting his parents. Where else do we need to check?”
“You won’t like it.” Sorenson blew out a deep breath and looked me in the eyes. “It wouldn’t be the first time a man disappeared to spend time with a secret lover.”
Logically, it made sense. My heart screamed that it wasn’t true. My voice quavered despite my efforts to hold it steady. “Is there a way to check without access to Eli’s financial information?”
“Phone records. And we’d need a warrant for those. Which we won’t get, since he is in Florida and I have no jurisdiction. If we want to go down that path, he might have had a burner phone.”
I took another sip of my coffee. It tasted as bitter as the concept of Eli having a mistress. Or was I the hidden girlfriend?
I don’t have a release date for the new book yet, so stay tuned.
Back to the original question. The stories and the characters ore very much in charge when I write. I try to lead them where I want to go. Sometimes they cooperate, and more often, I have to adjust to their ideas to make the story better.
I’m trying to predict what the other authors on this loop will say. Let’s go find out by following the links below.
Until next time, please stay safe!
December 28, 2020
Who’s the boss, you or the story?
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