How She Does It - Taryn Kincaid

We all know there are six elements in writing fiction and often fact. Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. I believe the first five lead to the sixth which for me is the plot. What's your take on this?

I take this any way I can get this. Then I run.

1. How do you create your characters? Do you have a specific process?

They spring forth from the demented recesses of my brain like Athena fully formed and armed from Zeus' brow. Say, would you like to buy some shares in the Brooklyn Bridge?

My heroes are tall, dark & handsome hunks. My heroines are, unfortunately, usually necesssary. My heroes are exciting creatures, with full-blown back stories, occasionally damaged or surly. I try my best to give my heroines something to do, other than merely look good. I don't always succeed in this. I feed them Vitamin D with Calcium to strengthen their backbones. If they are snappish and snarky, so much the better.

2. Do your characters come before the plot? Do you sketch out your plot or do you let the characters develop the route to the end?

Given the foregoing, I guess I have to say "A." I picture them in a little scene-like snippet and meander off with them. A heroine I like a lot already, starts off by kicking the naked and sleeping hero in his ribcage with the toe of her boot. She then looses a lot of magical and mechanical gadgetry on him. I really enjoy it when the heroine has something to do. Other than, you know, look good --as I think I already mentioned. If all she's going to do is whine, I want to shove her under a bus. As soon as humanly possible. Or kick her to the curb. (If I was still coming to your house on Tuesday nights, you would probably notice that this is overwritten and there's quite a bit of mixed metaphor and repetition. I guess we know by now that this is "how I do it.")

3. Do you know how the story will end before you begin? In a general way or a specific one?

Oh, hell, no. Never, ever, ever. Okay, maybe once.

4. Do you choose settings you know or do you have books of settings and plans of houses sitting around?

Hmm, let's see. Considering I segue from the salt cliffs of Regency England (HEALING HEARTS) to the Underworld (Aidon & Surfer Dude & Cloud Boy & Co.) and back, I would have to say, "settings I know." Don't you agree?

(I mean, honestly, even my erotic paranormal, SLEEPY HOLLOW DREAMS, set in a real village about a five-minute drive from my real office, bears absolutely no resemblance to the real Village of Sleepy Hollow, NY. Which I've actually been to. Many times. Okay, well, maybe the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery scene was semi-realistic. Bwahahahahahahah.)


5. Where do you do your research? On line or from books?

Research? What the frak is research?

Taryn Kincaid
Healing Hearts
Sleepy Hollow Dreams