Friday's How She Does It with Geeta Kakade

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

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

For my romances, characters spring to mind after the basic story is outlined in my mind.

For my mysteries I do characters first then plot
the stories.

 

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?

 

I sketch out the plot before I flesh out the characters.
Once I have them they do have the liberty of shaping/changing the plot as I write...often because of how their story develops.

 

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

I know in a general way that all my romances will have the happily ever after ending...the specific ending develops as I write the
story.

 

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

Most of my romances have been based in California where I live.  For house plans I put
together the best of all the model homes I visit.

 

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

 

These days most of my research is done online.

 

6. Are you a draft writer or do you revise as you go along and why?

I'm a draft writer preferring to write the whole story to get pacing and flow right first.  I revise extensively when I'm done researching all the details I need to.

 

When I taught a 'Basics of Writing' class, I noticed the students who wanted a perfect first chapter often got stuck, then discouraged and then gave up on their
story.

So I do plot points, then write the first draft, then revise, revise, revise.

 

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From: "shadyl717@aol.com" <shadyl717@aol.com>