Friday's How She Does It featuring P. J. Layne #MFRWauthor

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

 My characters tend to introduce themselves to me.When a story is ready to be told, and over the course of several days, the seed of a story will start developing. Usually it's the main character whispering in my ear and clueing me in to the plot.

2. Do your characters come before the plot?

I usually have a sketchy concept for the plot first, and once I start writing, my characters tell me the story and about themselves. I frequently don't know all the details of the story until I get ready to write the particular scene or chapter.

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

 I usually know the end of the story before I start writing. It may start off general, but usually by the time i'm two or three chapters into writing I know what the end is in detail.  

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

I've lives in several parts of the United States, so I have a choice of settings with which I'm familiar.  Both Wolves' Pawn and The Ghost Who Loved  Me, my work in progress, are set mainly in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, where I grew up.

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

Most of my research is on line. I'll research what I can before I start writing, but when there's a particular detail I want to fill in as I'm writing, I'll stop and look it up immediately so I don't forget about it.

6. Are you a draft writer or do you revise as you go along and why? Do you sketch out your plot or do you let the characters develop the route to the end? 

I'm mostly a draft writer, but if I've had a break in writing, I will do some editing to get me back into the feel of the story. I don't sketch my plot out ahead of time, although I know key points I want to include. I mostly let my characters develop the story