Helen Henderson is Visiting and Talking bout being a Panster or Plotter. #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor Fantasy #dragons

 

Panster or Plotter

Day 1

1. Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?

I would say that I am more of an explorer, which is a combination of plotter and pantser. Each project starts off as a plotter and the creation of a storyboard. The scene notes contains a check-off for the purpose of the scene such as characterization, enhance the setting, or advances the plot. The storyboard is not the numbered structure of a traditional outline. It’s format is bullet points and it contains dialog, setting, and is in essence more a first draft than a true outline. At some point, the characters take over and the plotter submerges beneath the more free-wheeling pantser and the storyboard turns into a second draft.

2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

 

Although I need to know at least some aspect of the main characters, I work the plot first, letting the characters develop as they will.

3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

 

The release of Fire and Redemption last month means I am in the middle ground between projects. I had thought a third book to tell the final chapter in Trelleir’s search to find the homeland of his dragon kin was the next logical project. However, a different land has been nagging to be explored. Whether it is a fantasy world or a science fiction exploration, adventure and some amount of romance is promised.

4. Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

Caves have appeared in all three of my series. The uses varied from travelers’ shelters to an underground temple, a dragon’s lair and hatching cave, and the hiding place of a magical relic. Gems have also made a few appearances, especially in the Tear Stone Collectors. When a dragon cries, their tears fall as precious jewels. Each tear stone is imbued with the magic of its creator. And for special humans, the jewels can enhance the person's natural powers or even provide the ability to take on dragon form. However, I admit to one thing appearing in al the fantasy books – magical breeds of equines. One word of warning, the horses chose their riders. Those who try to get into the saddle when they are not the animal’s chosen one will measure their length in the dirt.

5. Do you write every day or just when the spirit hits?

I would like to say I write every day. And for a good number of years I did. Now, even though I am no longer a full-time caretaker, life and age get in the way My resolution this year was to write every day even if it is a blog post, a hop, or a writing prompt challenge.

6. Where can we find you?

 

Website / Blog – http://www.helenhenderson-author.blogspot.com/

Amazon - https://www.amzn.com/e/B001HPM2XK

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/HelenHenderson.author/

Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1eWhhGB

Twitter –https://twitter.com/history2write

7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

Over the years I have devoured Kathrine Kurtz’s Adept series, and have gone through phases where I read adventures written by Leslie Charteris, the 007 books by Ian Fleming, and westerns by Louis L'amour. Then throw in some science fiction by Asimov to round out the genres. But the number one favorite author is the queen of Dragonhold, Anne McCaffrey. In addition to riding a dragon, you can explore outer space and encounter strange creatures in the Talent Universe series.

Kim McMahill is visiting and talking about being a Panster or a Plotter #MFRWAuthor #panster #Plotter #writing #Beartooth Mountain

 

1. Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?

I’m a little of both. For my latest project, The Beartooth Chronicles, there are a lot of characters and the series unfolds over about five years, so it is essential to keep the timeline straight and introduce events that may not play out for another book or two, so I’ve had to plot out the storyline a little more than usual. 

2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

Usually the plot comes first, though the main character in The Beartooth Chronicles definitely drives the story. 

3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

I’ve finished the first four novels in The Beartooth Chronicles. Book 1, Refuge from the World will be released in mid-March. The next three novels in the series will be released every four to five months thereafter. I just finished the first round of edits for book 2, Above the Abyss. In between meeting editing deadlines, I’m writing book 5.

4. Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

Locations for my books are generally based on someplace I’ve been that has made an impact on me. Sometimes it’s places I’ve traveled to, but my latest series is set in the Beartooth Mountains decades in the future. Currently the road over the pass is only open from Memorial Day to around October. In the series, temperatures have warmed around the planet, melting all of the ice and snow, raising sea levels. The new climate in Beartooth no longer receives snow, and the population in the U.S. is being pushed to higher elevations.

5. Do you write every day or just when the spirit hits?\

I generally write every day. Even if I’m not in the mood to work on a novel, I also publish Kindle Vella episodes, update my social media, or work on marketing and promotional tasks.

6. Where can we find you?

Blog: https://www.kimmcmahill.blogspot.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/KimMcMahillAuthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimmcmahill/

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/kimmcmahill

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Kim-McMahill/e/B007IK0EJW/

7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

James Rollins, Suzanne Collins, and Dan Brown. I love books that take me on an adventure or to a new place. I enjoy everything from romantic suspense to dystopian.

Janet Lane Walters talks about being a Panster or a Plotter #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #wwriting #panster #plotter

 

1. Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both? Essentially I am a Plotter. When starting a new story, I put myself to sleep planning the book. I then write a working synopsis of the story. Next I divide this into chapters and write a synopsis of this. Then I outline the chapter synopsis and begin writing. At this point I'l able to become a panster for a bit. This allows for some twists and turns and for things that don't appear until the story takes shape.

 

2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

For me what comesfirst is an Idea. There may or may not be characters involved at the start. I toy with the idea, pulling it apart and adding and subtracing bits and pieces. 

3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

 I'm currentlyworking on Keltoi, a fantasy that's the last of the moon Rising series. Not sure whre it will go when I finish the story since my publisher doesn't want fantasies these days. I may take the other three and unite with the fourth and do something with them

4. Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

 Since this is my questionaire, I've answered that. Gems are prevalent in my stories. Often there is a cat lurking in some of the stories.

5. Do you write everyday or just when the spirit hits?\

 I write every day and when I;m on vacation, I get antsy so I bring writing along. The worst time of my life was during the three weeks when I was in the hospital and couldn't write.

6. Where can we find you?

 Below is my places.

7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

 I can't enen begin to think of who my favorite authors are. I've been readins since I was three years old. At present my KIndle has more than 2000 books present. I've read most of these books. There are a few begun with hop and given up in despair. Not many, probably 1 in ever hundred books.

My Places

   https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

https://www.pinterest.com/shadyl717/

 

Buy Mark My Places

 

https://bookswelove.net/walters-janet-lane/

donalee moulton is visiting and talking about Panster or Plotter #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Panster #Plotter #Writing

 

Day 1

 

1.    Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?

 

On the spectrum from panster to plotter, I lean left. When I was writing my first mystery Hung Out to Die, I had brief backstories for the main characters. I had an outline of the plot, I knew who the killer was, and why they had committed the crime. Then I dove in.

 

Writing my second book, Conflagration!, was a slightly different process. I may have leaned a little more to the right. The book is a historical mystery and follows the trial of an enslaved Black women accused of arson in Montreal in 1734. The level of detail in court transcripts and the timelines set by the trial process meant I had a detailed blueprint for the book before I even began.

 

2.    Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

 

Characters arrive first. Riel Brava, the main character in Hung Out to Die, appeared out of a lavender cloud of bubble bath one night while I was soaking in the tub. He was not fully formed but tangible enough that I wrote down my ideas before I even moisturized.

 

Marie-Joseph Angélique, the enslaved Black woman at the heart of Conflagration!, was portrayed in some detail in court transcripts. My fictional court reporter, Philippe Archambeau, and other characters emerged as the writing progressed.

 

3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

 

I have two books in progress. They are part of a new mystery series with new characters. The three main characters meet in a yoga studio and come together to catch a thief. I loved Riel Brava, but he was very much a surprise. Not what I would have picked as a main character emanating from my imagination. The next books, Bind and Melt, sound and feel a little bit more like me. That said, it’s always good to be taken outside your comfort zone.

4.            Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

 

It varies from book to book, but food seems to weave its way into my writing uninvited. Riel is a coffee aficionado. I do not know how that happened. I am a tea drinker. Riel also had his first – and second – donair in Hung Out to Die. I have never had one.

 

Food is the foundation for a friendship that springs up between Philippe and the local jailer in Conflagration!. Lunch becomes a means to extract information, then it becomes much more.

 

5. Do you write every day or just when the spirit hits?

 

I am not a marathon writer. I am a sprinter. I can’t sit and write for hours at a time. I break up my writing by taking a yoga class, soaking up some sunshine, checking email, doing some paid work. I do try to write 1,000 fictional words a day. Some days I achieve this. We don’t need to talk about the other days.

 

6. Where can we find you?

 

The best place to find me – and to reach out – is my website, donaleemoulton.com.

 

7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

 

I relish reading. I was a judge in the Crime Writers of Canada’s Awards of Excellence last year, and I got to dive into more than 40 fabulous – and very diverse – books that kept me on my toes and my eyes glued to the page. When I was younger and I was discovering the wonder and wow of the mystery genre, I devoured authors like Tony Hillerman, Martha Grimes, Ruth Rendell. More recently I have discovered writers like Richard Osman. And Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing was nothing short of joyous.

 

Day 2:

 

BUY INFORMATION:

 

Website: donaleemoulton.com 

 

Amazon Author URL: amazon.com/author/donaleemoulton

Ella Braeme is visiting and talking about being a Plotter or a Panster #MFRWAuthor #Anthology #Pets #Tolstoy #romance

 1. Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?

I've been writing for some years, but never, ever got a book finished. Once I gave up on the idea I could just sit down and write a book, but instead started to plot, things went smoothly. I collate ideas on index cards and/or on a Trello board and once I feel there are enough to build a book on, I transfer them to a scene structure I have created, heavily relying on Gwen Hayes' Romancing the Beat and Kim Hudson's The Virgin's Promise.

 

2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

I wouldn't even know. Sometimes it's a character that comes to mind, a photograph of someone, or a plot idea. Creativity doesn't follow a pattern, but flows however it wants. Going with that flow can be a humbling experience.

 

3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

My current work in progress is the second book in the Elken Grove Mountain Men series. I went a little crazy following some late night what-if ideas, and came up with a rock star mountain man story. It will be published in the Mic Drop anthology come March.

Mixing genres is a lot of fun, hitting the marks of both is difficult though. But so far, I feel good about the book and it feels like both: mountain man and rock star.

 

4. Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

Pets. That's the most common denominator. There's usually a dog or a cat, just because I like them. And I weave in wildlife and nature in general. That's something most of us don't experience in everyday life nowadays, but often crave. So if my readers can't have it as often as they'd like to, at least they get a glimpse in my books.

 

5. Do you write everyday or just when the spirit hits?\

Oof, loaded question. I write every day. Unless I can't—and that's more often than I'm comfortable admitting. Life gets into the way, health issues, helping family, renovation works (our house is very old and needs a lot of tending). And sometimes it's just the absence of my muse. I don't know where she's going when she's not with me, and luckily it usually doesn't take long for her to be back. So, when my muse is with me and life is good, everyday.

 

6. Where can we find you?

 I hang out on Instagram @ellawritesromance, I've got a website ellabraeme.com, and a newsletter. And of course, an email address, ella@ellabraeme.com. I actually do read my emails and as of now, I still have time to answer.

7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

I've got many favorite authors—usually the one I'm reading right now. Books that have been with me for a long time now are Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I love the way the story is told from so many different points of view. In one case, it's a dog's even! Another is Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell with it's various time-lines. In both cases, I hate the movies made out of these books. The books are so much more than could be told in 120 minutes.
As for romance, I enjoy Daphne Elliot's Lovewell Lumberjacks. I mean, you do not think I could resist that moose, do you?

 

Barbara Montjoy is visitign and talking about Panster or Plotter #MFRWAuthor #romance #lawyer #Nissoula

 

1.    Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?

I’m definitely a bit of both—especially if I’m writing romance. After all, we know what the ending will be.  😊 Just a matter of finding the twists and turns appropriate with the characters and setting.  But I also write suspense and sci-fi, and in these I need more idea of what the plot will be and how to get to whatever end I anticipate. I’ll start out with a sketchy outline and then fill in the farther I get along.

 2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

 I’ve done both. For example in my Clan Elves books, the glass slipper appearing on my modern Montana sidewalk twisted the Cinderella story—so, plot.

In the current book I’m working on now, the lawyer heroine came to me first. She is tall, thin and has long, thick, wavy red hair, a criminal defense attorney in 1990s Miami. Just because she is also found in the Everglades next to a burned car with a body in it… I mean, redheads are naturally trouble, right?

3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

My lawyer Bet that I mentioned above is in a standalone book that is a pretty straight up domestic thriller. I had an agent ask for it at a recent conference, and I’ve got my fingers crossed it’ll go far! 

4. Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

 My elf clan series and my romantic suspense TENDER MISDEMEANORS are all set outside Missoula, Montana in the Bitterroot Forest and Mountains. It is a beautiful setting, and I loved living there in the late 1970s. Missoula definitely has a hippie vibe, just like Asheville, NC, where I live now.

5. Do you write everyday or just when the spirit hits?

I do something related to my writing every day. Back at the beginning, I could indulge myself and write all the time, but now I find myself promoting both my work and other writer’s works weekly, checking social media and setting up teaching gigs. So being an author is more than a full-time job, as you know.

 

6. Where can we find you?

Author Links

Website          http://Alana-lorens.com

Facebook    https://www.facebook.com/AlanaLorens/

Goodreads   https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4829967.Alana_Lorens

Amazon Author Page  https://www.amazon.com/Alana-Lorens/e/B005GE0WBC/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alana-lorens

Twitter:  @AlexanderLyndi

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexander_lyndi/

Alana Lorens (aka Lyndi Alexander or Barbara Mountjoy) has been a published writer for over 45 years, including seven years as a reporter and editor at the South Dade News Leader in Homestead, Florida. She writes non-fiction, romance, adventure, and suspense novels. She is the author of the Pittsburgh Lady Lawyers series, which draws on her years as a family law attorney in the state of Pennsylvania. One of the causes close to her heart came from those years as well–the fight against domestic violence. She volunteered for many years at women’s shelters and provided free legal services to women and children in need. Alana resides in North Carolina, and she loves her time in the smoky blue mountains. She lives with her daughter on the autism spectrum, who is the youngest of her seven children, and five crotchety cats.

7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

 Stephen King, although I confess I haven’t kept up with his most recent books. I also grew up on Anne McCaffrey’s dragon books, gothic romance by Victoria Holt, Dorothy Eden and Mary Stewart. Oh, and Robert Heinlein’s later work—you know, the wild ones like Stranger in a Strange Land. And also… well. So. Many. Books.

 

Jill Culiner is visiting and talking about being a Panster or a Plotter #MFRWAuthor #Panster #Plotter

 

1. Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?

 

I need to have an idea of what I’m going to write before I begin working on a manuscript. In other words, I have something I really want to say, or I have a story to tell. Otherwise why write ?

 

2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

 

I can’t see how the two can be separated. A plot happens because of one particular character’s vision of the world; a character’s foibles create a plot.

 

3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

 

After having three romance releases in a row (and a non-fiction book that is sitting on a publisher’s desk), I’ve decided I need a break from writing. What I’m doing now, is working a series of satirical cartoons that I’ll be putting together in a book. Here’s an example:

 

4. Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

 

In my Blake’s Folly trilogy, the Mizpah Saloon shows up with great frequency. But it’s quite a wonderful place, well over a hundred and fifty years old:

The Mizpah had seen worse days. Sometimes neglected and left to sag by indifferent owners, sometimes cherished and coddled, its second-floor balcony was still in place, so were the broad sash windows. Inside, the floor was as glossy and polished as it might have been a hundred years earlier, and the brass rails gleamed. Old framed paintings hung on the walls, and an ancient wooden clock was still steadily ticking its way through the centuries.

 

5. Do you write everyday or just when the spirit hits?

It all depends. If I’m working on something that I feel passionate about, it becomes my whole life. Otherwise, I wait until the mood hits me.

 

6. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

I’m a non-fiction reader. I admire—and enjoy—W.G. Sebald. I particularly love his brilliant Rings of Saturn. But I equally enjoy Charles King, Neal Ascherson, Robert A. Rosenstone and so many others.

 

7. Where can we find you?

Here’s my web site: https://www.j-arleneculiner.com/

Here’s my storytelling podcast: https://soundcloud.com/j-arlene-culiner

And here are all my links in one place: https://linktr.ee/j.arleneculiner

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ruth Casie is Visiting and talking about being a Plotter or a Panster #MFRWAuthor #Panster #Plotter #romance #gems

 

1.     Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?

I am a plotster. I write a narrative document with the important points of the story. If you think of a movie or a play, there is the inciting innocent or where the story begins, things get bad then sort of get better, then they get back again and somewhat improve and then the black moment happens when all is lost. In a romance, we promise a happily ever after (or at least happy for now) so the black moment is resolved. Those are the points I plan.

 

2.     Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

This is not an easy answer. For example, when I wrote The Lady and Her Quill, the plot came first. I based that story on a bad review I received on the first book I published. My new story, The Lady and the Barrister, Marianna Ravencroft, our heroine came first. She is an event planner extraordinaire! She doesn’t charge for her services, heaven forbid she took money, but had her clients donate the fee to the Sommer-by-the-Sea Foundation that served the underprivileged.
 

3.     What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

The Lady and the Barrister is in pre-order and releases April 10. This story is about two friends who have lost touch with each other. Both find themselves the center of attention for the single status and abundance of influence and blunt. They decide to masquerade as a courting couple while they each look for the perfect person for each other. As for the inspiration for this plot. There is a scene in this story that is similar to one that played out when I dated my husband.

 

I have not been idle! I am working on the next book in the series, The Lady and the Earl. This story is set for a June release. This story is about a woman who has all the knowledge and skills of a premier doctor. She is welcomed by the family of the man she loves, but the same cannot be said about some of her fiancé’s friends, especially one female in particular. The woman’s gaslighting behaviors are a prescription for disaster. Can their love survive?

 

4.     Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

You will find a gem prominently on the cover of each book in this series that plays a role in the story. I had written The Lady and the Spy and was editing it when we visited our son and his family in Boston. I had just received the cover. I eagerly showed it to him, and my heart sank. I hadn’t described the gem correctly.

 

5.     Do you write every day or just when the spirit hits?

 

I have outlined a rigorous launch plan for myself. To meet my deadlines, I plan to write every day, although sometimes that doesn’t happen.

 

6.     Where can we find you?

 

Here is a list of where you can find me:

Website: https://ruthacasie.com/

Ruth’s Newsletter Signup:  https://www.subscribepage.com/ruthacasie

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/ruthacasie/

Facebook private reader’s page, Casie Café: https://www.facebook.com/groups/963711677128537/

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/RuthACasie/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/RuthACasie

Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/ruthacasie  

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4792909.Ruth_A_Casie

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@Ruth-A-Casie

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ruthacasie

 

7.     Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

 

I have been enamored with The Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas and Wrexford and Sloane series by Andrea Penrose. Both series take place in Victorian London. Both series have intelligent strong heroines. They both also have powerful strong men who are not intimidated by their woman and who do all they can to help her succeed.