Everything is working just fine. The
grandkids in New York and Omaha are great, our electronic gizmos have not
rebelled against humanity, and Jenny is up to mischief. Jenny, of course, is a character in the next
Steve Dancy Tale, tentatively titled Jenny’s Revenge. As you probably guessed
from the title, she’s not a bit player.
Jenny
was a character from The Shopkeeper—the
first in the series—and her absence has been long. Absence has not made the
heart grow fonder, however. She’s on a tear, and I can’t wait to see what she
does next. Which brings up a question: if I’m the author, why would I not know what
Jenny is going to do? When I start a book, I know the beginning, the end, and the
players, but I do not map out the middle. I get the characters started, and
then type like crazy to see how they will take me to the predetermined end.
(There was an instance when my characters got ornery and discarded my ending for one of
their own.)
I’m not
suggesting this approach to all writers. In fact, for Tempest at Dawn, I
outlined every single day of the four month duration before writing a word. For me, the amount of pre-planning
depends on the subject of the novel. This is going to sound odd, but it also
depends on how much I trust the characters. I created Steve, Jeff, Joseph,
Virginia, Maggie, and Jenny. These characters would never let me down. I know
them better than they know themselves. I can rely on them to act out a rousing
story and to stay pretty much on the path I set for them. George Washington, James
Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Roger Sherman, and even good ‘ol Ben Franklin
might reject my fanciful plot for one they actually lived. In this case, it’s
better to lay everything out in advance.
I participated in three panels at the Tucson
Festival of Books. I was asked how I found inspiration to write. My answer was vague because every writer has to find what works for them. For me, it’s getting
back to my friends and seeing what they are up to. And that’s the real reason I
don’t outline the entire plot—writing wouldn’t be as much fun
if I knew what was going to happen.