Intrigue Authors Newsletter for December

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Harlequin Intrigue® authors are as intriguing as their books. So each month we have a question about their favorite books, their favorite heroes, or maybe something about their intriguing life.

How do you write? Do you do a lot of plotting and preparation ahead of time,
or do you just plunge in and write "by the seat of your pants?"

Delores Fossen:
I consider myself a plotting panster. Generally, I first come up with the main characters and a few scenes. From that, I write the first three chapters, even though the scenes I originally envisioned won't usually appear until the middle of the book. Then, after the first three chapters are done and semi-polished, I plot out the rest of the book and write the synopsis.

Mallory Kane:
I'm a "seat of the pants" writer who's trying to learn how to plot. My characters are no problem (usually). And my climax and the denouement (what I call the resolution of the romance) are generally already there, waiting to be written. It's what comes between the beginning and the end that gives me trouble. In A PROTECTED WITNESS (Nov 04), I knew that career FBI Agent Mitch Decker had always been in love with his boss's wife. And I knew that Allie, who was placed in the Witness Protection Program when her husband (Mitch's boss) was murdered, wanted nothing to do with the FBI or anyone connected to it. But when she's targeted by the killer, there's only one man she can turn to--Mitch. How they go from reluctant allies to soul mates while trying to find the killer and stay alive-- well, that's the part I have to write to find out. The excitement of discovery is why I write. But there are times when I'd pay big money for someone to take the jumble in my brain and make a plot outline out of it. Happy holidays!!! And watch for my next Ultimate Agents book, SEEKING ASYLUM (Aug 2005).

Susan Kearney:
I've always written by the seat of my pants. When I began to sell books, my editor always required a synopsis but I hate writing them. My characters don't like to follow my plans for them. They like to think and breathe on their own. So my synopsis kept getting shorter and shorter and more vague. No one complained. Actually, no one ever complains when the story doesn't match my synopsis. Editors simply want the story to work from beginning to end--and most of them admit they don't like the synopsis either.

When I wrote PROTECTOR SOS, (Dec 2004), I had a vague idea in mind for the plot, the hero and the heroine and I just went with it. And didn't change much when I was done. On the other hand, during the very first book I ever wrote, a futuristic paranormal romance titled THE CHALLENGE (Feb 2005 from Tor), I changed the beginning 25 times over the ten years it took to finally sell it. If I must, I can plot a book straight through, but I'd rather let the characters tell me what to do next.

Sylvie Kurtz:
I do some plotting ahead of time (mostly because it's required to put together a synopsis ? ). I know the set-up, three to four major turning points and have an idea for the end, which sometimes changes by the time I get there. Knowing everything ahead of time would make the process of writing the manuscript tedious. I like surprises along the way and discovering things at the same time the characters do. Not efficient, but enjoying the process is a big reason for writing the story in the first place. Visit my website for an excerpt of my next books A ROSE AT MIDNIGHT (Intrigue, Jan 2005), and PERSONAL ENEMY, (Bombshell Fe 2005). Wishing everyone a happy holiday season and the best of new years!

Dana Marton:
I write by the seat of my pants. I wouldn't recommend the method for the faint of heart. It can be terrifying to type THE END on page 180 when the editor is expecting 280 pages. Obviously, I do many many drafts and rewrites. I think my first draft is what other writers call a detailed outline. I've tried extended plotting, but it does not work for me. Once I know how the book is going to go and what the end is, the excitement is gone.

Julie Miller:
My style of writing would definitely drive any organized person nuts <g>! I'm a 'pantser'--or instinct-driven writer, with a modicum of pre-planning thrown in. Basically, I know my characters--the hero/heroine/villain--as if they were real to me, and let them react to situations and express feelings in ways true to their characterization. In THE PRECINCT: PARTNER-PROTECTOR (Jan 2005), the hero, Detective Merle Banning, has been a friend of mine (and fan favorite!) throughout my 7-book Taylor Clan series, so I got to know him really well before I ever started writing the book.

Before I start, I see my books in my head as if I was watching a movie trailer--I get glimpses of scenes, including dialogue and action, that I want to see in my story. The climactic scene or black moment almost always appears first. Then I'll see the beginning and some tender moments as well. I generally see the villain up to no good, too. Those scenes become guideposts that I write toward through each twist and turn of the story, but my characters generally tell me how to get from point A to point B.

Kelsey Roberts:
I am borderline OCD when it comes to planning and plotting a book. I start with the germ of an idea and rough out a synopsis. Then, I start color coding. Disks, CDs, file folders - all get assigned a color scheme. Step two is the creation of the binder - 1/2 inch to 4 inches - depending on the project. Step three is to flesh out the characters. As a visual learner, I do this by taking images from magazines, the Internet (Google image search is great for this as are soap opera sites) or any place else I can find them. I include more than just people - I find homes, apartments, cars, clothing, etc. Anything I think might be helpful in allowing me to craft a decent character. I put all this - along with maps, job research, poison research, gun info - or anything else I might need, into my color-tabbed binder. Then it's off to post-it notes and my plot board.

I use a dry erase board in my office with a permanent grid for chapters. It has 20 chapters, but that's only because my OCD likes that 20 makes for a nice, even presentation. Then it's off to colored post-it notes and colored markers. I take what I know about the mystery elements - for example, baby kidnapped, and put that in the first chapter. Obviously, if I have a kidnapped baby, I have to find the baby, so I put that in the final chapter - and place them in their spots. Unlike most of the rest of the world, I work backwards. If I know I need to find the baby, then I have to identify the kidnapper; if I have to identify the kidnapper, I need suspects, if I have lots of suspects, I have to eliminate them. And it kind of goes from along those lines. (There's a completed plot board on my website if you want to see one all done up). As for the characters, I usually decide how each character must evolve over the course of the story. If the heroine must learn to trust, then I know she starts off suspicious and guarded. So, I'll need incidents and revelations throughout that relate to the mystery plotline to allow her this growth. I do the same for the hero.

Then, and usually only then, do I sit and write an Editor-Worthy Synopsis. I try to keep it to 4-6 pages. Assuming the story idea flies, I like to write in 1 chapter increments.

So, I'm anything but seat of the pants. I do deviate - not all ideas pan out the way you'd like them and sometimes a better way to do a scene comes to mind. It is a plot board, not a stone etching that I can't change. I really need this kind of prep work. Some people find it a waste of time. It surely won't work for everyone, but it is the best way I've found to keep myself on track.

Patricia Rosemoor:
I'm part-plotter, part-pantser. I start with what seems like a pretty well-developed story and quite a bit of research, but when it comes down to writing the book, and I try to divide what I have into "chapters," I have a great big hole in the middle. So I have to say that I plot the set up and the big finish and not much in-between. It's writing the middle that always puts me in a panic state. Sometimes I try to figure it out all the way through, but that never works. It seems I just have to get some idea for a chapter and then jump in and see where it takes me. And I do more research as I go. Most of my twists, turns and red herrings, and even some suspects are born that way. An example would be when I was writing HOT CASE, (Bombshell Dec 2004) set in the world of Goths and wannabe vampires, many of them had gargoyle tattoos. When I researched gargoyles and got some pretty interesting information on them, I decided to make the gargoyle a real clue, and that changed my plot a bit. I certainly had to go back and rewrite to bring in the clue from the beginning. I love/hate the way I write -- love it when it works, hate it when I get stuck. That's when it's handy to have friends who have as evil imaginations as I do..... And on that note, have a Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year.

Dani Sinclair:
The short answer is both. In, SECRET CINDERELLA (Feb 2005) started with a chapter that I wrote several years ago. I had no idea who my heroine was or why she was in danger, but the entire scene in the ballroom came to me with no prompting and I simply wrote the chapter, much as it reads today. Unfortunately, I've learned that while I prefer to write by the seat of my pants it's a good way to become frustrated and lose hours and pages of work when your characters take you in a wrong direction. They LOVE to do that!

These days, most of my stories start with an idea. My next book, DB HAYES, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, (Jun 2005) started with an editor request for a first person Private Investigator, something I've never tried before. I wrote a scene to get a feel for who Dee was and she immediately took on a life of her own that was completely unexpected. I loved her and her quirky sense of humor. However, then I had to spend agonizing days trying to work out the plot line that would give this heroine something to do besides bedevil me. Once I had the direction of the story, the actual scenes were dictated by the characters mostly. It makes for an interesting love/hate dynamics since they always lead me into unanticipated trouble somewhere along the line. And every so often I realize that even though X was supposed to be the main villain of the piece, Z actually has a much stronger motive and the hero/heroine should have been paying far more attention to him/her. Makes for some interesting moments for all of us. <g>

Gayle Wilson:
I'm very definitely a "seat of the pantser." I have to turn in a synopsis of what the book is going to be, but my editor knows that is very different from the finished product. The synopsis is, at best, at "guesstimate" at the finished story. So far that hasn't been a problem for her. My fingers are crossed that it won't ever be. I think I'd lose the excitement of writing if I always knew what was going to happen next.

AUTHOR NEWS

SUSAN KEARNEY
USA Today bestselling author Susan Kearney also writes for Tor. You can find out more about her next release, THE CHALLENGE, (Feb 2005) at Tor's brand new website for paranormal romance

JULIE MILLER
The votes are in! Thanks to all the readers who took part in the informal survey on my website this past month. I asked readers who entered my contest to tell me what supporting characters from my Taylor Clan books they'd like to see in an upcoming story from my Intrigue mini-series, THE PRECINCT.

While several of you asked to see Josh Taylor from THE ROOKIE again (I guess you can't ever say goodbye to a hunk like that <g>), the number one vote-getter was Assistant District Attorney Dwight Powers. Apparently, a lot of readers out there like a guy with a dark side. Ask, and you shall receive--my first PRECINCT book in 2006, THE PRECINCT: BREAKING AND ENTERING (tentative title), will feature big, bad Dwight as the hero. And I will keep a list of all the other names mentioned for future reference. Be on the lookout--you might see Firefighter John Murdock or Sergeant Maggie Wheeler or I.A. Investigator Eli Masterson or Alex Taylor (all grown up!) or your personal favorite in a future book. Thank you!

KELSEY ROBERTS
Kelsey will be appearing in a number of places both virtual and real-time in the coming month to celebrate BEDSIDE MANNER, available Dec. 10.
     In January, you can see her in person at the following locations:
     1/8:    Workshop at FRW on 'Characters Count'
     1/9:    Booksigning at Vero Beach Book Center 7PM
     1/13: Booksigning 7PM Murder on the Beach, Delray Beach, Florida
     1/27: Speaking at Vero Beach Book Center 7PM

Also, RWA members, look for her article, "Writer Interrupted," in the Romance Writers Report. And finally, Kelsey is holding a "Name That Landry Baby" contest on her website

PATRICIA ROSEMOOR
Patricia Rosemoor was recently featured in a Chicago Sun Times article about action-adventure heroines. Plus, she was profiled by the Columbia Chronicle (Patricia teaches at Columbia College, Chicago).

Her next book -- a December Silhouette Bombshell, HOT CASE -- was featured in a New York City ad campaign that included a 30-second spot on the ABC-TV billboard in Times Square.

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