by Deborah Lynne
Hello fellow members of ACFW. Today I thought a good subject matter for my blog would be change. Change happens, even to the best of us, and sometimes it is a good thing-Sometimes it makes your story even better.
I don’t know about you, but when I write a book, in my heart I know how it ends. Usually I know how I’m going to get from the beginning to the end…at least I have notes of my plans on how to get from A to B to C. I learned early on, no matter how much I plan, things happen. My characters grow and as they do, sometimes they surprise me. Their reactions become more real as my story progresses. When I write my rough outline, I write how I believe things would go, characters responding to given situations a certain way, but as but as my character grow as an individual, so did their spunk, and so did their ability to speak for themselves.
Don’t fight the change-Give in to it, because usually it makes for a better story, a more believable tale. While writing my latest novel, After You’re Gone, I knew how Neal, the hero, would react early on-but he didn’t. It turned out he did the total opposite than I had anticipated and this changed several planned scenes of the book. I admit I haven’t written a romance in several years, but after a few of my fans started asking when I’d write another, I felt it was time to pen one God had laid on my heart a few years back. As you know, I write mostly mystery and suspense with romance entwined, but not always. I guess it’s because that’s what I love to read. Can I tell you, as I started writing After You’re Gone I got caught up in the story, in the romance? As I kept working toward the finished product – and cried along the way – I remembered the joy of reading romance. Now I have to say, this is my favorite story so far – even though I love all my novels, Melilla and Neal captured my heart in this one. I hope they do you, too.
The point I’m trying to make, whether you write romance, mystery, suspense, sci-fi, or whatever, don’t get bogged down in keeping your story to your predetermined outline. Let your characters pull you into their lives and lead you where your story really should go. Sometimes it even changes the ending. I know in one of my romantic suspense stories, letting the characters come to life inside of me helped change who the killer was. Isn’t that a shock! It was to me.
So don’t get locked in to anything. Be open to change! As we change in our every day lives, so do our characters.
Keep on writing!!
Deborah Lynne, an inspirational fiction author of 7 novels, writes romance, romantic mystery, & romantic suspense. She says her books are fiction, but her God is real! Her latest novel, After You’re Gone, is scheduled to release anytime. You can connect with her on her website http://www.author-deborahlynne.com.