Of beginnings and authors

“How do you start a book?”

That’s a question I’m frequently asked, or such variations as: “Do you just sit down at the computer and start writing?” Another related inquiry that authors hear a lot is “Where do you get your ideas?”

Once, after I’d given a talk, a woman approached and explained, “I dreamed an idea for a book, but when I wrote it down, it only took a page and a half. Then what do you do – just stretch it?”

While every author works differently, I can state the following about myself:
1) I never just sit at the computer and start a novel, cold.
2) Neither could I plan out a whole book from start to finish. For me, stories grow organically on a framework.
3) I get ideas from all sorts of things or from nothing at all, but that’s the easy part.
4) Developing and shaping those ideas into a novel is incredibly hard work.

Generally, I start with a germ of an idea, maybe a plot twist or a character. For the trilogy that Harlequin American is publishing this year (The Doctor’s Little Secret, February; Daddy Protector, May; Twin Surprise, September), I began with two notions. The first concerned police officers who survive life-threatening events, gain new perspectives and decide to become fathers (whether by birth or adoption).

Second, I envisioned a young woman whose plans to become a teacher had been derailed by a serious auto accident that left her with long-term injuries. With the help of her two closest friends, she’s finally getting back on track at the age of thirty.

As I jotted notes and interwove the ideas, one of the friends became a cousin who’s the ex-wife of a lieutenant. The other best friend turned out to be policewoman. Gradually storylines emerged and converged.

I considered various ways to involve children. An unexpected pregnancy. A hoped-for adoption. And a relinquished infant who, at the age of five, suddenly becomes available again.

Next came the long but engrossing process of exploring the characters and working out the major plot points. At last, I was ready to envision the opening scene of the first book, which still left a lot of events and twists for me to experience as I wrote.

Other authors work differently. Some are “pantsers” – seat-of-the-pants writers. Others diagram intensively.

As for the lady who asked about stretching her dream, I advised her to find a published novel with a similar storyline and study it to see how the story took shape. I never found out whether she followed my advice. I’ve always wondered how she started her book – or if she did. If you’re writing one, I hope you’ll find the method that works best for you.

Happy New Year, and may 2007 get off to a productive start for us all!