Story Development 101: Peek Under My Hood (post by Anna)
When it comes to crafting fiction, each author has a different method—and I’m about to let you peek under my hood to see how my creative engine works by examining three key areas. Ready…set…go!
Characters. These generally come first for me, because without good characters, even a great plot can fall flat. I have to love my hero and heroine. Often, I have a fully fleshed-out hero long before my vision of the heroine gels. For Dangerous in a Kilt, I understood Lachlan—from his painful secrets to his intense sensuality and his wicked sense of humor—long before I devised Erica’s personality. Her spunky, mouthy ways became the counterpoint to his reticence.
Plot. This nearly always is borne out of the characters and, of course, the type of story I’m writing. I had the title for Dangerous in a Kilt before the full plot emerged from my brain, and the title inspired the storyline. I wrote the first scene—in which Erica and Lachlan meet—before I knew what the rest of the book would be. That scene was inspired by a pop song called “Mr. Mysterious,” performed by the awesome Aussie singer Vanessa Amorosi. (Check it out in my playlist for the book here.) I molded this story out of my desire to write a scorching-hot romance filled with humor and powerful emotion. The actual events of the plot came together based on all of the above.
Love scenes. Here’s my dirty little secret. I LOVE WRITING HOT SEX! Yes, I’ve said it before and I say it again. I dream up numerous love scenes for each book but only use a handful of them. For me, the love scenes—no matter the book’s heat level—must be more than just hot sex. They need to mean something to the story and/or the characters. For Erica and Lachlan, sex starts out as pure, carnal fun but slowly turns into the one way they can bond and express their true feelings in spite of their “nothing personal” agreement.
A lot more goes into any book than these three elements, but for my books, these are the key points. If I get these right, my creative engine will be revved up and ready to roll!
Readers and writers alike, what story elements matter to you?
5 Comments
Your method is similar to mine in that I start with my characters and then go from there. As for sex scenes, I have to get into my characters’ heads and see what happens. That’s the only way it doesn’t seem forced and weird. Good post!
Hi Anna. Characters are pivotal to me too. Their emotional arcs dominate my plot development. And I agree, the sex scenes are so important. But they must not be gratuitous. I love hot, bedroom-door-open scenes, but it is a fine line not to cross into smut. I guess that line is different for each person. I do find the scenes difficult to write, but nothing a glass of red wine can’t solve. Best, Anni. xx
Anni, I used to be uncomfortable writing sex scenes but I took a couple workshops on the topic and that loosened me up for the task. Even in my erotic books, I aim for explicit but classy.
Thank you for sharing your insights. I couldn’t agree more that sex scene must never be a time out from the story line but in fact move the story forward.
Thanks for stopping by, Allison!