Friday, December 9, 2011

GUEST POST; "How Do You Plan Your Novel Before Writing It?" by author SHAUN ALLAN


Books4Tomorrow asked: “HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR NOVEL BEFORE WRITING IT?

Author SHAUN ALLAN answered:

Hmmm… I can’t say that applies to me.  Perhaps I should plan my books, but I just can’t.  If I try to, I end up feeling the writing is forced.  Usually, I have no idea where a book or story is going.  Whether it’s a blog entry for Sin’s diary, a short story or a full blown book, I often have no idea what’s going to happen until it does.

I don’t even have the plot in my head.  Or if I do it’s very vague.  I start with a first line or the name of a character and run with it.  Sometimes I lose the race and am overtaken, but most often it works out.  Blog entries are written ‘off the cuff’ and, though the more extensive stories are written over a period of time, I don’t pre-empt the plot or the characters.  It’s a voyage of discovery for me as well as the reader – though the seas may be rough I (fairly often) manage it back to sure unscathed.

An example of this – other than the blog entries – is my Rudolph Saves Christmas book.  I sat down one night with my tablet computer and the TV turned down low, planning on working on the sequel to Sin.  1000 words (ish) later I discovered that Rudolph was sleeping in his chair and was about to be accused of attempting to sabotage Christmas!  I have no idea how one ended up being the other – SO far removed – but it did.

So…  Planning?  Let me just go and look that up again…

SHAUN ALLAN is the author of:

“Rudolph Saves Christmas”

Rudolph, that famous red-nosed reindeer, is accused of blowing up Santa’s sleigh and attempting to sabotage Christmas.  He must escape from North Pole Prison and find the real culprit before Christmas is cancelled!

Throw in a host of wacky poems such as Spider on my Present, A Zombie Christmas and The Not-So Christmas Elf and you have a collection perfect for children of all ages this Christmas!

PURCHASE LINKS:

Lulu.com - http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/shaunallan  (printed copy)

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