4 Things I Do Before I Write the First Word of a Novel

My 11th novel, Handle With Care, is out this spring and centers around a hostage situation in a small-town post office. The four women trapped inside the post office spend their time being held captive doing what women are apt to do: They share their stories, shy at first, but growing bolder as the hours pass. I like to say it’s like Steel Magnolias… in a hostage situation. Hopeful yet dark, funny yet poignant, this admittedly quirky novel is different than anything I’ve written before.

(How I Found My Agent; Or, How My Agent Found Me.)

But I started it out the same way I started the other 10 novels: by doing four things before I ever wrote the first word. I will share them with you today, not because I think you should do the same four things I do, but because I think it’s good to prepare for a journey before you leave the house. This is just my way of preparing, and maybe my way will give you ideas or inspiration of your own.

I interview the characters. I sit down and ask each of my main characters a series of questions, then I write down their answers. And yes, they do answer me, often with surprising responses. My husband finds this incredibly strange, and perhaps you will, too.

I first learned about this concept from a writing workshop I took many years ago. This one gem was worth the cost of admission, as I’ve used it faithfully ever since. It never fails to add some facet to the character I didn’t know before, or even reveal major plot points I would’ve never thought of otherwise.

I can’t share the specific questions I use, because the person teaching the workshop wrote them, but I will tell you to Google “character interview questions” and you will find many, many options to create your own interview process, should this concept sound like something you’d like to try.

I come up with 40 things that will happen in the book. I typically find a block of time where I will not be interrupted and just brainstorm anything and everything that could take place within the premise/characters/setting I’ve got in mind. I like to use a legal pad and just scribble it all down without overthinking it. This doesn’t have to be in any sort of order, it’s not something you’re bound to, and it’s not even really plotting for you pantsers out there.

What it is is an insurance policy against writing 20- or 40,000 words and realizing you don’t really have a novel. If you’ve got 40 things that happen and each of those 40 things if built out would be about 2,000 words, then you know up front you’ve got at least 80,000 words possible. That is an average size novel and, thus, you’re good to go.

This is not something everyone will want to do or even be able to do. But I also know the title (at least a working title—I know it can change) and the last line. I say it’s like the destination you plug into your GPS. That last line gives me something to write towards. And in that middle part, when you’ve lost sight of the shore and can’t see the one ahead yet, that last line can become a lifeline.

Finally, and this one shows just how analog I am, I buy a poster board. You know the kind you forgot to tell your mom you needed for the next day at school? Yeah, one of those. I buy a poster board and I fold it into thirds. These thirds become the beginning, the middle, and the end of the novel. I take the 40 things I wrote down that could happen and plug them into where I think they might fall in the story.

Then, when I do write the first word, and all the ones that come after, I plug other things in, watching the balance and the pacing, seeing them visually occupying their place in the story. On the back of the poster board I scribble character notes, pose questions, and add sticky notes. It’s a jumbled mess by the time I’m done. And I couldn’t love that dumb poster board more. It’s a souvenir from my journey. Proof that I did it. Proof that I can do it again.

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