Ask the Author: Pat Dunlap Evans
Answered Questions (7)
Pat Dunlap Evans
My most recent novel is called BACKSTORY. It includes pieces and parts from a novel I wrote long ago. I retrieved the data from some very old Mac files, using a variety of means. As I went through the material, I kept telling myself that this wasn't enough for a novel. But then, I noticed a character who suddenly became the "bad guy" of BACKSTORY. I had to add a number of events and characters to pull the plot-line together, but I hope to find a literary agent who has the guts to represent me.
Pat Dunlap Evans
I have about five unread novels that I hope to finish, but I'm also writing another novel right now. It's difficult to read and write at the same time. When I read, I see how other authors handle this or that, so then I try to do the same thing, and that affects my own writing.
Pat Dunlap Evans
All too blandly, my life is an open book. But this question reminded me of a family mystery that's nagged at my creative juices for years.
A relative -- we'll call her Sarah -- was the first girl born in her family. Her father was overseas at the time ... World War II, the big one, as they say. After the war, a second sister came along. We'll call her Beverly.
After their mother and father died, the sisters read their father's letters from the war era. Addressed to their mother, one letter stated his surprise that Sarah had been born so early. In fact he was quite shocked to learn of Sarah's birth far sooner than he expected.
When Beverly read that, she remembered a time when their father had become angry with Sarah and shouted at her, "You aren't even mine!"
That made Beverly question if Sarah was truly her full- or half-sister. After all, with their father overseas and mother left behind, who knew what transpired while he was gone. Their mother had been a beauty and a bit of a flirt. And she loved to dance to the big band tunes of that era.
So Beverly started to imagine what might have happened when a few drinks and a few too many dances turned into love in the backseat of a 1943 Ford.
Now in their 70s, Sarah and Beverly still have the lock of their father's hair. Beverly always wanted to do DNA testing to find out if her sister and her father were a true match.
But Sarah didn't want to know. "Dad was my father, and that is that."
For years, Beverly has respected Sarah’s decision. Still, from time to time, Beverly wonders if she should sneak a strand of Sarah's hair and send the locks off to a DNA lab.
"But that wouldn't be honest, and it wouldn't be my sister's wishes. So I'll leave it to the question," Beverly has said.
But in a novel, my heroine would be Beverly. There would be some mystery she would have to solve about whether Sarah was truly her sister. After a DNA test Beverly would learn that Sarah had a different father. But would she tell her sister? And would she try to find Sarah's real father, who might be in his 90s or even deceased by now, but what about his family? Would Beverly discover Sarah's half-sisters or half-brothers?
Questions to be answered only in a novel. It's starting to sound kind of intriguing.
#mysteryweek
A relative -- we'll call her Sarah -- was the first girl born in her family. Her father was overseas at the time ... World War II, the big one, as they say. After the war, a second sister came along. We'll call her Beverly.
After their mother and father died, the sisters read their father's letters from the war era. Addressed to their mother, one letter stated his surprise that Sarah had been born so early. In fact he was quite shocked to learn of Sarah's birth far sooner than he expected.
When Beverly read that, she remembered a time when their father had become angry with Sarah and shouted at her, "You aren't even mine!"
That made Beverly question if Sarah was truly her full- or half-sister. After all, with their father overseas and mother left behind, who knew what transpired while he was gone. Their mother had been a beauty and a bit of a flirt. And she loved to dance to the big band tunes of that era.
So Beverly started to imagine what might have happened when a few drinks and a few too many dances turned into love in the backseat of a 1943 Ford.
Now in their 70s, Sarah and Beverly still have the lock of their father's hair. Beverly always wanted to do DNA testing to find out if her sister and her father were a true match.
But Sarah didn't want to know. "Dad was my father, and that is that."
For years, Beverly has respected Sarah’s decision. Still, from time to time, Beverly wonders if she should sneak a strand of Sarah's hair and send the locks off to a DNA lab.
"But that wouldn't be honest, and it wouldn't be my sister's wishes. So I'll leave it to the question," Beverly has said.
But in a novel, my heroine would be Beverly. There would be some mystery she would have to solve about whether Sarah was truly her sister. After a DNA test Beverly would learn that Sarah had a different father. But would she tell her sister? And would she try to find Sarah's real father, who might be in his 90s or even deceased by now, but what about his family? Would Beverly discover Sarah's half-sisters or half-brothers?
Questions to be answered only in a novel. It's starting to sound kind of intriguing.
#mysteryweek
Pat Dunlap Evans
All writers are aspiring. No writer thinks s/he's ever got it right. But new writers should (1) read the genre of literature they want to write; (2) get good training from qualified creative writing instructors; and (3) write.
Pat Dunlap Evans
Creating characters and living their lives as you write gives an author the chance to enjoy experiences s/he would not have otherwise. Run off a dock like a little boy and scream "Bonsaiiiieee!" Or, come to terms with a dying parent over a long-ago misunderstanding. Or enjoy the warm banter of a childhood friend who is now old. These are things I've never experienced in my life, but I have lived them through my characters. Not that my life is boring, but writers always want more.
Pat Dunlap Evans
The best solution for writer's block is to sit down and write. Your brain is one thing, your fingers another. Writers must allow the brain and fingers to work their magic together. Sometimes I don't have a clue what I'm going to write about, but if I just sit down and get the fingers flowing on the keys, stuff pours out. Perhaps too much stuff so I'll have to edit heavily later, but some of my best fiction has come from no forethought. "Writers write, that's what they do," my professor used to tell me. So if you're stuck, just start writing about anything. Between the lines, you may discover a gem.
Pat Dunlap Evans
I am currently working on a mystery-thriller called Murder in Greater Wrightway. I'm only a few pages into it, so writing a logline is impossible at this stage. But I will say that my heroine is the first woman elected as mayor of a little town called Greater Wrightway, Calif., and she's got a serial murderer on her hands.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more