Ask the Author: J.B. Hawker
Answered Questions (4)
J.B. Hawker
I love having an outlet for all the stories, ideas and opinions whirling around in my head, but an unexpected blessing of being a published writer is the connections I've established with my readers and with other authors.
J.B. Hawker
We all hear a lot about the struggles writers can have coming up with the next plot turn, but I struggle with the opposite problem, something I call writer's rush.
Once the plot has been outlined, the main characters roughed in and I begin writing the first chapter of the narrative, I must constantly rein myself in so as not to hurry to the climax or give away plot points too early.
I'm near the end of the eighth chapter of my current work and already feeling the familiar tug to speed to the ending.
The technique I've been using to prevent my books from becoming novellas is to decide ahead of time what I want to accomplish in each segment. I bracket that goal on the page before I begin, and then paragraph by paragraph reread what I've written, comparing it to what's in the brackets. When I've covered some point, I delete it from the brackets and when the brackets are empty I am ready to move on to the next chapter. In this way, my first rough draft moves at approximately the pace I want.
Of course, goals change and those draft chapters will be revised many times before I am ready to send the work for editing, but the basic structure remains.
Once the plot has been outlined, the main characters roughed in and I begin writing the first chapter of the narrative, I must constantly rein myself in so as not to hurry to the climax or give away plot points too early.
I'm near the end of the eighth chapter of my current work and already feeling the familiar tug to speed to the ending.
The technique I've been using to prevent my books from becoming novellas is to decide ahead of time what I want to accomplish in each segment. I bracket that goal on the page before I begin, and then paragraph by paragraph reread what I've written, comparing it to what's in the brackets. When I've covered some point, I delete it from the brackets and when the brackets are empty I am ready to move on to the next chapter. In this way, my first rough draft moves at approximately the pace I want.
Of course, goals change and those draft chapters will be revised many times before I am ready to send the work for editing, but the basic structure remains.
J.B. Hawker
My new project takes a few of the characters introduced in the Bunny Elder series and writes about life in a small town church parsonage. It gives a sneak peek into what it is like to be the pastor's wife and is giving me an opportunity to share some of my own experiences of life in the "stained glass fishbowl." Of course, the book's characters have murder and mayhem to deal with, as well.
J.B. Hawker
My most recent book, "...and Something Blue" was the final book in a four-book series, so I knew where the characters were headed from the original series outline. However, I have taken events from the news to interweave into the story and keep it fresh. I get many of my book ideas from the newspaper or comments from friends.
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