K. T.
asked
Cathy Cash Spellman:
Dear Cathy, I loved Lark's Labyrinth and I loved the complexity of the plot and the thrilling romp through history...so my question is a technical one: How ever do you keep all the things that are happening to your characters through time and place straight, without going bonkers?
Cathy Cash Spellman
That's quite a tricky proposition, K.T. I've used many strategies over the years, but here are a few that work well for me.
I keep a detailed looseleaf notebook of timelines and other relevant data (jargon, interplay of characters' stories)... looseleaf makes it easy for me to shift gears or change strategies if I need to. Depending on the story (or the point in the story) I sometimes do a day by day or hour by hour timeline for individual characters' whereabouts at any given moment. I once hung a clothesline-like string across my office filled with clothespins so I could move different colored papers (each color representing a character) around as I needed to!
With a book that covers 2,000 years of adventures, as in Lark's Labyrinths, I run separate timelines for different eras ( ie Crucifixion time, Constantine/St. Helena time, contemporary storyline, etc)
The worst thing that can happen is that something interrupts the mental flow when I'm on a roll ... if I have to drop all the threads I'm weaviing together, to put my head into something else entirely it's not easy to pick up all the threads again and regain the momentum.
I feel I have to live the story in my characters' skin so it's a big responsibility, weird as that sounds! I have to laugh with them, cry with them, be frightened with them, for it to seem authentic to my readers.
People think writing is a sedentary, quiet enterprise but it's really a wild ride!
I keep a detailed looseleaf notebook of timelines and other relevant data (jargon, interplay of characters' stories)... looseleaf makes it easy for me to shift gears or change strategies if I need to. Depending on the story (or the point in the story) I sometimes do a day by day or hour by hour timeline for individual characters' whereabouts at any given moment. I once hung a clothesline-like string across my office filled with clothespins so I could move different colored papers (each color representing a character) around as I needed to!
With a book that covers 2,000 years of adventures, as in Lark's Labyrinths, I run separate timelines for different eras ( ie Crucifixion time, Constantine/St. Helena time, contemporary storyline, etc)
The worst thing that can happen is that something interrupts the mental flow when I'm on a roll ... if I have to drop all the threads I'm weaviing together, to put my head into something else entirely it's not easy to pick up all the threads again and regain the momentum.
I feel I have to live the story in my characters' skin so it's a big responsibility, weird as that sounds! I have to laugh with them, cry with them, be frightened with them, for it to seem authentic to my readers.
People think writing is a sedentary, quiet enterprise but it's really a wild ride!
More Answered Questions
Julie Guarascio
asked
Cathy Cash Spellman:
Cathy - A Murder on Jane Street just came out and what a trip it takes us on ! From here and now, back to secret plans of Hitler, and then back again. A very exciting read for sure, and for all generations. What a pleasure to meet the Donovan family. When can we expect more on this great Donovan family and their adventures ? Beverly Guarascio
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