Guest Post- Author Emma Michaels

“The characters – one by one they come and paint a picture around them. Willow Haywood was the first one I met, and she seems to have opened a flood gate of new ones behind her.”
-Jamie Magee

“For the Soul Savers Series, the characters. They first showed up in a vague scene in my mind that eventually became a pivotal part of Purpose (book 2), but then Alexis began to form and started talking to me, telling me everything that happened. However, as soon as I decided to start writing fiction again, I knew I wanted to write something that took place in Florida, by the beach. It was by chance – or was it? –this story fit perfectly into this setting.”
-Kristie Cook

“Plot, setting, then characters. Wait… no… setting, plot, then characters. Or… man, they all came really close together. Probably a big-picture plot, setting, then the characters developed as I wrote the first draft.” 

“For my novel The Fallen Star, the character Gemma came first. I had a dream about a girl who couldn’t feel emotions, and the idea for the setting and the plot came later on.”
-Jessica Sorensen

“For me it’s usually the plot that comes first and I work everything else around that.”
-Samantha Young

“Characters, hands down. I can have a general idea of where the story takes place or what might happen (although, being a panster, usually I don’t have a clue when I first start), but I can’t write a story until I have someone to write about. For me, the character is the story. I look at many of the books I love, and while the plots are fun and interesting, without the characters, there wouldn’t be any life in the story.” 

“Always the plot. The idea of what is going to happen always comes before the characters for me. Usually characters just evolve for me, without having to put too much thought into them. Does that make me a tad crazy?”
-Keary Taylor

“I’ll go with the characters. But even though I think of them before I write about them, I don’t put too much thought into them until I actually start writing about them. Then they come to life on their own. Actually, that’s why I love to write; I feel like I’m being led by my characters, getting to know their personalities as I’m writing. Seeing them doing what their doing as they do it. Though of course there are times I’ll say “Nah … that ain’t working,” and then I edit. :)” 

“Always the plot or plot elements. I usually know what’s going to happen to my characters long before I’ve decided on characters and a setting.”
-Jayde Scott

“The theme, really – the question of what is good and what is bad, and how in real life you don’t get to make easy choices labeled “right” and “wrong”. Next came the title , Taking Sides (which was later changed to Delcroix Academy: The Candidates), because I knew my book should be about a character being forced to take sides in this muddy, grey world. Then came the plot. Superpowers, romance – I wanted my character to have to pick sides, pick boys, etc. Then I started writing, and the voice of my character came to life, really without much forethought. I think she was there all along.”
-Inara Scott

“Each book has been unique in that way, but with each of them, they have ended up being far different than the plot/character/setting of my original ideas. With Caterpillar, the idea of living nine lives was what got me started and that’s about the only thing that I kept throughout the evolution of the story. With The Reaping, only the twins and the house with no windows stayed the same. With Wiccan, it wasn’t supposed to be paranormal AT ALL, but witchcraft wormed its way in there anyway, much to my chagrin. Blood Like Poison started out being about a serial killer, but the focus completely shifted as I met Bo and Ridley. And with Madly, mermaids weren’t even a thought in my original ideas. My stories write themselves. I plant a tiny seed and then as it grows and the characters are born, they dictate the rest to me. I simply transcribe it. My books are as much an adventure and a revelation to me as they are to my readers and I wouldn’t have it any other way:)” 

-M. Leighton

“The characters, then the plot, then the setting. I had the most trouble with the setting, I always do, and so I always make sure to over detail the setting in my notes since my characters have a tendency to jump off the page, telling me who they are and what they want and what happened to them.”
-Rhiannon Paille

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