[WRITING] M.J.Rose's Backstory blog

Backstory (Where authors share the secrets, the truths, or just the illogical moments that sparked our fiction. Brought to you by M.J. Rose) has an interesting premise. The blog posts are from writers explaining the stories behind the stories they write.

e.g.

John Lescroart's Backstory:
How I Came To Write THE HUNT CLUB begins thusly.

I'm extremely fortunate in that my terrific publisher, Dutton Books, has been asking me to hand in a new book every May 1st for the past six years. The way it works is that I hand in my latest manuscript on that date, and then start thinking about what I'm going to write next, and the outline for that next book is due on September 1st. Some writers don't like that kind of regimen, but fortunately for me, it seems to work.

Don't I feel pressure coming up with a new story every year? Sure, a little bit. But honestly, I find that it's kind of nice knowing that your publisher is waiting for – and even enthusiastically anticipating – my next creative work. And it's not bad working from an outline, either, where I can develop plot points and twists in relative peace, before the crunch of deadline kicks in. That way, I can devote my actual writing time to scene construction, dialogue, and simple (!!) narrative flow. And once you've got yourself a sturdy plot, these things are what makes a book really sing.

So, in general, this is how The Hunt Club came about, too. But in another way, this book was very different, right from the beginning.

Click the link above to continue Lescroart's story. Check out the rest of the blog too.