
I’ve been writing some non-fiction business books lately, and it struck me that all writing is story telling. It is obvious when I’m creating a fictional world for a Vincent Malone mystery; but how does that fit the less than inspirational story of double-entry bookkeeping. Wow, that accounting story was sure some page turner!
The story about business may not be all that exciting, but the concept of keeping the reader’s interest is the same as a mystery. Story telling is to let the reader or listener experience something new; maybe for entertainment or maybe to educate. While I see similarities in these different categories of writing, I’m really missing the made-up stuff. I can’t introduce a whole new set of accounting rules just to provide reader interest; but in fiction I can do whatever I want. The new character joining Pacheco and Chino is a vampire with a keen interest in bird watching. May not be good stuff; but nobody can stop me from making it up.
The first book I wrote was The Bootlegger’s Legacy. (Now for absolute honesty, which is not always advisable, the first book was The Originals {which is no longer available, thank goodness} but it was not particularly good, so I prefer to think of TBL as my first book). I believe this is my best work. I think that is because I was connected to this book more than any of the others. Almost every aspect had a strong connection to my life. Now, of course, I did not know a bootlegger who hid millions and left clues for his son to find after his death; but I had a childhood connection to a bootlegger in Oklahoma City. All the locations are places I had lived and experienced in detail. The characters were drawn from my past more than any of my other books. It was a made-up story but also detailed “things” and people I had experienced.
There was one significant break in that pattern. One of the most important characters in TBL was Sally Thompson. This character was the heart and soul of the book. This was the character that made sense of the whole story. And this character was not based on anyone I knew. It was all made-up to fit the story. It was what was needed to make the other characters real, to make the story have depth, to allow the bad to wash away in this character’s good. All completely made-up. Now where did this come from?
This is the part of writing that still intrigues me. It happens in every story I write (exception is those accounting books). A character just pops out to fit the story. This is what the story needs so viola; a new character is born created from nothing. No experience, acquaintance, memory; nothing, just made-up to drive the story. We all know this happens in almost every fiction book; after all it is fiction. But how do these characters suddenly pop into the writer’s head. I have experienced it many times, but I still do know how it happens.
I guess the easy answer is that this is the creative part of writing. You have a plot and a cast of characters and then as the story develops you need new angles to make the story flow; or maybe a new character to make the whole scene make sense. So, you create it.
I plan my books. I develop lists and outlines. I will sketch out my entire idea of the book before I start writing. On occasion I have visited those beginning notes and ideas after the book is finished; and it is amazing how different the book turned out from my original plan. Often in major ways. When I’m writing it is almost like the characters take over and develop the story themselves. Okay that’s a little weird. But as the characters interact and events occur, the story starts to write itself and my original plans go out the window. Those creative “juices” can create a great book, but without them let’s hope it’s an accounting book I’m writing.
Sally Thompson was the best example of that creative drive while writing. She turned a good story into a great story. Still don’t know where she came from, but I believe she is the best character I’ve written about. I was more connected to this fictional character with no basis in my past than I was to many of the characters who were based on someone I knew. How that happens is one of those mysteries of writing fiction that has no explanation but is the true meaning of creative writing.
