on outlining a novel and conducting character interviews

adventures in creation, volume II discusses more of the pre-writing stage

Outlining a novel is arguably the hardest part of the drafting process. At least when I work with a blank page, I can refer to my outline. Before there’s an outline, I’m pretty much working based on vibes.

but first, a character interview

Before outlining, I “interviewed” Addison (the main character of FAT CHANCE) as part of my process. My interview was a modified version of The Novelry’s 20 essential questions, some of which are:

• Significant living or dead relatives

• Address (for fun, where Addison allegedly lives)

• Partner and exes — why did it start/end? Are they still in touch?

• If given $100K, what would they do with it?

• Who would they want to kill if they could? [my personal favorite]

I also include background on my characters’ mental illnesses and trauma because, I mean, look at who’s writing these books.