I love hearing people adore the Grandpa Kelly character, though he was not part of my original outline for the novel. It was supposed to be Ryan that caught Rory and Jake together at the lake, but the old codger popped up instead. It was weird, but when I tried writing him out of the story everything stalled. I couldn’t continue.

After about a week of this stalemate, I decided to just go with Grandpa and see where it took me. The bugger hijacked my novel, and I couldn’t be happier. His appearance, though unexpected, created arcs in the story I hadn’t even realized in my original outline, adding dimensions that wouldn’t have been possible without him. I guess my subconscious knew better than me what my story really needed.

This event taught me a great lesson in writing. Every book needs a beginning and an ending, but it’s best to let the characters lead you through the moments needed to reach the final destination.

And if right about here you’re thinking, this crazy woman talks like her characters are actually alive. To me, they are. I have a mental picture of what they look like, and on some days I can even hear the tenor of their voices in my head. Okay…now I really do sound crazy, but it gets results in my writing so I’m going with it.