One of my all-time favorite books on writing is Stephen King's book, On Writing.
I particularly resonated with the advice that our plot prejudices be set aside, that the author allow the characters to tell their own story, which the author duly records.
That was the approach I took with large sections of Fortune's Key.
Plot points were in my mind, but much of it, including some key details, were shaped by my simply watching my characters live their lives.
For example, the rape scene. In my mind, another character was the attacker. But as they told their own story, another carried out the attack, to my surprise. And it took the whole rest of the story in a, to me, surprising direction.
A second example from the same story: in my imagination, Trinity brought a grad student with her to the swap meet. But as she told her part of the story and I recorded it, she made it clear that she was not the sort of woman who would complicate and compromise a relationship with a student, but that she had this old boyfriend she wanted me to meet.
On Writing is excellent, highly recommended to aspiring writers. Like me.
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