Jeff Rorik

"Beneath the Blast" started with an idea for a TV pilot. The premise was much the same – a reality show locks a group of contestants in a bunker, but the crew soon finds out that they can't leave either. It was a concept that, despite the limiting setting, could go a lot of interesting places. But the idea wasn't something I put a lot of thought into initially, just a lighthearted conversation topic with my brother. I jotted down some notes, but it was months later when I was fishing around for the inspiration for my next big project that I came across them again. I spent a day looking at how I could take the TV focused ideas and translate them into a full length novel, and after an inspiration-filled eleven hour workday, I had a pretty detailed outline that contained almost everything that made it into the final book.

Planning. The more I plan, the smoother the writing process goes. I use a personalized adaption of Randy Ingermanson's "Snowflake Method." Before starting a book, I break it up into broad sections and outline main events of each. Then I make another, more detailed outline. I repeat the process a few more times until I have at least a paragraph describing the events of each chapter. The side effect of all this planning is that I know the intricacies of my story in great detail before the first sentence is on the page. The broad outline of the plot is deeply ingrained, and having most of the story's beats already mapped out means that writer's block is a rare occurrence.