What is your writing process?
I come up with an idea for a story and who I want my characters to be (strong, independent, introverted, troubled, carefree etc.). I usually have a good idea about how I want them to meet and what my endpoint will be, then I work from each direction to weave it all together. I develop a relatively detailed outline that includes characters, certain situations that I want to happen and plot it in. But I don't restrict myself. If I'm in the flow of writing and decide that a scene I had in mind for chapter 20 would really be great at chapter 14, I'll put it in.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
The first big "chapter" book I read was Camp Sunnyside or something like it. I hated it. My Mom made me read it over the summer before I started school the next Fall. But I struggled through it. Then I discovered Sweet Valley High and The Baby-Sitters Club, and my love for reading took off. In sum, it made me realize--even to this day--how important pacing, character development and connecting to one's characters can be.
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