This is the first in my series of interviews with novelists. Every day this week, I\u2019ll feature a different writer of fiction. Today, I\u2019d like to introduce Margaret Brownley.<\/p>\n
Hi everyone,
\nFirst, I want to thank Patricia for kindly inviting me to visit today.<\/p>\n
My writing career began, and ended, early. I wrote my first book in fifth grade\u2014a mystery without an ending. I was on a roll until I reached eighth grade. Unimpressed with my essay on why I wanted to be a writer, my English teacher flunked me and told me not to even think about becoming a writer.<\/p>\n
Discouraged, I put my dream aside until years later when I volunteered to write the church newsletter. After making the church picnic read like a Grisham novel, my former pastor said, \u201cMaybe God\u2019s calling you to write fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s what God had in mind, but I wasn\u2019t about to take any chances. I immediately began work on a novel. Five years and four books later I received what is known in the business as the \u201ccall.\u201d <\/p>\n
I\u2019ve since made the N.Y. Times bestseller list and am currently writing historical romance. Waiting for Morning<\/em> will be released January 2013 and A Bride for All Seasons<\/em> will be published June 2013, followed by Gunpowder Tea<\/em> in October. Not bad for someone who flunked eighth grade English. Just don\u2019t ask me to diagram a sentence. <\/p>\n Margaret\u2019s Approach to the Writing Process<\/strong> I start with a short blurb\u2014a paragraph or two\u2014which includes the basic idea. I then write out a simple sentence and let my characters reword it. Once I\u2019ve determined character \u201cvoice\u201d I then look for frame of reference. A poor person has a different way of looking at things than a rich person. A gambler\u2019s daughter has a different world view than one brought up in a strict Christian home. Once I have the voice and world view down, I\u2019m ready to go. The Flow of the Story<\/strong>
\nI wouldn\u2019t know how to begin outlining a book. I\u2019m not much of a planner which makes dinner a nightly surprise. To me the fun of writing is the suspense of not knowing what\u2019s going to happen next. That\u2019s what keeps me jumping out of bed each morning and rushing to the computer.<\/p>\n
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\nWith Regard to Fleshing Out Characters<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m a big Post-it note fan and they\u2019re all over my desk and screen. When the Post-its are gone I know my book is finished. What doesn\u2019t fit on a Post-it stays in my head. <\/p>\n
\nIt seems to me that the more books I write the harder it gets. You\u2019d think it would be easier, but it\u2019s not. I\u2019m always trying to \u201cgrow\u201d my work by finding more effective ways to tell a story.<\/p>\n