Go Where the Characters Lead You

This is the best thing I’ve learned on my writing journey:
you can outline. You can plan. And I do both. But if the characters start leading you away from that plan, it’s almost always best to trust them.

This has happened with my most recent novel. What Remains is a continuation of the Terra Universe, but it’s very much Soren’s story. It’s a story of love, loss, and survival — and it’s surprised me in ways I didn’t expect.

In the same way Pearla quietly became a central character. In the same way Soren fell in love with Sev. None of that was planned, but all of it felt inevitable once it happened.

There’s a journeyman’s spirit to writing, because so much of it is discovered along the way. Everyone has their own process, of course. Some writers are pantsers, and I have nothing but respect for that. They trust the muse completely, and I’m always in awe of that ability. Others — myself included — prefer to sketch out a direction for the chaos before sitting down to write.

But even the best-laid plans leave room for surprise.

In this latest book, so many small scenes asked to be expanded that they became full chapters. It doesn’t slow the story down. It punctuates it. It underscores the larger truth at the heart of the book — that in the end, what remains, the things that matter most, are the people we love and who love us in return.