I write books that way - I put a first line down and say, "Where does this go?"
When I'm writing a story, I try to reduce it to the barest possible components and go from there.
I've never made an outline for any novel that I've written. Never.
John Irving once told me he doesn't start a novel until he knows the last sentence. I said, 'My God, Irving, isn't that like working in a factory?'
I tend to research as I write so that the narrative can take priority, which is important for a piece of fiction, I think, finding out facts as and when I need to.
I like some science in my science fiction.
Children's authors don't talk down or patronise their younger readers.
I think people might think, oh, I don't want to approach the big famous author because it's embarrassing, but then they think for two seconds about it and realize, this is, like, a toilet bowl reader.
I never outline my novels before I write. I do have a vague sense of beginning, middle, and end at the outset of each book, but for me, writing has always been a very character-driven process.
I tend to lean toward romance, characters, and relationships when I write, so I have to add to the setting elements and world-building when I revise.
I always have a basic plot outline, but I like to leave some things to be decided while I write.
It usually takes about a year to write each book. I don't plan it that way. I don't set deadlines. If a book wants to take longer, it can.
Some writers can produce marvelous plots without planning it out, but I can't. In particular I need to know the structure of a novel: what's going to happen in each chapter and each scene.
I also write the last paragraph or page of a story first. That way I always know what I'm working towards.
