(I could show you some cringe-worthy teen writing that completely disregards the "write what you know" advice and takes place in a NYC the writer longs to live in, but hasn't yet even visited. But I won't, 😁 because it is baaaaaaaaaaaaad! Spoiler alert, the subway doesn't seem to exist in that NYC.)
Instead, let me tell you how the character of Willie Hooks in my novel (did I mention it was available on the free Amazon Kindle app????) came about. He came into existence because of a cool denim jacket I once saw some guy wearing. I don't know the person who wore it, I can't quite remember where or when, I saw it - it isn't even exactly the same jacket that is described in the novel, but the image of this super cool denim jacket, and wondering who might have bought it, and why, got stuck in my head. When I started to write about a boy Kat took for granted at Mansfield, that jacket reshaped itself and its story until it became Willie.
So to answer those writing questions, yes, some of the stuff in my novel is real - sort of, kind of, but really, truly, actually, not real at all. There is usually a tiny nugget of reality that gets swirled around into a vat of "what if this happened" and then a lot of "oooh, or how about that!" and some, "no that's not quite right" and poked and prodded and massaged for how ever long it takes to becomes a fully baked 80,000 word novel. Or at least that's how happens for me. Your milage may vary.
I'd love to hear what you think about Two Truths and a Lie. Please read it, so we can talk about these characters and their stories. See if you can figure our which parts are the truths and which parts are the lies.
Until next time,
-S
