Miss Matisse: I’ve realized in the years I’ve done online sales, and writing myself that a degree isn’t always required, and a handful of the authors that actually don’t have degrees are the BEST ones out here! I commend you for pursuing your passion, and those classes that you took have paid off! What would you say is your process when it comes to writing? i.e. How do you normally begin?

Digger Cartwright: It normally starts with an idea. I’ll jot down some notes on paper. Yes, I’m a bit old fashioned when it comes to that. I like to write ideas down on a legal pad or notepad. Sometimes the story comes into focus first and sometimes the characters come into focus for me before I have the entire story in my mind. Sometimes this happens almost overnight and sometimes it takes days, weeks or months. I’ll make a list of the characters and a little description of them including things like how they look, dress, act, and so on. I’ll make an outline of the plot and work out the sequence of events so I have something to follow when I sit down to actually write the manuscript.

I have to make a decision as to what style and tone I want the book to have. Is it going to be fast paced or slow moving and methodical? Is it going to be character driven or story driven? Is it going to be dark? What’s the best style for the genre that it’s in? I have to make all these decisions, then it’s really just a matter of doing the work and putting the words on paper. Sometimes I’ll skip around once I have the outline. I have been known to write the ending first once or twice, and sometimes I’ll just work chronologically from the first event all the way through to the end.

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