Linda Smith asked Eldonna Edwards:

This I Know has such a great and unique plot. I am truly enjoying it so far. Your style of writing makes it very easy to picture the particular scene being played out. How do you plan out your books - outlines, index cards, etc. As someone who would love to write a book, is there an approach you would recommend?

Eldonna Edwards I'm much more of a "pantser" than a "plotter" when I write and tend to work backwards. In other words, I write the story first and then I go back and outline the plot points and emotional arc(s) of the characters.

I almost always know the beginning and the ending but have to fill in the middle to get from one to the other. For me, the first draft, no matter how crappy, is where the magic happens because I can just let my imagination run wild. It's the rewriting phase where the real work begins.

If you prefer an organized structure, I recommend K.M. Weiland's books and courses: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show.... If you lean toward a more organic storytelling, my advice would be to write a sentence that describes your story. Expand that into a paragraph, then a page, then a short story. These techniques will give you gentle map as you explore your story.

Thanks for your kind words about my book and for your question, Linda. I hope this helps.

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