B. J. Winters

I'm one of those people that likes to plot more than I like to write.  And when I start to write, things I never thought of appear on the page.   It's a bit odd, and sometimes rather interesting.  I can usually only see one chapter ahead -- sometimes as little as one scene.

I don't use an outline.  I actually hope that I'll write myself into a corner for the sheer pleasure of figuring out how all the pieces fit together - as though I'd planned it all along.

On my fiction press profile I mentioned that I like to "chase rabbits".  That's a turn of phrase that I believe someone else once shared with me - but it suits quite well.   I tend to be filled with ideas, most of them new, which is why I can't seem to just sit and finish one story.   All of these stories (at current count 6 works in progress) churn in various stages of development, small scraps of paper and random mental images.

Trivia -- When I was younger I actually had two rabbits (buttons and bow).  We used to let them play in the grass on the front lawn of the apartment and your own imagination can probably fill in the rest.   Art imitates life.

One of my favorite things to do is to drive to my parents house (they live 3 hours away) and just think as I go.  I tend to keep a piece of paper and a pen next to me, writing down scant phrases at 70 miles an hour.  Eyes on the road at all times of course.  I've crafted entire chapters on that drive on more than one occasion.