I’ve been thinking about this question for a while. Aliana wants to know…

Do you have an interesting writing quirk?

I have to be honest. I’m a strange person. I know this and accept it. I also know all of us have our weird things, and it hard to know what of our habits is weird and what isn’t.

You guys all know that I am a plotter. I detail out main points in the story before I write the first words. I have to know where it’s going and how it’ll get there. Yes, things change sometimes, but mostly, I follow my plan.

Why is this weird? Or interesting?

Well, it’s not really. A lot of authors are plotters. Some are way more detailed than I am. Some are very fluid with their writing. It’s all about the person you are.

What I think might be a little interesting is that I can not, under any circumstances, plot my stories on the computer.

Strange? I don’t know. Maybe not. But I refuse to write longhand and have to type every word into my laptop. But planning it all out? Has to be written.

Sometimes I use sticky notes. That’s what I’ve been doing with Raise A Glass books (this is from Never A Bridesmaid, Always A Bride). Because they are longer, contain multiple story lines, and have to move a lot of pieces, I use sticky notes. The one downside is they don’t have space for a lot of detail.

For Big & Beautiful, I simply write it out. Notebook paper. A pen. Lots of information. Again, I’m keeping track of a lot and there are multiple stories moving, plus all the different characters. For some reason, it’s easier to write it out with Big & Beautiful.

Other quirks? I don’t know. I’m sure there are some in there, but to me they’re normal!

Thanks so much, Aliana, for your question! If you have a question, send me an email (mary (at) maryethompson (dot) com) with Q&A in the subject, or post it in the comments below, and I’ll answer your question right here on the blog!

[mailerlite_form form_id=3]