The "Shift"

It has happened to me numerous times, on all of my stories. I'll have a beginning, middle, and end in mind - knowing where I want to go - and somehow it will "shift".

I'm not sure why this happens. With Crimson Moon, the middle of the story was closer to the "end" and it became another element. A major character was meant to die at the end of Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between and that was shifted for a something later in the series. Eternity and a Day has a 'twist' with the heroine that I didn't see until half of the manuscript was complete.

You get my drift.

Well, it's happened again. Today while I was working on my next urban fantasy, one of the side characters that plays an instrumental part in the plot got a new life. I quickly jotted down my ideas in a composition pad, worked out the rough details, and left it to sit until needed.

On one hand, it's great when this happens. It adds so much to a story and plot. But on the other side of that fence, it gives me so much work to do. AKA - research.

I suppose it's a good thing. And as the great Stephen King says, writers should do one thing above all...READ.