[Steve Jordan]

Well, I didn't quite "jump right in"... it took me a while to find a story I thought I could write, but I happened on one a lot sooner than I expected I would. Then I started developing my characters and plot, and I announced my intentions only once I'd started actually writing. There was every possibility that I would have gotten back to you all in a month, and said, "Forget it. This is garbage, and I'm flushing it now. So, who wants a new Kestral story?" Fortunately, the story developed without any major problems.

I always try to fully develop the characters, take notes on the basic plot, then work up a detailed synopsis/outline, before I begin writing. I've discovered too many times in the past that, without those elements, my writing projects quickly grind to a halt or self-destruct after the intro! As I write, little things will come to me, and some of them will cause me to revise the outline as I work. But usually, the outline fairly accurately reflects the final story.

In fact, this story deviated from the outline more than most. The story's original emphasis was supposed to be on the mystery and the missing girl. But about halfway through, I decided to establish the emphasis on the investigator, and rewrote and reshuffled things for the new emphasis. In the process, the story was transformed from mystery to psychological drama, but I don't think it suffered for it.