The Randomness of Writing ~ by Jamie White

Recently, I had the chance to be on Kristine’s podcast, and had a great time talking about the #LightworkerSeries and more. I’m so glad she invited me to post here as well, and I thought I’d share a bit about the randomness that is writing. I seriously think these stories come from somewhere else, and we just tune into them. This seemed the case for this series. There are so many ways things went out of my control and I surrendered to where the characters wanted to take me.




First of all, this was supposed to be a trilogy, much like the #StainsTrilogy. It focuses on a young girl as she learns the truth about her background and explores who she really is. It was intended to finish with her accepting this new life and that would be that. Except the character had other ideas. It started out of necessity. I usually participate in NaNoWriMo, and I needed something to write. As usual, I’d procrastinated and just jumped in on instinct a few days into the challenge. That was when Courtney, the protagonist, decided she had more to tell. Circumstances in the third book practically demanded I keep going. That was another way things took a turn I wasn’t planning on.

Writing inspiration sometimes comes randomly. And often, you’ll end up going somewhere crazy when you talk to a fellow writer. In my case, it was my husband, CP Bialois. He reads through my work, and I read through his. In the process, he had a thought on something I could do in the series that, to be honest, changed that third book and informed everything that happened after. Courtney’s struggles, her fears, everything came from that one moment. And as soon as he mentioned it, the words started flowing. And I think that random thought made the story better. But there was one other random thing that changed a lot.

At one point, I was writing book five. I’d put Courtney into a certain situation and couldn’t figure out what was next. She seriously wouldn’t talk to me. So, a character that came along after the end of book three and a new person took over. They both impacted Courtney’s journey in big ways, and they were a lot of fun to write. I started just going with the flow and letting what comes, come. It ended up changing a lot. But getting those first words out were the key to discovering what each of the next books would be about. It’s been a fun process, and I’m experimenting with more things set in this world. But the main lesson learned is, I have to let go to get somewhere with it.


Listen to Jamie White's podcast episode here.