Several years ago I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Jeffrey Deaver at a writer’s conference and it was fantastic 
I’ve been a fan of his work for years and I’ve been rereading all his novels in the last couple of years.
For anyone who hasn’t read his books (shame on you . Seriously, if you enjoy edge of your seat thrillers that keep you guessing till the end and once you think its over – there are at least 1 or 2 more twists, these are books you have to try. I bought my first Deaver book in a used book store and I was hooked. So far there was only one that I couldn’t get into. Not bad out of over 25 books.
When I sat down to talk with him, I simply had to ask if he was willing to share any tips. He did share some great information and one of those tips was used in Lilah and the Locket. From comments and reviews I’ve gotten, it seems that it worked. Of course I’ll continue to use those ideas and to improve.
One of the things I get a lot of flack about is that I plan, research and do some outlining for my books. I was very please when one of my all time favorite authors said that he does extensive outlining. Extensive is the only way to explain it – he can spend 8 months outlining, researching and planning a book. But, like he said – that makes it easier to actually write the book.
I plan my books and do some outlining – then as the story develops, I may discover something that makes it necessary to update my plans and outlines. But, I’ve written both ways. My first book took me well over a year to write and I threw out the first 50,000 words. That proved to me that no plan was not the way to get the book done. Over the next 11 books, I’ve honed my writing skills and while I was a fulltime freelancer, I could easily write a 300 page book in 2-3 books. That was 2-3 months from the conception of the idea, to sending it off to my publisher or my client. There are all kinds of book ideas in my mind and if it took a year to write each one – I’d never get to share enough of these books with others.
I just saw a video by Jeffrey Deaver where he gives a great illustration of why he thinks authors should plan and outline. Seemed like it would be interesting to share. And, I even noticed in the video that he wears a ring just like one I have
