Twisted Little Games - Prep Work

Now that Hostile is finished and out in the wild, it’s time for me to start working on my next project. I thought it would be fun to update you as I go, giving you a behind the scenes look into my process of plotting and writing the first book in the Emerald Hills Elite series.

Up until I wrote Crossed Souls, I’d only ever wrote “traditional” male-female books, so I never gave something like a series bible a whole lot of thought. It wasn’t until I started CS that I realized keeping track of all those characters and world details was going to be too much to just wing it.

So, I created a series bible and that thing was a total godsend while I was writing, and as I’ve started looking ahead to working on Bound Souls, being able to look back at all the info has been invaluable.

Knowing EHE was going to be the same level of detailed and intense, I knew right away before I even started on the plot I was going to need a series bible for it, so I’ve been building it for months.

What even is a series bible? Well…

It’s a file I keep with all the details on the series. My Emerald Hills Elite one currently looks like this:

Every single entry on that side bar has or will have details written in it about either a particular location description, it’s purpose, the characters and all their issues, etc. It really helps me shape my characters into real people who have real issues, quirks, and the type of people they are.

Yesterday I nearly finished my series bible for Emerald Hills Elite, although I don’t know that as long as the series is ongoing it’ll ever be finished. This time around, one other difference is I’ve spent time fleshing out the side characters and the bad guys so I have an idea of what makes them tick. Usually, I just make them very one-dimensional and toss them in the story and call it good.

I’m always, always, always trying to be better and this is one of the ways I think I’m growing as a writer.

Once I have the series bible done, I’ll work on the actual plot (though I’ve done a lot of this work already). I’ve got a rough outline. I know where the book starts and where it ends (it’ll be a cliff, sorry!) but the stuff in the middle is where I’m hung up at the moment. I’m hoping to tackle it either today or tomorrow.

Once the plot work is done and I have everything in line, it’ll be time to start writing. I’ll update again when things are done and just before I start so you can keep up with my progress in bringing this book to life.

I can’t wait to get started!