@tombradleyjr Another obvious example not mentioned in the article is Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mystery 'The Five Red Herrings', one of my favourites due to the Scottish setting and the satire on the Kirkcudbright Artists' Colony.

#LordPeterWimsey #Kirkcudbright #Scotland #RedHerrings #MysteryWriting

#writinglife: Writing a novel and #writing a computer program are surprisingly similar. Both use syntax and #grammar. Both have a vocabulary. You make statements of truth. You build the novel or program.

In the case of a #program, you run it. You look to see if you get sensible output. If not, you fix what you wrote and try again to see if you get sensible output until you #publish it.

In the case of a #novel, you create #characters and settings, and #compile them into scenes and chapters, then you write the ending. You look to see if you have a sensible story. If not, you fix what you wrote—whether backfilling #foreshadowing, correcting #plot points, or adding/deleting scenes and/or characters—then you try again to see if you have a sensible story until you publish it.

Writing is an iterative process in logic. I'm writing the ending to a novel right now, the one that goes with this post: https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/109577332108747664 .

I've figured out where all the threads my characters generated tie up. Yes, by knowing the ending when I start to write the novel (and not all that much more), I experience and record what the characters do as I write their scenes. I corral them as I go, and keep them on-program, but incorporate the revelations.

Then comes the point when the subplots all come to a climax and they must create a sensible story. Last night I jotted down everything that needs to happen in that chapter... and surprisingly, for a #firstdraft, it made sense. For >100K words, thank goodness, right?

That doesn't mean I won't fix up things earlier in the story to make it better. Perhaps cut verbiage, remove inadvertent #redherrings, move some parts around...

The important thing is: It's a sensible story. Better: It will soon be complete.