People are always asking me whether I know the ending when I begin to write a novel. I imagine many writers of fiction are asked the same question.
It brings to mind what one of my friends, Rod Thorp, used to say. Rod and I and a group of other novelists and at least one screenwriter were part of a luncheon klatch that met every month to shoot the breeze and discuss this and that, life in general and the joys and perils of the writing trade.
Read more: How Will It End?
I recently served as a speaker on a panel discussion organized by the Book Publicists of Southern California under the irrepressible founder and Chairman emeritus Irwin Zucker on the subject of “Books to Movies.”
Read more: Books to Movies
So here is what once was dubbed a typical American story. This pretty little girl is the daughter of a High School English teacher and a mother who was what was once a revered and iconic American role model, the devoted homemaker, the admired mother hen housewife.
Her family most probably lives from paycheck to paycheck, and are ardent followers of the traditional verities of the American way, family, country, God, the stuff of the Pledge of Allegiance, the national anthem, God Bless America. You know the drill, when the flag goes by you put your hand over your heart and often, like me, shed a tear or two of pride and gratitude.
Read more: You Betcha
It is a strange phenomenon and most authors of fiction appear to confirm it. They are always asked the same three questions. Whether the questions are asked in a formal interview setting or by readers, non-readers, fans, or casual acquaintances in every conceivable social setting . The three questions cross boundaries of country, language, age, and gender.
They are always the same and asked in exactly the same order. These are the questions:
Read more: The Three Questions for Authors
