Ever have one of those moments when you realize you got roped into something you had no intention to doing?

I did not too long ago. I was making plans to dust off an old, barely-started manuscript and breathe new life into it. I started outlining and fleshing out my ideas, nixing old ideas, all that fine writerly stuff.

While I was doing that, though, I also started thinking about how I wanted to eventually present my book, how I was going to market it, how I could get people interested in it. During my research, I came across a lot of marketing gurus that told me “give your readers something free that will provide them with an idea of your work and entice them to want to read your book.”

OK, that made pretty good sense, I could see the value in getting a taster before investing in a new or new-t0-you author. I’ve been disappointed in the past myself with books that didn’t live up to my expectations. Then came the question though, what to offer? I felt like I was trying to pick out a Christmas or birthday gift for someone I hardly knew. It was very nerve wracking. Suggestions I found included additional character or story info like background notes and such used for reference that don’t usually make it into the book, but that seemed a little boring and too off-topic. Another idea was a short story prequel or spin-off. That sounded more interesting.

“When the time is right, the story writes itself.”

So I started thinking about my characters and what might have put them in the situation they were in for my story. Not the actual plot starter itself, I went way back, like, butterfly effect back. Almost without my putting effort into it, I realized there were secondary characters in my book that had previously put things in motion for my main characters. I had created a pretty detailed back story for my hero, and basic outlines for a couple other characters that  I was better acquainted with, so I used elements of that to put together the prequel.

From there, things kind of got out of hand. My short story morphed into a full-on novella and the characters seemed  to develop completely on their own, like all they’d been waiting for was this dumb sap to sit down at the computer and get to typing. It was pretty entertaining actually. Letting them tell their story was like watching a movie, and some scenes really put my typing speed to the test.

The end result? His Silver City Gold.

Yup, the freebie linked in the sidebar of this site. I never had any intention of writing it, the plot had not been stewing in my brain for years on end like the one I originally sat down to write, it just decided it was time to make an appearance. It was a totally new experience for me, but a great one that made me realize I didn’t have to agonize for months or years over a story. When the time is right, the story writes itself.

I already loved the characters in my intended book, but now I’ve fallen in love with Rick and Lucy too, and can’t wait to continue their story!