The Ghosts Make Their Appearance

We spent more time on planning and plotting for the Ghost Series ahead of the actual writing than on any previous project. Yet, when Jen wrote the first scene where the ghosts would show up, it turned out we hadn’t entirely agreed on how they should look. Many of their characteristics were decided, but some pretty basic stuff had gone unspecified without either of us thinking to bring it up.

It felt weird in the moment, and we had to figure out those details on the move, but the fact that this happened is a good sign.

First of all, no matter how diligently you outline, the prose should always feel alive while you’re working on it. Outlining isn’t meant to take away words’ ability to surprise you, just to get you moving in the right direction.

Secondly, this was a sign that all those hours of pre-writing had been invested in the proper things. We focused on mapping out the story and understanding the people in it, rather than being drawn to shiny objects.

We knew our ghosts were going to look cool. And they do! We needed to make sure we also knew that the plot wouldn’t become a haunted house of cards.

A writing partner is someone who’ll hold your hand when your ghost story gets scary!