Pushing On Through

[Peg Herring]

I can't decide exactly how the victims die. The choices have been whittled down to three or four, and the final decision will change the course of the story, but I can't find out enough about certain murder methods to make that decision. I suppose it's only right that information on how to kill people is not readily available. My non-writing friends think I'm weird enough as it is, but it is only fiction, after all.

Anyway, I've decided to push through and write the story anyway, trusting that the exact method needed will become clear as the plot elements mesh. I've done this before and it works for me: looking back is sometimes the clearest way to see everything, and in fiction, unlike real life, I can change the past.

[B.R.Stateham]

In one of the series I write I start out with the crime scene first and then build around it. It may be all wrong to do it that way, but what the hell.

[Dana King]

I read somewhere that all specific research should be held until after the first draft. Then you'll know exactly what you need. Sounds like yu're on the right track, as this problem may take care of itself, or, at least, become better defined as you work through the draft.

[I. J. Parker]

I work that way myself, but the method is rarely complicated for me. The who, why, and how (in terms of being in the right place at the right time) leave me enough to work with. There was one exception to this, but fortunately a neat twist suggested itself close to the end.