On Writing Forcing the Hand of God

Like many writers, I didn’t intend to write a novel. For my master’s thesis in the University of Washington's Creative Writing program, I had a collection of short stories. One day, I joined a professional writers’ group hosted by Jean Bryant, who challenged me to see that what I had was not a collection of shorts, but the guts of a novel (thank you, Jean!). From there, Forcing the Hand of God was off and running with me chasing after.

I met with some surprises along the way. Ada came to me the most naturally—and then her relationship with Rodger in turn helped me understand him. I was fascinated by how Rodger’s and Ada’s emotional connection and sexual tension illuminated their inner lives.

You may have already guessed one of the hardest parts of writing historical fiction is keeping a tangle of dates, places, and facts all on a timeline! I changed the timeline for the action in Kunming, China and that proved to be a nightmare. I had to painstakingly string together all the subsequent actions, while keeping my characters in tow. Those of you who have written historical fiction know this agony of late nights, black coffee, and endless editing! But it does pay off.

Are there any writers out there who have similar stories? I'd especially love to hear from historical fiction authors!