Deliver Us From Evil

DAVID BALDACCI ON WRITING

Deleted Scenes:

Sometimes an ending is absolutely spot-on the first time you write it, and sometimes it isn’t. I usually have two or three endings in mind as I wend my way toward finishing a novel. In rare instances I’ve gone back and changed the ending I wrote originally. This happened in Last Man Standing and First Family, to name two examples. It usually involves characters living or dying. In Deliver Us from Evil, it happened again. The ending was written, and I was reviewing it. I had given it to my inner circle of readers. The lobbying soon began to spare a character’s life. I am usually immune to outside influence when it comes to writing. That’s not to say I don’t listen-I do. And I’ve changed certain story elements when I think those advocating a certain point have valid arguments. But the denouement of a novel is something different. I really have to be persuaded. And this time, I was. So you can see how the novel ended in the first draft, and then in the final version. Just don’t read the draft first! I’ll leave it up to you which ending you like best. How’s that for service? Most writers only give you one ending. With me, you get a pair.

Edited Manuscript:

The editing process has multiple layers. And although typos sometimes still poke through (as readers are quick to remind me), the process is a time-tested one. The pages you’re looking at now contain my handwritten changes to them. The first section is rather early on in the writing process. As you will be able to see, the edits are both substantive and cosmetic. At this point I’m still working my way through the story, getting to know my characters. The second set of edits are set forth on what is known as page proofs. This is the last chance I will have to edit the manuscript unless some crazy error has slipped through. Or I throw a tantrum, which I never have. But I could, because you never know. After this it goes to the printer, the cover is slapped on, and the finished product is shipped to book outlets all over the country. You can tell these are page proofs because the words are typeset as opposed to printed pages off a computer. Some of the changes you see here are of the cosmetic variety, namely typos, changes in verb tense, or minor grammatical fixes. But I did include a substantive change necessitated by an issue in timing and action in a contained space. As you read through the edits you should be able to see why I made the changes I did. Or you might think, why did he do that? I liked the way it was just fine. Well, sometimes you just can’t win. But I’m showing my writing soul here so bare with me.

Outlines:

I do both typewritten and handwritten outlines. Outlines change all the time, and some days I write off the cuff, pure seat-of-the-pants, inspired pixie dust, whatever you want to call it. But outlines are useful for marshaling ideas, organizing story flow and, like airlines and air traffic controllers do every day, getting equipment (characters) where they need to be to carry it all off safely and professionally. The pages you’re looking at here detail my ideas in formulating the plot, character elements, twists, action flow, locale descriptions, and the like. When used properly outlines are invaluable. When used badly-for example, the novel simply being a bare bones outline with too many action scenes and plot contrivances to fill in the huge holes in the story-it can be disastrous. I also do quite a bit of research for my novels, and all that information is neatly organized in huge binders that I assemble for every novel. This may include personal interviews, photos, book and online research and first-hand descriptions I take when visiting a location. But the rule for me with research is that you must leave most of it out. I don’t write textbooks, I write fiction. And if the research gets in the way of the story flow I haven’t done my job.