By Cara Putman, @cara_putman

At the beginning of the year I turned in a full-length novel that I had to create and write in less than three months. This is not the way I normally prefer to write. I’ve done it, but this time I kept saying I was relieved it was my 40^th book and not my first or third or tenth.

The book I had intended to write next already had the first 45 pages written and a pretty good outline of where the book was headed. I will still write that book, but I had to change the order for important reasons. My editors agreed, and so I launched into a time of taking one paragraph of an idea and exploding it into a story. I needed a hero. I needed a conflict. I needed layers. I needed research. I also need lots of words. Approximately 85,000 of them.

Here are a few tips for if you find yourself in a similar position.

1. Give yourself the time to find the plot. This is something I have not been good at in the past. I would start writing desperately while I tried to figure out what the book was about. This time, I knew that if I didn’t take time at the beginning to find the characters and the plot, then I would have to rework more and I didn’t have time for a massive rewrite. Instead, even when I wanted to hyperventilate, I gave myself permission to know that the three weeks of finding and reading research books was actually the work I needed to be doing at that stage in the process. Which leads to… 
2. Trust the process. If you’ve written even one book, then you know you can write a book all the way to the magical words “the end.” If you did it once, then you can do it again. Trust the process. Do what you did to write the first one. Rinse and repeat.

3. Keep a running list of ideas as you research and write. I had post-it-notes all around the edge of my oversized monitor. Sometimes I’d get an idea that needed to be incorporated, but not yet.  A few went into my notebook so that during the macro edit process, I have ready access to them if those random ideas can help address an issue my editor spots.
4. Take the time to create the images you need. There were certain nights where I had to stop and draw out a sketch of the map of downtown. I needed to see where the businesses were located, so I drew a rough sketch and the writing came easier. I also found a house for my heroine to live in. Then I pinned many of the images so I could readily return to them when writing those scenes. I also copied key images into a series guide so my editor can see what I see to ease the process for both of us. Because this is the first book in the series, that is an important part of the process. The work I do now can save me time in the future when writing the next three books.
5. Think forwards and backwards. This month and next I’ll write the prequel that will be part of a marketing collection. Then I’ll immediately switch to the next full-length novel. That means as I was writing this one, I spent time thinking strategically about how it fits into the larger timeline. I captured ideas for both the book before and the one after. I thought about how the stories could be layered at and hinted at in this one. I think readers like that, and it will make writing the prequel much faster, which is good!

These are a few tips for writing a full-length novel in less than three months. Check back in a month when I get my macro edit notes, and I’ll let you know how it went!

---

Lethal Intent

If they expected silence, they hired the wrong woman.

Caroline Bragg’s life has never been better. She and Brandon Lancaster are taking their relationship to the next level, and she has a new dream job as legal counsel for Praecursoria—a research lab that is making waves with its cutting-edge genetic therapies. The company’s leukemia treatments even promise to save desperately sick kids—kids like eleven-year-old Bethany, a critically ill foster child at Brandon’s foster home.

When Caroline’s enthusiastic boss wants to enroll Bethany in experimental trials prematurely, Caroline objects, putting her at odds with her colleagues. They claim the only goal at Praecursoria is to save lives. But does someone have another agenda?

Brandon faces his own crisis. As laws governing foster homes shift, he’s on the brink of losing the group home he’s worked so hard to build. When Caroline learns he’s a Praecursoria investor, it becomes legally impossible to confide in him. Will the secrets she keeps become a wedge that separates them forever? And can she save Bethany from the very treatments designed to heal her?

This latest romantic legal thriller by bestseller Cara Putman shines a light on the shadowy world of scientific secrets and corporate vendettas—and the ethical dilemmas that plague the place where science and commerce meet.

“Intriguing characters. Romantic tension. Edge-of-your-seat suspense. And a fast-paced ending that will leave you exhausted (in a good way!).” —Robert Whitlow, award-winning author of Promised Land

Cara Putman

Since the time she could read Nancy Drew, Cara has wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 she attended a book signing at her local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, was history. There she met a fellow Indiana writer Colleen Coble. With prompting from her husband, Cara shared her dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, Cara’s been writing award-winning books. She is currently marketing book 36 and dreaming up future books, not hard when she sees what-ifs everywhere.
Cara Putman is an active member of ACFW and gives back to the writing community through her service on Executive Board. She has also been the Indiana ACFW chapter president and served as the Area Coordinator for Indiana.

Cara is also an attorney, full-time lecturer at a Big Ten university, and all-around crazy woman. Crazy about God, her husband and her kids that is. She graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!), George Mason Law School, and Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. You can learn more about Cara at www.caraputman.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cara.putman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cara_putman
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caracputman/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cara-putman
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/939004.Cara_C_Putman
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cara-C-Putman/e/B001T2AM3I/