Dear Linda,

I have to ask you - when you write a story, do you ever read it afterward and find stuff in there that you weren't intending when you started out, or know you were typing that strikes you as brilliant?

Any 'happy accidents' when you write? Is that common?
 
To answer you, yes! Hubby makes fun of me for re-reading my books after they come out in print. But sometimes I'll see where something I've written inadvertantly (meaning, I didn't plan it that way) ties back in to something I'd written earlier in the book, giving it more depth. I've actually said aloud, "Gee, I wrote that? Wow!" LOL!

To answer the second half, is it common? Not always, but frequently. When you work on a book for 3-4 months, you sorta tend to forget what you've included in the front part by the time you reach the ending. Thank goodness for proofreading and editors!