Once upon a time, long, long ago…

Or not so long ago, I’m not that old, I began writing stories and poems. Hoping that one day they would be great enough to be made into a book. A real book, that people could buy and I could hold, sleep with under my pillow, carry around in case no one had seen it, give as a gift to people, sign – maybe.

Then the real world kicked in and I got one of those pesky jobs, paid my bills and fell into a routine. Nothing felt right about that. There were too many other worlds racing around in my head, distracting me, enticing me into quiet rooms with pens and sheets of paper and asking me to create. No, encouraging me to create.

In the end I had to give in. I really had no choice. I think if I hadn’t started writing my head might have actually exploded, which wouldn’t have been pretty. It would probably been quite messy too, and rather difficult to put back together again I should imagine.

To begin with it was a lot of false starts; half-finished efforts that led nowhere and were assigned to the ‘maybe one day’ pile. Then I concentrated on short stories – so much easier to get to the end. It gave me confidence to keep going when I realised people were reading them. I mean, they weren’t brilliant. They weren’t even edited. And then…

One day Deanna popped into my head

Her story half formed. I didn’t rush to write it down or make notes. I let it fester and mature in my head, one thing after another, working its way to completion. Showing me the entire outline. Ready to spill over into reality and be lost forever. Finally, it was time to write.

The words poured from my hand to the page –my computer’s too slow to keep up- a seemingly jumbled mess of story. I was sure the torrent would ease gradually and grind to a halt just as all the others had.

But not this one. This one wouldn’t let me stop. This character took over my brain and streamed ideas 24/7 until it was finished. Then came the gruelling task of typing it all up and rewriting. I hate, hate, hate, this part!

And despite the speed at which it first poured onto the page, it was more than a year before it saw the light of day and I allowed someone to read it.

Breath bated.

Pleased with the reaction, I wrote a second and then a third. And now again, I wait with bated breath.

When I’m not writing, I’m baking…

Or watching movies, or reading. A writer can never consume too many stories. And baking has the most fascinating ability to draw me away from a difficult scene and refocus the mind. If I get stuck on part of a story, I go and make a cake – I do mean a chocolate cake. The not-so-secret ingredient is coffee.

I think there has to be a healthy balance between when to write and when to wait (or bake). Because sometimes the way a scene plays out isn’t even what the writer imagined it would be.

Fuelled largely by coffee, I try to be good and drink a large glass of water before every mug. I quite often forget to eat when I’m writing. So I can appear, after several hours of typing, looking like a homeless person desperate for food and in need of reintegration into normal society.

Naps are also important and no one should ever attempt to wake me before my allotted time is up (which is from whenever I fall asleep, to whenever I wake up). I can become disorientated, grumpy, and clumsy.

Kate on….

Kate Trinity 01
My blog is about the research, the gory stuff, the science, and the forensics – because that’s what I have a degree in. So I try to use what I’ve learnt through studying and research, to give a little insight into subjects I use in stories and also give other authors things they might want to use theirs. Most posts that begins with Kate on… is one of these posts.

There is, however, an 18 rating on the blog because of these subjects. Which isn’t entirely in line with all of the books I write. So proceed with caution.

If you do happen to want to know more on a subject and there isn’t enough information in the post, feel free to drop me a line and ask me your questions. I’ve got a lot of rather large and gruesome text books gathering dust, which I am more than happy to dive into for a fellow author.

If you’re under 18, you’re more than welcome to hang out on the Pentickle Facebook page where any new releases and updates will be posted; or stalk me on twitter – I’m good with that.

But for now I’ll wish you happy reading, and happy writing – it’s time for my nap.

Kate xxx

Kate Trinity Blog – Pentickle Blog

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