One of our favorite things to do is to talk shop with authors. Some of our Inklings met up with Kate Milford at Linden Tree and interviewed her on her writing process. We wanted to share what we discovered with our Inklings community!
At what age did you start writing? When were you first published?
Age 9, I won “writer of the week” in third grade. I started writing in 2006 and first published in 2009
What is the average amount of time it takes to write a book?
It really depends on the book. Drafting can take me anywhere from 3-5 months. Then 1 month of hard revision then 1 year of revisiting with the editor. 1 book, in particular, took me 4 years
What advice do you have for young writers?
- Always carry a notebook and pen so you don’t lose ideas in inconvenient places
- Remember if you get stuck or hit a point where you hate your writing it’s normal. Every writer hits a point where they feel stuck angry and frustrated.
- It’s okay to feel like you want to kick your writing across the room in frustration like I want to sometimes. The hardest part is finishing the first draft.
- The only person your writing is for is you.
- Take joy in your art
How do you plan out your stories?
I don’t really like to plan out my stories. I like to look at it like putting together a puzzle. I start with a few pieces, write, and put in the missing pieces as I go. I like surprises so I like to make things up as I go. For Green Glass House it started with a challenge – stained glass. I wrote the first paragraph and went from there.
In Green Glass House were the characters based on real people?
I didn’t think so but I think Milo’s parents are similar to myself and my husband. As we were going through the adoption process I thought about what type of questions our future child might have for us. Also, I just recently realized the house is loosely based on my grandmother’s house.
What’s your writing style?
I write fantasy. A lot of people who read GGH without reading any of my other books were unpleasantly surprised at the fantasy elements in the book. Some people wrote cranky reviews. So naturally in the sequel, Ghosts of Green Glass House I took those cranky reviews into consideration and said: “here have more fantasy!”
