Ask the Author: Kate Pentecost
Answered Questions (6)
Kate Pentecost
Literally...I heard a song that had sirens in it. I think it was "Problem" by Natalia Kills, whose other work I've never heard at all.
Kate Pentecost
Music, mainly. Everything I write always has a sound track that I painstakingly curate, based on the vibe I'm going for and the images I'm attempting to create. Other than that, I literally just have to sit down and make myself do it. Then I remember how fun it is and just...keep on writing.
Kate Pentecost
Project 1 hints: monsters, immortality (but not at all,) the nature of legends, decay, a whole lot of atmosphere, slow-burn romance, death, flowers, bones, a mechanical city, Nikola Tesla, and a sentient temple.
Project 2: rock music, high GPAs but no direction, murder, glitter and neon, asphalt and heat, John Denver, Led Zeppelin, time travel, queer love, glam rock, H-Town forever.
Project 3: witness on the run, ghost tiger, grieving rock star, creepy twins, private island, high iron bars, queer love, pine trees all around, blood, ghosts, inventions, vinyl records, the Voice of God.
Project 2: rock music, high GPAs but no direction, murder, glitter and neon, asphalt and heat, John Denver, Led Zeppelin, time travel, queer love, glam rock, H-Town forever.
Project 3: witness on the run, ghost tiger, grieving rock star, creepy twins, private island, high iron bars, queer love, pine trees all around, blood, ghosts, inventions, vinyl records, the Voice of God.
Kate Pentecost
Don't buy into "overnight success" stories. There are always years of work and passion behind all of these stories, work and passion that you don't get to see from the outside in. You have to want it and work hard--to the point of obsession, really--to make anything you write worthwhile.
Also, don't worry about people writing things that are similar to what you're working on. No one can write your story like you. Just find out what you're good at and play to your strengths.
Also, for the love of God, employ sensitivity readers!
Also, don't worry about people writing things that are similar to what you're working on. No one can write your story like you. Just find out what you're good at and play to your strengths.
Also, for the love of God, employ sensitivity readers!
Kate Pentecost
Having the constant drive to learn new things to the point of expertise. Throughout the years, I've researched the Dust Bowl, the Amish community, desertification, how a battery works, what order one loses one's senses while dying, Houston in the 1970s, and forensics as taught in high school forensics classes. Will this serve me in a practical way in the future? Probably not. Will it make me interesting at parties? Definitely.
Kate Pentecost
Honestly, the only way to deal with it is to force yourself to sit down and write. Often, I'll skip to a part I'm excited about writing and then go back and fill the rest in when my level of excitement has peaked again, so it doesn't *feel* like I'm not excited to write the parts in between the bits I'm *actually* excited to write about.
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