Ask the Author: Laura Kitchell
Answered Questions (7)
Laura Kitchell
My favorite fictional couple is Westley and Buttercup from The Princess Bride because she's strong and loyal and because he loves from his soul. They both have enormous character arcs, beginning in innocence and an ideal view of love and ending as wiser. Despite seemingly insurmountable odds, they find their way back to one another.
Laura Kitchell
I don't need inspiration to write. I'm a professional, so I'm constantly thinking about where the next scene needs to go. As a result, I can write anywhere at any time. My problem comes when dialogue or action floods in at a time I can't write (like when I'm driving or in a meeting). For those of you who write, you understand that when that happens, if you don't get it down while it's fresh, you'll lose it altogether. That's happened to me before, so I carry writing material with me everywhere I go.
Laura Kitchell
I'm currently working on a sequel to my Christmas release, Rock My Christmas. I adore a seriously damaged hero, and this one is near the top in terms of the most damaged heroes I've written to date. This book also edges into the erotic genre without quite going all the way, which makes me nervous. I prefer to write sensual romance, but this couple demanded the edgier sex. I don't always give my characters what they want, but I usually do.
Laura Kitchell
First, finish your book. Give yourself permission to write crap (which all first draft are, by the way). Second, your book isn't finished when you write The End. This is just the beginning. Your manuscript will need to go through a number of edits and rewrites before it's worth reading. This is the process for everyone, so embrace it. Finally, if you're serious about making writing a career, you can't think of you book as your baby. It's going to get changed during editing, people are going to criticize it, and when you sign that publishing contract, it's no longer yours for however long the contract terms state. Save yourself a lot of tears and anxiety and think of your books as products. You'll be a much happier and more successful writer for it.
Laura Kitchell
The act of creating generates serotonin, a phenolic amine neurotransmitter which is a powerful vasoconstrictor found in the brain, blood serum, and gastric mucous membrane. The increased presence of serotonin provides a natural high - a feeling of well-being and rightness with the world. I experience this most while writing a first draft, but I also receive benefits during the editing process. (And I don't apologize for being a geek. It runs in the family.)
Laura Kitchell
I don't get writer's block. It's not a boast. It's a matter of understanding exactly what each character must accomplish by the end of the book (goal), and what roadblocks I'll be putting in their way (conflict). This simple understanding creates a sort of map to my story and, as a result, I never get lost.
Laura Kitchell
Code Name Desire started out as a Valentine's Day story I wrote by special request for a publisher no longer in business. I wrote more than half this story while on a ski trip in West Virginia, USA. Temperatures plummeted to 15 degrees F below 0, so I stayed in more than I went out. Writing was the perfect remedy for boredom.
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