Featured Artist Friday: Kristen Day
Today for Featured Artist Friday we have Kristen Day, author of Forsaken: a daughters of the sea novel
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Check out her blog
1. Which authors do you admire? Why?
I admire all poets because they can capture so much meaning in so few words. But if I had to pick one author that I admire the most it would be Sylva Plath. I know that may seem a little odd, but I love how her mind works. She was never the most stable or sane person, which I believe made the great writer she was. She was able to see the world in a completely different light and I strive to do the same. That’s why people read. To escape into a world that is completely different than our own.
2. What inspires you to write?
I don’t so much as get inspired to write as I have to write in an effort to not have my head explode. Against my better judgment, my mind is constantly churning out crazy ideas, quotes, and ways of describing my surroundings. I love words - everything about them. Some people play with recipe ingredients, others play with fabrics or colored pencils; I play with words.
3. What is your process for writing/completing a novel?
My process for writing can be described as a beautiful disaster. I come up with the general idea of the subject; and then decide on the setting and characters. I spend a lot of time on the characters before I ever type a word of the novel. Once I give them their own personality, habits, quirks, and dreams - they tend to create the story for me. I then regurgitate the entire story from my mind to the paper. Next, I add descriptors, inner dialogue, and small details. The third go round involves me and my best friend: a thesaurus. It’s a pet peeve of mine to have the same word in a chapter too many times. It’s just unfair to all of the other words waiting in the wings, really. Next, I re-read the entire book and make sure I am happy with each scene. I strive for the readers to feel a certain emotion in each scene, so if I get a different emotion than I intend - chances are they will too. Last but never least, I send it to my editor Stacy and she adds her magic touch.
4. What is the best part of writing?
The best part of writing is when you are completely finished with a story or novel. It’s a feeling of personal accomplishment like no other.
5. What is the hardest thing about writing?
The hardest thing about writing is being distracted by those much less important things like sleep, eating and going to the bathroom.
6. What is the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself through your writing?
I’ve learned that seeing the world differently is an asset, not a liability.
7. Describe your ideal place to write.
My ideal place to write would be a cozy room, with soft string lights to give it a warm, enchanting glow. It would have a bay window with lots of pillow so I could also see outside.
8. How do your ideas come to you?
I’ve always been a visual person with a incredibly, vivid imagination. I have a hard time seeing anything without thinking about how I could add my own twist, stamp of quirkiness, or crazy additions. It’s as simple as seeing a piece of discarded wood and seeing it morph in my mind until it becomes a beautiful piece of distressed wall art with a little paint and a lot of love. All of my ideas start as normal every day things, stories, or concepts; but when I open up my mind and let it run, they suddenly have a life of their own and I just hold on for the ride.
9. What is your favorite thing you have written? Why?
My favorite thing I’ve written is a poem about the color red I wrote in second grade. That’s when I fell in love with writing.
Thank you, Kristen!