What does it take to become an author? Where do story ideas come from, and how do you find your own voice as a writer?
I recently had the pleasure of answering some wonderfully thoughtful questions from students about my journey as an author! We explored everything from finding inspiration and developing characters to writing gothic fiction, navigating publishing, and learning to embrace the creative process.
One thing I hope aspiring writers take away from this conversation is that there is no single correct way to tell a story. Whether you’re working on your first short story or dreaming of publishing a novel, your imagination and your voice matter 🥰
Inside the interview
- My journey into becoming an author
- Finding inspiration and developing ideas
- The art of gothic writing and building suspense
- Challenges, advice and becoming a better writer
- Life as a published author, including traditional and self-publishing
How I Started Writing
Why did you become an author
What inspired you to start writing books?
What inspired you to start writing?
Why did you want to write your book?
What inspired you to get into this genre with your work?
Was there a different genre you attempted to write in the past. And what made you do gothic?
I started properly writing when I was sixteen. Growing up as an only child, I always loved creating characters. In a way, they were almost like invisible friends in my mind. But over time, they began to take on lives of their own. They developed their own personalities, appearances, and I found myself becoming increasingly invested in the worlds and stories I was creating for them.
My writing journey actually began with a school-based drama series. (I went to an all girl’s school okay!) I had files and files of hand written notes, and the ideas were born from there! More recently, it eventually became my first book, Caskets of Ice. I felt that these characters had stories to tell, and I wanted to give them their voice.
Since then, I’ve tried to write one book every year, partly because I want to continue improving and challenging myself as a writer. One thing I’ve come to realise is how important it is to separate the reception of your work from the enjoyment of actually creating it. Of course, it’s wonderful when people enjoy what you’ve written, but ultimately, I believe you should write because you genuinely love writing.
As I slowly started to improve my style, I became interested in suspense and mystery, especially how you can use language to influence the reader’s experience.
I discovered that gothic writing was IT! It gives you so much opportunity to experiment with different writing techniques. You can use short, sharp sentences to create tension, carefully control the pace of a scene, and decide exactly when and how you want to reveal certain information to your reader. I really enjoyed having that level of control over the storytelling!
Finding Inspiration
How do you come up with ideas for your books and how long do they take to be published
What is your writing process and where do you get your inspiration?
What was your thought process when writing your books?
How can you start the book ,I mean how can you think the topic
What inspired u to write this book?
I would say that coming up with ideas is almost like tailoring something that already has a life of its own. Inspiration can come from absolutely anywhere! It might be a random television show, a particular scene from a book, or, more recently for me, even video games? Yes! Sometimes, one specific scene will suddenly spark an idea, and I’ll find myself thinking, “Wow, that could make a really interesting story!” From there, I begin developing the idea into something of my own.
One thing I’ve always believed, and something I regularly tell my students, is that the more you practise, the more naturally things begin to come together. Over time, you develop a steady routine, become more organised, and gradually get quicker at the writing process. I’ve now written six books, and by my sixth book, I had reached a point where writing a novel generally takes me around three to four months.
When it comes to developing ideas, my biggest piece of advice is to write about something you love! Well obviously, why else would you suffer on something you hate, right? Don’t worry too much about what’s selling or what’s currently popular. Trends change, and if you’re not passionate about your story, you’ll quickly lose motivation.
I also love using an app called Milanote to organise my ideas. Think of it as a giant creative mind-map! You can move chapters around, add pictures, and build character profiles. It’s especially useful when your imagination starts running away with you (which happens to me quite a lot!)
In terms of publishing, I’ve chosen to self-publish my novels through Amazon, which means my books are available for readers to purchase internationally. The process can be instantaneous once everything is ready, and you can even arrange for your novel to be available for pre-order before its official release.
One of the things I particularly enjoy about self-publishing is the creative freedom it gives you. You’re responsible for editing your work, making decisions about the cover design, and shaping your finished book. I’ve previously worked with illustrators whose work I liked, and even friends who created my book covers and internal artwork.
However, I have a little secret: I’ve recently started working on illustrating my own novels! I’ve already begun uploading some of my artwork to my website, so now I’m in my little cave working on companion art pieces. I do try to include illustrations as it’s about enhancing the reader’s experience rather than controlling their imagination. I think it’s incredibly important that readers are free to imagine characters and settings in their own way. I wouldn’t want to take that away from them. However, I also love the idea of bringing certain characters and elements of my fictional worlds to life visually, creating an even more immersive experience for anyone who wants to explore them further.
Writing Gothic Fiction
What is your secret to building tension on gothic horror?
When constructing a shadowy dark fantasy world, how do you balance creating a truly oppressive, gothic atmosphere without making the story so bleak that readers lose hope or connection with the characters?
How do you plan the environment, setting and surroundings to reflect the characters living style and personality in your novels?
How do you get to organize plot points? How do you start writing your book and what should you prioritize (worldbuilding , outlining etc)? How do you give meaning to your story and make it impactful????
Building tension is all about how you structure your writing. I like to think of it almost as a dance, or weaving a tapestry. You need a rise and fall in the storytelling, knowing when to reveal information and, more importantly, when to hold something back!
Start with a strong narrative hook, experiment with cliffhangers at the end of chapters, and use short, sharp sentences for emphasis. For example, “I froze.” Just two words, but suddenly the reader wants to know why. What happened? What did the character see? You’re creating suspense without giving away the answer, and that’s what keeps readers turning the pages.
However, gothic writing doesn’t have to be relentlessly depressing or bleak. I want my stories to be accessible and engaging, even for readers who wouldn’t normally choose horror. Personally, I love exploring the psychological side of storytelling. Why do people make the choices they make? What are they afraid of, and what happens when they’re forced to confront those fears?
For example, in my collection Tales from the Manor, the idea isn’t necessarily that the house itself is haunted. It’s that we bring our own worries, fears and experiences into it, and the house almost mirrors them back to us. The horror becomes something deeply personal. When characters are placed in unfamiliar or unsettling situations, they often reveal something about themselves that might otherwise have remained hidden.
When it comes to settings, I gravitate towards places I love imagining: misty landscapes, shadowy corridors, gothic manors, castles, beautiful libraries, gardens and lakes. I find that when you’re genuinely fascinated by a setting, it becomes much easier to bring it to life.
I also love using visual inspiration when planning. I create mind maps and mood boards filled with colours, imagery and sensory details. Sometimes it’s something as simple as a candle, a particular painting or experience that haunted my childhood (ha)….or the atmosphere of a particular room. These little details help me imagine how a place should look and feel. It’s also one of the reasons I’ve become so interested in illustrating my own work. Colour, design and atmosphere can communicate so much about a fictional world.
In terms of organising the story itself, I usually plan the basic plot points and follow THE story mountain, but I also leave room for ideas to develop naturally. Quite often, the most interesting details come to me when I’m actually writing! I think it’s important to have a structure without feeling that every single moment has to be decided beforehand.
As for giving a story meaning, my biggest piece of advice is to explore something fundamentally human. For me, recurring themes include loss, grief, childhood nostalgia, memories and the experience of growing up. My characters might be completely different in age, personality or background, but the emotions they experience are often universal.
One of my university lecturers once gave me a piece of advice that has stayed with me: don’t simply pour raw personal experiences onto the page and expect readers to connect with them. Instead, channel those emotions through a character, situation or setting that might be entirely different from your own.
I think that’s incredibly important. You don’t necessarily need to write about something that happened to you personally. You can create a completely fictional experience while still capturing an emotion that feels real. And when readers recognise something of themselves in your characters, even in the most fantastical or unsettling circumstances, that’s when a story can become truly meaningful.
Finding Your Voice and Growing as a Writer
What is the most important part of writing a book? Like maybe 3 most important to write a book or a novel??
What was the biggest issue you had when you first started? What skills should students develop if they want to become authors? How do you define success as an author beyond sales?
I want to become an author someday, but I have no clue what to do. I’ve finished my first draft so now I’m writing the novel, but sometimes I find it hard to make it long enough! 70,000 words! That’s really hard for someone like me who makes stories about 10000 words long. I’m also worried about the publications, because how am I going to find a publisher who likes my book?
Thank you for these questions, because I think they touch on one of the biggest challenges of being a writer: learning how to be comfortable with the creative process, including the disappointments that sometimes come with it.
As writers, we naturally question ourselves. Is our work good enough? Are enough people reading it? Will anyone actually like it? But I think you have to ask yourself something important: are you writing because you love to write, or because you want to achieve sales and recognition?
Of course, there are strategies for approaching literary agents, following publishing trends and working towards becoming a bestselling author. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having those ambitions! But if writing is genuinely your passion, I believe your motivation should begin with the enjoyment of creating something. Write because you have thoughts, feelings and stories you want to express, not simply because you’re hoping someone else will approve of them.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how to accept disappointment without allowing it to define me as a writer. Publishing is competitive, and not everything will happen according to your original expectations. That’s okay! What matters is that you continue improving.
I challenge myself to write something new every year because, with every book, I discover a little more about myself. I experiment with language, structure and different techniques, gradually finding the things that feel natural to me. Over time, those choices become your writing style. Eventually, someone might read your work and say, “That’s so you!” And I think there’s something wonderful about developing a voice that is recognisably your own.
I also like to imagine success as a mountain that you’re constantly climbing. Even published authors aren’t necessarily famous, and I don’t think fame should be the only measure of achievement. Sometimes success is simply finishing a story you’re proud of or sharing something meaningful with another person.
Start small! Share your writing with friends and family, create a website, or perhaps start a book-related Instagram account. I have one called @kate_talks_about_books, where I share updates and things I’m excited about. And if you don’t feel like posting one day, that’s absolutely fine too!
One of the loveliest things about sharing your work is that you never know who might discover it. Someone on the other side of the world might come across your story and connect with it in a way you never expected. They might not even be particularly interested in books! But perhaps something you’ve written makes them feel understood or a little less alone. To me, that kind of connection is incredibly meaningful.
And to the student who’s worried about writing 70,000 words, firstly, congratulations on finishing your first draft! That’s already a fantastic achievement.
Writing long-form fiction is difficult, and I completely understand your frustration. I’ve experimented with writing stories of around 60,000 words myself, but I’ve come to recognise that I’m naturally a short-story writer. Gothic short fiction is quite a niche genre, but it’s something I genuinely enjoy.
My advice is not to force your story to become longer simply because you think a novel has to reach a particular word count. If you’ve written 10,000 words, that’s wonderful! Put the story aside for a little while, return to it with fresh eyes, and see whether there’s anything meaningful you could develop further. Perhaps a character needs more depth, or there’s an important scene you haven’t explored.
But if you return to it after a few weeks and feel that the story is complete, let it be complete! Not every idea needs to become a 70,000-word novel. Sometimes a shorter story is exactly what it needs to be.
And please don’t let the fear of finding a publisher stop you from writing. Traditional publishing is incredibly competitive, and literary agents and publishers receive enormous numbers of submissions. Their decisions are also subjective. One person deciding that your book isn’t right for them doesn’t mean you’ve failed as a writer.
There are other ways to share your work, including self-publishing, and you can explore those options when you’re ready.
Ultimately, you have something valuable to say. You have your own voice, your own imagination and your own stories to tell. Don’t allow the possibility of rejection to silence them.
You have a story to tell, so go and tell it!
Life as a Published Author
How much do authors earn?
How do you define success as an author beyond sales?
How long do books take to be published?
How do you find a publisher who likes your book?
How much do authors earn? Honestly, for many of us, very little! And that’s certainly not why I write.
From my own experience, you might earn a few thousand HKD over several years, even across multiple books. Or as little as just $10. Of course, earnings vary enormously, but I think it’s important to be realistic about the financial side of writing.
There are two main routes to consider: traditional publishing and self-publishing, and both have their advantages. So let’s dive into it.
With traditional publishing, an established publisher takes responsibility for producing and distributing your book. However, finding an agent or publisher can be extremely competitive, and the entire process can take years. You may also be asked to make significant edits to your manuscript, and you won’t necessarily have the final say over things like cover designs.
Self-publishing, on the other hand, gives you much more creative freedom. You can decide when to release your book, how it looks and how it’s presented to readers. However, you’re also responsible for promoting and marketing it yourself. If you’re business-minded and enjoy that side of things, brilliant! You can even hire people to help. But with so much happening on social media nowadays, getting your work noticed can be challenging.
My advice is not to rush the process, whichever route you choose. Take time to edit your manuscript properly. You can also work with beta readers, who read your story before publication and give you feedback. Their comments can help you identify anything that needs improving before you release your finished book.
If you’re interested in traditional publishing, research literary agents and publishers who accept submissions in your genre. Depending on where you’re based, you might explore opportunities in Hong Kong, Australia, the UK or the USA. Be prepared to wait several months for a response, and don’t be disheartened if you receive a rejection. It’s a competitive industry, and a rejection doesn’t automatically mean there’s anything wrong with your writing.
One particularly important piece of advice: be careful of vanity publishers! Some companies may enthusiastically offer to publish your book, only to ask you to pay substantial fees. That can sound incredibly exciting at first, especially when you’ve worked so hard on your manuscript.
With genuine traditional publishing, you should not be expected to pay a publisher to accept and publish your book. The publisher takes on the financial risk and earns money through book sales. Ultimately, whether you choose traditional publishing or self-publishing, remember that getting your story into the world is an achievement in itself. Don’t feel that you have to wait for someone else’s permission to consider yourself a writer! You have a passion, you love to write, or create – poetry, short stories, long form whatever, gosh be proud of yourself. You ARE a creator and nobody can take that away from you.
Good luck! And thank you again for these wonderful questions, I loved answering them! 🙂
Kate
To every student who sent in a question: thank you! Keep reading, keep creating, and above all, keep telling the stories that matter to you. 💚
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