tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post8777419146576041379..comments2023-06-14T11:37:41.706+01:00Comments on Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact: Kate Long Blog TourHelenMWaltershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16182100572365505905noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-23657136116999767722010-02-26T19:34:12.208+00:002010-02-26T19:34:12.208+00:00Brilliant! I once read an article about dieting, a...Brilliant! I once read an article about dieting, and how even cutting out a single mid-morning biscuit can lose you a stone in a year (or something). It's the same sort of principle. :-)Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-86090461174627007572010-02-26T19:31:42.324+00:002010-02-26T19:31:42.324+00:00Hi kate
Thank you for the advice about writing a l...Hi kate<br />Thank you for the advice about writing a little every day, even if it's just 50 words. I've been in a slump for ages as I have almost zero free time due to working fulltime and studying but I miss writing a lot. I've decided to try for 20 words a day and see where I go from there.DJ Kirkbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08481107164497582398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-90488255280165589812010-02-26T13:55:49.085+00:002010-02-26T13:55:49.085+00:00Thanks for your answer Kate, and for such a great ...Thanks for your answer Kate, and for such a great interview Helen.Deborah Carr (Debs)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03223653554549707595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-39482078903377255032010-02-25T00:48:01.855+00:002010-02-25T00:48:01.855+00:00Wow! That new novel sounds brilliant!Wow! That new novel sounds brilliant!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02591413042967320059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-61427402721852619702010-02-24T08:43:55.024+00:002010-02-24T08:43:55.024+00:00I love the sound of that new novel, Kate.I love the sound of that new novel, Kate.Quillershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00148636009202550512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-23602301986595307672010-02-24T08:01:29.474+00:002010-02-24T08:01:29.474+00:00You're very kind.
As you know, I'm always...You're very kind.<br /><br />As you know, I'm always interested in what constitutes a family - that's the question 'Swallowing Grandma' ends with. And in these days of second and even third marriages, there are now thousands of children growing up under the roof of parents other than birth parents, shuttling between households, and getting on with it OK. Modern family units are more complex than they've ever been, I suspect.<br /><br />It's also fascinating for me to investigate the changes that have happened within the formal adoption process. The team of social workers at Shrewsbury Council were brilliant with me and spent hours talking about how procedure had changed over the past few decades.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-87670093944366247542010-02-23T21:21:17.299+00:002010-02-23T21:21:17.299+00:00Ooh, I will look forward to that one then. I would...Ooh, I will look forward to that one then. I would hazard a guess that no one could tackle that issue in a novel quite as well as you will.Kath McGurlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02526923882402757423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-75808741426245902912010-02-23T19:05:56.773+00:002010-02-23T19:05:56.773+00:00Oh, and I'm not sure when it'll be out. Th...Oh, and I'm not sure when it'll be out. This time next year, I'm guessing.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-50547040495960000462010-02-23T19:04:45.304+00:002010-02-23T19:04:45.304+00:00That's nice to hear, womagwriter!
I'm 62,...That's nice to hear, womagwriter!<br /><br />I'm 62,000 words into my next book, which follows the fortunes of a woman in her early twenties with two mothers - the one who adopted her, and the birth mother she contacted when she turned 18. All three exist in an uneasy truce, but the experience seems to have frozen our heroine into a permanent adolescence so that she's unable to leave home or pursue the job she really wants.<br /><br />I suppose what I'm looking at through the story is who supports whom, and when is it best to step away and let someone fend for themselves.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-871043638260884262010-02-23T18:49:34.253+00:002010-02-23T18:49:34.253+00:00Great discussion, all, I'm really enjoying rea...Great discussion, all, I'm really enjoying reading this. <br /><br />Kate, my question for you is, what's your next novel about and when's it coming out? I've just about finished AMGTC even though I've been trying to make it last!Kath McGurlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02526923882402757423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-3131420285737500062010-02-23T14:18:43.405+00:002010-02-23T14:18:43.405+00:00Fantastic interview - can't wait to read the b...Fantastic interview - can't wait to read the book.Suzanne Ross Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08561888635304578484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-35309086261695968682010-02-23T08:08:52.492+00:002010-02-23T08:08:52.492+00:00Hi Calistro! Congratulations on your novel. I saw ...Hi Calistro! Congratulations on your novel. I saw it reviewed in a magazine and it looked great.<br /> <br />To answer your question, I go back to what I said to Antonia: I try to silence the doubts by writing over the top of them. Sheer weight of writing squashes panic, for me, so I rarely take days off and I try and stick to a given daily word count and also make sure I have what's coming up in the novel carefully planned out. (Not, I know, that everyone works to plans.)<br /><br />I sometimes have an image of myself walking through a heavy storm with my coat collar up and my hat pulled right down, just concentrating on moving forward one step at a time. Not that the writing itself is a battle; it's just the noises off I have to contend with.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-68612253638133908312010-02-23T00:23:29.297+00:002010-02-23T00:23:29.297+00:00I had my debut novel published in October 2009 and...I had my debut novel published in October 2009 and really struggled writing the second one because I was worried about living up to my agent's/publisher's/reader's expectations. Obviously the more novels you publish the more that kind of pressure builds (in your own head if nowhere else) and I'd like to know how Kate deals with it?CL Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04650291635298634215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-91359904446355037162010-02-22T20:40:08.043+00:002010-02-22T20:40:08.043+00:00It's hard for me to sum up what I think about ...It's hard for me to sum up what I think about writing forums as so much depends on the requirements of the individual writer, and also on the nature of the forum.<br /><br />I met some terrific people on Get Writing who are still dear friends, and on Write Words, a forum I joined later on, I met more lovely people and had some excellent feedback.<br /><br />But there are two major caveats regarding internet writing forums. The first is that some forums can be places of quite robust discussion, which doesn't always suit some people and might put some beginners off. <br /><br />And secondly, I think you need to go very carefully with forum feedback - try to develop a firm sense for yourself of what you're trying to achieve, and where your strengths and weaknesses lie, before inviting lots of others in to comment. Then, when other forum members submit their criticisms, you're in a better position to weed out what's right for you and what's not so appropriate. <br /><br />In my development as a writer, that sense of my own work came mainly from reading, and from discussing pieces with just one or two friends (such as the man who became my first agent).Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-70946127279095394922010-02-22T20:25:45.406+00:002010-02-22T20:25:45.406+00:00Debs, I lose count. It's an ongoing process, t...Debs, I lose count. It's an ongoing process, the re-writing. Then after the first draft, I go back and attend to all the sections and threads I know need work - I make notes on these as I go along so I don't forget. Then I do a fairly major re-write that addresses structural areas. Then, when that's completed, I start with the fine-tuning, and I'll do any number of those finer drafts.<br /><br />Then I submit the ms, and my editor's comments arrive and I start the whole process again!Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-24028020141084171512010-02-22T20:12:35.738+00:002010-02-22T20:12:35.738+00:00I think you're right, Antonia, about needing t...I think you're right, Antonia, about needing to feel that niggle of insecurity as a kind of incentive to try for our best.<br /><br />And yes, you can have the most honest comments in the world, but if they're coming from someone who doesn't get your genre or style, then they're probably worthless. I always come back to Alexander Pope, who says the perfect critic will 'judge each work of wit in the same spirit that its author writ'.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-15552396728281376112010-02-22T19:16:08.104+00:002010-02-22T19:16:08.104+00:00Another great interview!
The question I'd li...Another great interview! <br /><br />The question I'd like to ask Kate is about about writing forums. I know you started out on the former Get Writing site Kate. I wondered if you feel these forums are for beginners only, if they can be offputting as well and encouraging and if in the long term if they outlive their usefulness? Thank you in advance.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10463619831559829002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-65550159422121121612010-02-22T19:13:32.596+00:002010-02-22T19:13:32.596+00:00Thanks for the great interview.
I was wondering h...Thanks for the great interview.<br /><br />I was wondering how many drafts you do of each book? Or is every book different?Deborah Carr (Debs)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03223653554549707595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-62054503377120668312010-02-22T19:08:54.314+00:002010-02-22T19:08:54.314+00:00Thanks for your answer, Kate. Perhaps we need that...Thanks for your answer, Kate. Perhaps we need that feeling to some extent, to keep us on our toes!<br /><br />I so get what you mean about critics having the ability to understand. Some of the comments I've had recently have been dire.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02591413042967320059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-11404499790580443392010-02-22T16:45:28.922+00:002010-02-22T16:45:28.922+00:00I don't think 'kindness' or 'bruta...I don't think 'kindness' or 'brutality' is necessarily the issue, really; more whether your critic has the ability to understand the way the book's meant to work. If you see what I mean.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-1956682360374781262010-02-22T16:33:13.206+00:002010-02-22T16:33:13.206+00:00Thank you for the reply, Kate.
I asked a friend ...Thank you for the reply, Kate. <br /><br />I asked a friend who reads a lot to look over my ms and she was very thorough and made some useful points. She wasn't 'kind' an an anodyne way, but I think someone less close may have been a little more brutal and I think that's what it needed.<br /><br />I will bear your comments in mind if I ever reach that stage again!Sherrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18288574214855156268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-30999616605625994922010-02-22T14:11:54.921+00:002010-02-22T14:11:54.921+00:00I think that's a good point, Kate. As you know...I think that's a good point, Kate. As you know I suffer from a few aches and pains myself, and it can make the difference between a good writing day and a bad writing day.Quillershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00148636009202550512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-72408873031017639862010-02-22T14:02:09.133+00:002010-02-22T14:02:09.133+00:00Antonia, it's a nagging fear of mine that neve...Antonia, it's a nagging fear of mine that never entirely goes away. I squash it by sheer weight of writing - not taking much of a break between novels, not worrying too much if a scene won't come right but moving on to the next, getting on and starting that difficult article in the hope it comes right as I go.<br /><br />I think if I ever took a sabbatical - months off without picking up a pen or going near a computer - I might well lose my nerve.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-89055411473988999722010-02-22T13:56:18.199+00:002010-02-22T13:56:18.199+00:00Sally: it's terribly mundane, but I wish I'...Sally: it's terribly mundane, but I wish I'd looked after my back properly, because I now have a lot of trouble with my neck and arm and that limits how much time I can spend at the computer. Today I use a padded cushion that rests in the small of my back and makes me sit more upright - I got it from a sports physio, and it really does help.<br /><br />So if you're beginning to get twinges at the keyboard, I'd strongly urge you to address the situation immediately through exercises, posture, setting time limits for your working hours etc. If you don't, you could end up with permanent damage!Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945799624579106916.post-77504721860584595942010-02-22T13:50:55.220+00:002010-02-22T13:50:55.220+00:00Fabulous interview. Can't wait to read the new...Fabulous interview. Can't wait to read the new novel.<br /><br />My question is: Do you still get the early-days feeling that a lot of us writers get, that you simply can't do it??Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02591413042967320059noreply@blogger.com