In this interview she shares why she decided to write this story, gives advice to aspiring writers, and more.
1. How did you choose the genre you write in?
I haven’t chosen a specific one. When I get a story idea, I write the story, with no regard for what genre it is in.
2. Where do you get your ideas?
I like to take everyday life situations and see how I can make interesting fictions out of them.
3. Why did you feel you had to tell this story?
I chose to tell The Omission story because I wanted to focus on gay parentage from the perspective of a child who is not happy with having a parent who is gay.
4. Is your book based on real life experiences or all pure imagination?
My story is based primarily on imagination. All of my characters are people that I made up.
Writer’s block is not a problem for me. I have several more long stories like The Omission and some novellas and novels that I am carving out the time to finish. I have no workspace left for a writer’s block.
6. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Don’t be afraid to seek out and accept criticism. Test your book on both writing professionals and those everyday professionals called readers. Learn to weigh criticism for what it’s worth. Writers might think that they can’t do this. But in reality, we can. When someone makes certain comments about our stories, we usually have that inward response—though sometimes delayed—that urges us to consider what is being said before rejecting it or being angry about it.
7. What advice would you give writers on the publishing process?
I advise writers not to allow the absence of being traditionally published to keep them from sharing their writing. In addition, when they choose to self-publish, they want to make sure that their book is properly copy- and content-edited. They should be certain of that before they spend lots of money on printing copies of it. In fact, I would suggest creating an e-book first. They can use it as a test to see what kind of feedback they get. With a digital book, it’s much easier to fix errors in grammar, plot, characters, or anything else. A writer, pretty much, just needs to get whatever is wrong, right and then upload the book again.
8. Is there a particular author that influenced you while growing up or as an adult?
No, there isn’t a particular one. I like to study the writing methods and daring of many different successful writers. I take from their techniques what feels natural for my own style and go with that.
9. How does your writing process look? (Consistent with regular amounts of word counts daily/weekly, or more sporadic with a gush of words all at once and then you abandon it for a while?)
Usually, my writing process involves having a story in my mind and writing every day until I get it all down on paper in the form of a first draft. After that first draft, I start editing the story. I keep editing it until I feel like it’s at that place where I need to put it away for a while or I need to have someone else take a look at it.
10. Do you prefer to write in a quiet room, or do you need noise to keep your creative juices flowing?
I’m fortunate in that once I have a storyline I’m driven to write down, it’s unimportant to me whether the room is quiet or noisy.
11. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I think I shall face my greatest challenges when I decide to finish my novels.
12. Have you ever gone out in public with your shirt on backwards, or your slippers on, and when realizing it, just said screw it?
Hmmm. Do people still wear those kinds of slippers? And I’m certain that shirts on backwards and blouses inside out are their own fashion statements.
13. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I sing and record Christian music, and I love doing that. Also, I enjoy watching certain kinds of movies and listening to audiobooks.
Some of my audiobook reviews are:
The Casual Vacancy: (http://casualvacancybookreview.com/audio-book-review/)Fifty Shades of Grey: (http://fiftyshadesgreyreview.com/50-shades-of-grey-audiobook-review/)
Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man: (http://www.ralphellisoninvisiblemanaudiobook.com/)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kathy Golden has written stories, poems, and songs since childhood. She studied Creative Writing at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She is presently completing another long story and a collection of short stories. She has recorded three Christian songs, the most recent of which is her own arrangement of "Amazing Grace, How Sweet The Sound!"
The Omission is her first published work.
FOR MORE INFO: Website: www.theomissionstory.com
BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/QkqDdY
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/SSPYO6
