Kate Bradley
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A few questions people have asked me...
Q: When did you first realise that you wanted to be a writer?
A: I think I always have – I used to make up stories a lot as a child; when I was seven, I created a village in the wild part of my back garden, a village full of animal characters. I remember when I was 16 or 17 telling a friend I was going to write a book. I got serious about it about 13 years ago after I took an evening course at Sussex University. It’s been a struggle, but I love writing and of course, now I’m thrilled that I never gave up on my dream of having a book published.
Q: Do you plan your entire plot before you start writing or do you like to see where the story takes you as you go?
A: A bit of both. I like to start with a central question – a 'what if?' question that I’d like to see answered myself. I love that moment when ping! The question brings a great idea. I write out ideas and small questions, beginning to shape the central characters. I can’t start proper plotting until I have a clear understanding of my main characters, because I think characters drive plot, not the other way round.
After I have a clear idea of my protagonist, I do plot carefully – particularly the beginning and the end. The bit in the middle I’m happy to leave a mystery…there’s got to be something for me to discover. I like to keep chucking in the ‘what if’s’ into the plot just to keep it interesting for me. I hope that if it’s interesting for me, then it might be for just one other person. That’s how I write it: for me and one other person. I don’t know who that one other person is…you, I hope!
Q: A lot of psychological fiction depends on unexpected twists. As a writer is it a pressure to keep the reader guessing?
A: I think storytelling should always keep a reader guessing. Anything too predictable is at risk of being abandoned – by me, at least. I used to always stay with a book to the grim end, even if I wasn’t enjoying it, but now I’m older, I won’t – there’s too many great stories out there to bother with the ones that aren’t keeping me engaged, keeping me guessing. Personally, I love nothing more than when I am completely engrossed in a good book or a good film – or something I’m writing myself. I think the ‘twist’ is a way of keeping the reader surprised, and although I suppose there’s a certain pressure in making it feasible but not guessable, it’s great fun when I’m writing and I have that ‘Nooooo!!!’I did not know that!’ moment. I try for about three twists, but I only know one when I set out, so I do like discovering one or two along the way.
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
A: First of all, if you’re writing, you’re not aspiring: you’re already doing it.
Fortunately, there are many roads to publication these days. However, I always dreamed of being published by a mainstream publisher. I nearly gave up. I’d been writing for years; I had an agent, lost an agent, had done well in competitions, stopped doing well in competitions. It’s like climbing a mountain where you can’t see the summit. It’s tough not to know if you’re going to make it, but I promise you, the struggle is worth it if you too share that vision. So that’s my advice: don’t give up. It’s common advice from writers, but that’s because it’s good advice.
To finish with, could you tell us where you write?
A: I’m really fortunate, I can write anywhere. It’s just as well – I have a busy life so I have to write where and when I can. A large chunk of TKYS was written by a lake near the French / Swiss border. I have written as a car passenger; propped up against my Aga; sitting up in bed or outside in the garden. My favourite places to write are the same as most people’s: either in coffee shops or by the fire in the evening.