Katy Haye is here today, to exlain where – and how she writes.
Hi Georgia, thank you for inviting me to chat about where I write. Most of the time I write in what I grandly call “the music room.” It’s actually a closed-off lobby next to the stairs containing a piano and two flutes, along with a bookcase containing my writing and research books and my computer desk.
You won’t believe it, but when this picture was taken I’d recently had a clear-up of my desk. I look with envious bewilderment at writers who manage to keep their writing space clear of clutter. I’ve never managed it, but since I’d always rather write a paragraph than tidy up I’ve long since faced the fact that seeing the surface of my desk will always be a rare treat.
I never have a tidy desk either, Katy! I’m maintaining it’s a sign of a creative mind …
The most important thing in my writing space (aside from my PC; I’d die if someone told me I’d have to write an entire novel longhand in pen), is my whiteboard. This is where my plotting comes together into a real, live story. At the moment it has key scenes noted for two books scribbled across it – one I’m just coming to the end of revisions for. And the other I’m putting final touches to before I launch into writing the first draft. You can also detect here my love of Post-Its for plotting. The Last Gatekeeper was written before I got my whiteboard, and that took shape as a series of Post-It notes on the solid floor of a friend’s house.
You may also be able to make out a couple of notebooks on the desk – that’s my other writing must-have. Before I get to the Post-It note/whiteboard stage I’ll have spent a long time making notes of ideas, snatches of dialogue and character traits so I don’t forget them when it comes to the writing stage.
I’m always fascinated by how people write.
I’m a little surprised that the one thing you can’t see on the picture is a cup of tea. Or, rather, half a cup of tea. Green tea is my writing fuel, but I usually drink half, get distracted so the other half goes cold, and have to start off again. If I’m writing all day I can very easily drink seven or eight half-cups of tea without ever drinking a whole one!
Here’s a little more info about our guest:
Katy Haye spends as much time as possible in either her own or someone else’s imaginary worlds. She has a fearsome green tea habit, a partiality for dark chocolate brazils and a fascination with the science of storytelling.
When not lost in a good book, Katy may be found on her allotment growing vegetables and keeping hens in order to maximise her chances of survival in the event of a zombie apocalypse or similar catastrophe (well, she does have a very vivid imagination).
And here’s the blurb about the book. Sounds amazing. I love the name Zanzibar MacKenzie!
The Last Gatekeeper
Zan knows she’s different. Today she discovers why …
Zanzibar MacKenzie knows she’s a freak. She has EHS – electrical hypersensitivity – which leaves her trying to live a Stone Age life in the twenty-first century: no internet, no phone, no point really. Then Thanriel knocks on her door and the dull summer holiday becomes maybe too exciting. Zan discovers fairies and angels are real beings from other planets, she herself is half alien, and the future of life on Earth rests on her shoulders.
You can buy a copy of The Last Gatekeeper via Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1503007847
Or, you can download an ecopy for FREE by signing up to Katy’s Reader Group at:
http://katyhaye.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=85348a7d9138855c529bf88ca&id=2d0e30d9f9
You can also check out Katy’s video of How to Become a Writer at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o03uWBH7bBE
Thank you so much for joining us today, Katy!
