This week's Writer Interview is with the talented Kate Gilby.

Our series of writer interviews is intended to show the wide variety of work involved in being a writer, as well as the highs and lows of the writing life.  I also hope that these interviews will help to dispel many of the preconceptions and myths that some new writers hold, only to have lead to disappointment later when reality hits home.

What is your primary type of writing? (sci fi novels, articles, legal papers, poetry)

I dabble in short fiction - horror with a historical slant and comedy - but my paid work is mostly articles and creative non-fiction. I also so some ad/marketing copywriting but have been scaling back on that to concentrate on writing under my own name.

 

Is writing your primary source of income?

Writing and editing, I'm also branching out into publishing. It can be a strange way to make a living, and it's one that is hard to explain to people with more conventional jobs who don't understand why anyone would give up the security of a guaranteed income, paid holidays and sick leave. I suppose they have a point, but the idea of working from 9-5 in an office with a boss breathing down my neck still fills me with horror.

 

What is your biggest day to day challenge as a writer?

The curse of the blank page is probably my biggest writing challenge, but I find the non-writing aspects of being a freelance writer particularly tricky. Jobs such as accounts or marketing are pretty tedious and I find I put them off for as long as possible – which really makes things worse.

 

When did you start writing?

I've always written in one form or another. I had a poem published in our local newspaper when I was seven, and I can remember writing from pretty much the time I first learnt to form sentences. Back then, I wrote dreadful poetry, short stories about people rescuing cats from trees and, oddly, reviews of friends' birthday parties. I didn't take writing seriously until I was in my late '20s though, that's when I first decided I wanted to pursue a career as a writer.

 

Why do you love writing?

I'm not sure I do. I sometimes joke that writing is more akin to a strange compulsion than something I genuinely love. I do love words, and find etymology fascinating, but I have mixed feelings about the writing process. There is an enormous sense of satisfaction when I finish a piece, and that's even greater when that work is published, but getting to that point is sometimes painful and not particularly enjoyable. Saying that, there are the other times when the words flow and the piece just seems to write itself – on those days I do love writing.

 

You can find out more about Kate at her website,  http://kategilby.co.uk

Check in later this week for Part Two and more Wise Writing Words from Kate.

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