Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.
Today’s guest for the WHAT is Kat Ellis, a young adult author from North Wales. She writes creepy thrillers, including Harrow Lake, coming this summer from Penguin Random House Children’s. When she’s not writing, Kat can usually be found adventuring in ruined castles and cemeteries, taking photos of weird and wonderful things to inspire her writing.
Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?
My love of horror movies is definitely where Harrow Lake sprang from. There are quite a few horror movie references throughout the book, and the story takes place in a town which was used as the set for a horror movie some 20 years ago called Nightjar. But Harrow Lake underwent several massive changes while I was drafting, and it’s only as I look back that I realize the first draft was actually really close to the plot of Nightjar. I guess it’s true that no writing is ever wasted! (That is a lie. I have reams of old drafts that’ll never see the light of day.)
Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?
I tend to write in layers — I start with the setting before building even a skeletal plot or having any vague inkling of the characters, and then I begin to populate it. I come up with my backdrop, figure out the key markers of the setting (things like the Bone Tree in Harrow Lake where kids hang their lost teeth so the monster won’t get them), then I decide what kind of people would inhabit this place and what they might get up to. The skeleton of the plot tends to come together in the first draft for me, and I flesh it out by going over and over it, adding more layers.
Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?
Always. I like figuring out stories as if they’re puzzles, and sometimes it’s hard to see what piece fits where until you’re right in the thick of it. Other times I’ll come up with an interesting character quirk or some new motivation which sends the plot off in an unexpected direction. It’s what I enjoy most about first-drafting (except when I’m on a tight deadline, UGH. Then unruly plots and characters can just get in the bin.)
Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?
Usually, I have 3 or 4 loose story ideas in my head at any one time. Sometimes two of them might merge together. That happened with Harrow Lake, as the original plot merged into the backstory of Nightjar. It also happened with my last novel, Purge, which ended up as a twisty dual narrative that came together pretty neatly (if I do say so myself!) I’ll also happily cannibalize story elements from unfinished projects if I think they’ll work within another story setting.
How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?
In the past, that has depended entirely on which story was calling to me most strongly. Now I decide that together with my editors. I definitely prefer having their input!
I have 8 cats and 1 Dalmatian puppy (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?
5?! That is serious goals. I have 2 cats: Cricket has a designated (fleece-lined) desk drawer to sleep in while I work, and Pilot prefers a cardboard box on the floor next to me. Both are ridiculous, but I wouldn’t be without them.
