The Writing Process and Christopher Kastensmidt

[cathschaffstump]

One of my favorite writers is Nebula-nominated Chris Kastensmidt. Chris has been a good friend over the years. He's the person that motivated me to go to Viable Paradise, and he writes historical fantasy. We both published at Cats Curious back in the day. Obviously, we have a bit in common. I would really like you to get fired up about his work and seek it out. Thanks, Chris, for answering a few questions!

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Tamago: Do you have a regular drafting process, or does your drafting process vary from book to book. Can you describe it to us generally, or at least for one project?

Chris: My process is pretty standard for all my writing projects. First comes the idea: it may be the start of a story, or the end, or the whole thing all at once. I'll write down whatever comes into my head, then set it aside to let it simmer. In some cases, I never go back to that idea, which means it probably wasn't worth a whole lot in the first place. In other cases, the idea will stick in my head, and, piecemeal, the scenes will start taking form in my imagination. Every time I picture something new, I'll go back to my notes and drop it in. Once the story starts taking place, I’ll sit down and make sure everything is in the right place, filling in gaps where I need to. That leaves me with a complete outline. Only then, after everything is in place, start to finish, is when I finally start writing the story.

At that point, the actual writing is fast. I usually write five to ten thousand words per day. So, in the end, I might spend a day or two writing out a story which I spent a year piecing together. It is a long process, not for the impatient, but it tends to give me solid results. I always know I have a complete story before I write it.

Tamago: Since you are writing historical fantasy, I know that you research a great deal to get the feeling right in your story? When is research a step in your writing process?

Chris: The research, besides providing detail, is also an integral part of piecing together the story. Research often helps me invent the individual scenes. For example, I was recently researching the city of Olinda in the late sixteenth century for my latest novel. I discovered that poetry competitions called outeiros were a popular form of entertainment at the time. That tiny detail inspired what, to me, became one of the more memorable scenes in the novel.

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Mirrored from Writer Tamago.