Kat Brokaw
Horror Fiction Writer


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How to Live Like a Writer in 5 Easy Steps


  1. You should read.
    Read grammar books for fun. Read fiction in a different genre. Read magazines about writing and publishing. Read book reviews to find other things you might like to read.

  2. You should write.
    Set an every day goal for writing, pages or time; but don't beat yourself up if you don't make it, just try again the next day. Keep record of your progress; it may expose trends in your writing cycles and allow you to gauge realistic deadlines.

  3. You should prioritize.
    Find a happy medium between writing and other obligations like cleaning and family. If it ain't on fire or screaming, it can wait a half an hour while you whip out one more page.

  4. You should edit.
    Finishing draft one is a huge step, but draft one is not done. Draft five may not even be done. Go to a critique group; get comments from trusted friends; grab a red pen and be ruthless.

  5. You should submit.
    Sure, you'll probably be rejected at first; but what if you're not? It's not going to get published sitting on your desk. Besides, publishing is only a part of being a writer.




Got a question you want to ask? Go ahead! Ask me!


What is the hardest or easiest part of writing fiction?
R.G. - Grand Ledge, Michigan

The answer to both is writing. I spend most of my day talking, reading, thinking, dreaming about writing. But I have to force myself to remember to actually sit down and write. I can think of a thousand things I have to do "real quick" before I sit down to write. But, when I make myself connect behind to chair and get my fingers on the keyboard, there is nothing more natural. There is no greater moment of freedom. And I am always amazed, at that moment, that I hadn't thought of doing this before! Pretty much every author who ever wrote even a paragraph of "to do" about writing has said that you have to do it every day. To set a deadline, a time limit, a minimum number of pages. As a young author I poo-pooed their advice; declaring that the artistic process cannot be dictated to or so constrained. Now I dictate to my artistic self. Butt in the chair for at least an hour or three pages. But feel free to find your own mandates.



Where do you get the names for your characters?
A.W. - Madison, Wisconsin

You're going to hate this answer, but it depends. Sometimes the characters come to mind complete with name and history. Sometimes it's just a voice and I have to find the name. This can mean historical or current name research. Sometimes on-line and sometimes with a good old fashioned baby-name book. I have a great book from Writer's Digest that separates names by ancestral groups (Spanish and French and Greek, etc). One thing I do when I'm coming up with my cast of characters is write the alphabet on a separate sheet, and cross out letters as I pick names. An X for a major character and a / for a minor character. That way I don't end up with too many J- names.






Unless otherwise noted, all text on this site is the original work of Kat Brokaw and protected by copyright law.
Original background art “What Scares You” © 2010 Kaide Brokaw. Thank you.