How to Interrupt the Natural Order: Kathryn White Offers a Glimpse into the Mind of a Writer

by Amanda on Jan 6th, 2012

Kathryn White has written a guest post for David Chislett’s blog, offering a glimpse into her writing process. During the effort that brought us her new novel, Things I Thought I Knew, White says she found her characters doing unpredictable things, but learned to “let them do what they want”.

White finds interest in the way that tweaking the imaginary world can lead to the a disruption of the “natural order”, creating drama out of a simple detail – “like the lions that roam the streets after Caeser is murdered”:

This morning I dreamt that a friend and I lived in a marble palace in Paris. To get there you had to walk under a canopy of buildings that crowded into a cobbled passage. The marble was smooth to the touch and warm, like only white marble can be. The surfaces were soft and shined. We lived there, but it was open day and so we joined the people who walked around, moving from one magnificent room to the next. In one room I stopped and looked out and saw acres of green lawn and fountains, a pale blue sky above.

I think this might be where my ideas come from. Not a white, marble palace in particular, but a world that is entirely created, without my input. I am serious about the acquisition of thoughts and ideas – I make sure that my brain is constantly fed and stimulated – but once the acquisition has taken place I trust the ideas will melt into my subconscious and un-conscience. Once there, I have no control over the amalgamation process.