Nanowrimo Spotlight #1: Kay Proctor

Well, thank you very much to everybody who’s expressed an interest, and the Nanowrimo Spotlight series starts today! I’m hoping to run until November 30th, with as many as three spotlights going up per week, so there’s still plenty of room for other wrimo writers to sign up and get their interviews. First place in line goes to Kay Proctor, who’s also a fellow Six Sentence Sunday-er.

What’s the most unusual part of your writing process?
This is a difficult question for me to answer because I’m not very clear on what the “usual” parts should be. What is the norm for writer, anyway? But if I had to pick something, it probably stems from my love for concept albums and rock operas. I’ve found I have a tendency to find ideas for stories while listening to music. The series I’m writing now was partly inspired by one of my favorite CDs, and it isn’t the first time that’s happened.

Another place where I find a lot of my ideas are in dreams, especially the surreal, out-there elements in them.

Where are your backup files?
I work out of Google Drive. There’sa shortcut you can download to your PC, and an Android app that’ll give you instant access to anything you store in there. Not only does that mean I have an instant backup, I can work on my draft no matter where I am.

What advice would you give to all your fellow Wrimos?
You’re probably going to hear a lot of people give you advice on how you should start NaNo. Some will tell you that planning is key, that you should plot out every detail so that when you’re in the weeds on November 12th, you’re not struggling to remember what you should write next. Some will tell you to avoid planning at all costs, that doing so will set you up for failure because your mind will change in the middle of the month and you’ll get discouraged. I fell prey to one of these ideas when I first started in 2008, and decided to go the whole month by the seat of my pants. It just didn’t work for me. My advice to you would be not to listen to what others tell you you should do, and figure out what works for you in your writing process. Planning tends to work better for me, but you may want to go about things differently.

Sneaky Ninja Question! What social class, if any, are you a part of?
The middle class, I suppose. But I still live at home because I can’t afford my own place, and am working to pay off my student loans while switching careers in the process.

My pen name is Kay Proctor, and here is my blog: http://kayproctor.blogspot.com/
I also run a food/opinion blog as The Bitter Baker: http://bitter-baker.blogspot.com/
I also have a twitter account: @CaffeineMondays.

Thanks for stepping into the spotlight, Kay!