Christine Hart | Special Guest Judge |
Vampire Chapter
Biography
Christine Hart is a copywriter, metalsmith, and mother who
writes speculative fiction. Her debut YA, Watching July, won a gold medal from
the Moonbeam Children's awards and an honorable mention from the Sunburst
Awards. Christine’s backlist includes YA, NA, and MG titles.
BAM: Where are you located?
Christine: Langley, BC, Canada
BAM: Where’s your writing space?
Christine: Home, kitchen, living room, basement
BAM: Who’s your favorite author?
Christine: My favorite author is Neil Gaiman and of
his work, American Gods still has my heart. I love the idea that human belief
could bring a god to life.
BAM: Have been meaning to read that book. Do you have any favorite artists?
Christine: For visual artists, my top pick is a tie
between L.S. Lowry and Roger Dean. Because I love the urban, industrial grit of
Lowry’s work. And the pure fantasy of Dean’s images brings surreal worlds to
life.
BAM: Hear you. Okay, before we get into writing, when you think of islands and beaches, what
comes to mind?
Christine: My favorite beach is Jungmun on Jeju
Island in South Korea. It’s the best combination of natural beauty,
accessibility, and enjoyability (for a lack of crowds) in my travel experience.
BAM: South Korea has nice beaches. All right. Time for writer questions. Who do you write to when you picture your reader, or who is your target audience?
Christine: In my latest endeavor – mini books that
accompany wearable art – my audience is primarily women. Each story features a
protagonist at some stage of the maiden, mother, crone cycle. I draw on
personal experiences and I borrow pieces of the many wonderful women in my
life.
BAM: Great way to world build. Next question. How do you handle story rejection, and celebrate
acceptance?
Christine: I
try to normalize rejection as much as possible. I remind myself that most
answers in the creative world are “no, thank you,” and I recover by finding a
new market to try. I celebrate acceptances by sharing with a writer friend
whenever possible.
BAM: Great idea to share with other writers to also motivate them to try. Tell me about your story outline process.
Christine: My outlines (usually just for novels) tend
to start broad and drill down as I develop each chapter. I’ll often start
writing before an outline is fully flushed out, just to keep things moving
forward if I don’t know exactly how everything works out in the beginning.
BAM: Sounds hopeful. What do you do about writer's block, though?
Christine: I think the idea of writer’s
block is a funny thing. I treat writing fiction the way I handle web copy,
blogging, fabricating metalwork, cooking, cleaning, or driving my kids around;
it’s my job and needs to get done. When I have creative time carved out, I sit
down at my desk or bench and tap things until I make something. In my corporate
desk job days, I would never sit in an office not doing my assignment. Fiction
can work the same way; make words come out and fix them later. Stories are
never perfect the first time anyway.
Read more of Christine's advice in the Craft of Writing Chapter in 42 Stories Anthology Presents Book of 42² and go to her website to see her where you can find her other works: