Write Now with Katie Bernet
Today's Write Now interview features Katie Bernet, author of BETH IS DEAD.
Who are you?
Hi 👋 My name is Katie Bernet, and I’m an author living in Dallas, TX. After an eleven-year career as a copywriter and creative director in advertising, I recently made the leap to being a full-time author, and I’m absolutely loving it.
What do you write?
My debut novel, Beth Is Dead, is a modern retelling of Little Women as a young adult mystery/thriller. It wasn’t my first manuscript (lucky number six!), but it was my first mystery/thriller, and now I’m hooked on the genre. When I first started writing, I spent so much time focusing on themes and prose, but writing a mystery forced me to focus on telling a story—tugging the reader to the next page. It’s been so helpful and so much fun.
Where do you write?
On a perfect day, I’m writing at home with a candle, a cup of peppermint tea, and a pair of cozy socks. But I also love meeting up with my friends from the DFW Writers’ Workshop, a local writer’s group where I’ve been a member for more than a decade.
When do you write?
For many years, I wrote in the margins of my life—mostly in the morning before starting my full-time job. That taught me to be very disciplined with my writing, so I rarely go a day without putting words on the page. Now, I’m very grateful to be writing full-time, and I’m able to accomplish so much more. I set word-count goals based on where I am in the writing process, and if I hit my goal for the day, I move onto other things like editing, plotting, or dreaming up new ideas.
Why do you write?
I actually tried to quit writing once. I’d been through a lot of rejection, I was struggling to balance writing with my full-time job, and I finally said, “To heck with it.” That only lasted a couple months. I couldn’t ignore the desire to create. But the pause helped me realize that I enjoy the process of writing. I’m motivated by the challenge, the discovery, and the little lightbulbs that go off every day.
How do you overcome writer's block?
For me, it helps to identify the problem and make it smaller. A lot of the time, my writer’s block stems from thinking too broadly. I stall out because I’m trying to solve the whole book at once, but if I focus on what this character needs at this moment, I can always get the wheels turning again.
Bonus: What do you enjoy doing when not writing?
If my sisters are free, we’re hanging out. If they’re not, I love gardening, true crime podcasts, reality TV (anyone else obsessed with “Below Deck”?) and cooking—but not baking. I can’t stand following recipes.
My thanks to Katie Bernet for today's interview.
