What happens when the Muse Isn’t on Your Side...??
Katelin Cummins (Book Coach and Legend Fiction Mentor) Spills on Her Novel, Faith, and the Secret to Finishing Your Book
Ever fallen in love with an idea so much that it starts to control you? That’s exactly what happens in
’ novel, Bound by Charcoal and Clay—where an aspiring sculptor gets tangled up with a magical (but seriously toxic) muse spirit.She shares here on what makes this story so personal, how her faith keeps her grounded in the creative chaos, and why she actually enjoys coaching writers more than writing itself. Plus she’s got some killer book-planning tricks up her sleeve.
Let’s meet Katelin in this interview!
What is your current WIP about and why does it matter to you?
I'm working on a magical realism novel with the working title Bound by Charcoal and Clay. When an aspiring sculptor falls in love and bonds with a magical but abusive muse spirit, she must either submit to him to realize her dream of success, or destroy her art to attain her freedom.
I have written drafts of other stories, but this is the first one I think might be good enough to publish. This story feels so personal to me, very close to my heart. I’m both terrified and excited to get it out into the world.
I will be querying literary agents this year, so when and how it will be published is still to be determined.
How would you describe your spirituality, the unique way your faith is present to you as you enter more seriously into it?
I love Jesus and I try to put my relationship with him first in my life. When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is pray. I talk to God frequently about how I feel about my writing and what I’m writing about, just like every other part of my life. I feel closest to God in Mass and when sitting silently in an adoration chapel, just absorbing his loving presence.
How do you find time to write, and what is the best time of day for you?
I have more energy and motivation in the morning than any other time of day, so that’s when I like to write. Not the early morning though. I have to be up for at least an hour before I feel ready for the day! When I try to write later in the day, I find excuses to prioritize something else instead, so I know that if I don’t do it in the morning, I won’t do it.
I block one morning hour Monday through Friday to write and do my best to honor it. I try not to look at email or anything else online. Even if something starts to distract me, I put it aside and tell myself I can’t look at it until after my writing time.
I take weekends off because I found that if I wrote every single day, I would get burned out. The break over the weekend refreshes me.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and what did you write about?
I wrote my first story in grade school. It was about a girl who ran away from home and learned to appreciate her family through her misadventures. The next story I remember writing was about a fox who saved her island by finding and helping a creature move a mountain before it erupted. These stories were short and very simple.
But I didn’t decide that I wanted to be a writer until eighth grade. At that time, I started working on an epic fantasy series where my friends and I got super powers and saved the universe from a tyrant who stole power from people and used it to enslave them.
I was very much inspired by Animorphs. :-)
What are your favorite books, movies, games, or other media that inspire you?
There are so many! I’ll name the two that are most on my mind lately.
I love Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere books: the characters, the worldbuilding, and the epic way that the stories are gradually intertwining. While it’s very different from my story ideas, there are parts of it that are similar to things I’ve tried to write without success, and it’s inspiring to see it done in an effective way.
I fell in love with the characters and story of Final Fantasy 7 when I was a teen, and now that the game is being remade and re-imagined into a new rpg trilogy, I’m enjoying it all over again. As someone who has revised and rebooted my own stories, I love thinking about what they changed from the original and why.
Every story I read or watch that moves me emotionally inspires me to write something with that kind of impact.
What types of questions do you ask yourself when planning a new book?
These days, I go straight to Blueprint for a Book by Jennie Nash. It contains a framework for planning your book, from big picture to simple outline. Very helpful!
After that, I will use the novel planning tools developed by K. M. Weiland in Structuring Your Novel and Creating Character Arcs to go deeper with my characters and nail down the major plot points. These books contain a lot of guidelines and prompts to figure out a story.
After I put a story plan together, I like to discuss it with a book coach so I can solve any big issues before I write the first draft.
If you didn’t write, what would you do for a living?
This is kind of a trick question for me. I don’t write for a living. I write on the side, and what I mainly do is edit and coach writers. I’ve always been more of an editor than a writer. The writing part is hard! Coaching writers to meet their goals and complete their stories is so much more rewarding for me, personally.
The only other career I can think of that I might like is being a project manager for a product I believe in. But, actually, that’s part of being a book coach, too!
How can readers discover more about you and your work?
Subscribe to my newsletter Story Notes to stay updated on my creative work and book coaching adventures. Visit my website for more information on my book coaching services.
