Chatting about Characters and Routines with Kuykendall
Megan Kuykendall is a Georgia author with a passion for paranormal romance and fantasy. She currently resides in North Georgia, in the Canton area, which allows her to indulge in her love for mountains. Kuykendall's primary audience is ages 16 and up.
"My first book was published in 2019. It was The Amber Chronicles," stated Kuykendall. "It was more or less so my friends and family could see it."
Kuykendall's passion for stories with magical elements influenced her writing. When she started writing, she wrote the books she wanted to read. Her stories ended up having many magical elements and fantastical creations in them. She explained, "I have always loved myths, lore, and history, so my mind pushed my stories in that direction. I love adding a touch of magic to everything I write. I tried a few times to write contemporary romance and let's just say it wasn't pretty."
Over the past three years, Kuykendall has set a goal to craft a career out of writing. "I have been working toward a career in writing for the last three years or so. I write whenever I can find a spare moment. So, breaks at work (you would be amazed at how much you can write in fifteen minutes), a few hours on my days off, and an hour or so each night before bed," she remarked.
Writing routines are important for all writers, whether they are rookies or veterans. To get the most out of your writing sessions you have to write when and where you find inspiration. Kuykendall says that when it comes time to write, the setting she's in physically helps influence her.
"When I'm writing something new and just putting out my ideas on paper, I love writing at a restaurant or library. I need that background noise to get my mind in the right place. I guess it comes from writing so much at work. My brain is just wired that way now," explained Kuykendall. "When I need to edit or type in a ton of stuff, I love my office at home. It's small but cozy and quiet."
There are a variety of writing programs and apps available for writers to utilize. Many newer authors prefer Google Docs, while seasoned authors may fall back on the resources they used in their youth, such as Microsoft Word and notebooks. Kuykendall is a fan of notebooks. She remarked, "I write everything in a notebook first. I am old fashion that way."
Writing your story in a notebook first and then typing it into a document acts as a form of editing. The notebook is your first draft and the original document becomes your second.
Story crafting is an art. It takes practice, time, and patience. Writers have parts of the process that they love and parts they hate. Kuykendall loves creating new worlds, but she doesn't like having to step out of them when the story ends.
"The start of the story is my favorite," she explained. "I love creating new characters and worlds. I will have notes and character sheets for days, then before I know it the first few scenes of my book are already written. My least favorite part is writing the ending. I know what needs to happen but I guess it's my way of protecting my babies just a little while longer. They aren't ready for the big bad world out there yet. Then, one day, it just clicks and I breeze through and send them on their way to my wonderful editor."
When asked which of her characters was her favorite, Kuykendall laughed and replied, "Now that is the hardest question. I love all my characters, even the bad guys. I guess if I had to choose one it would be Spence. He is one of my main characters in the War of the Fae series. He is an older fae that is like a mentor to Hector and his team. He is one of the few fae who remember the old magics. Anyway, he is crank and sarcastic. A true force to be reckoned with if you go after his family. Oh, and he decided all on his own to fall in love with the very mortal Dr. Bradley Adamson. Although he won't tell the good Dr. because, well, even old fae are a little insecure sometimes."
I have not read Kuykendall's War of the Fae series, but I have read many of her other works. Recently I've read The Golden Clover and A Cupid Christmas.
The Golden Clover is a story about grief. In it, Kuykendall takes paranormal and urban fantasy elements, mixes them with a St. Patrick's twist, and uses them to explore how hard it can be to move past the death of a loved one. I cried. It was so good and the Leprechaun had a unique vibe to him. He wasn't your stereotypical leprechaun but was modernized.
This story is all about love in all its forms. It talks about the love of friends, lust, the love of parents, soulmates, and more. It's a wonderful romance to read during the winter months.
Character crafting and development aren't something she takes lightly. She pays attention to the little details and creates realistic interactions between characters.
I asked Kuykendall how she goes about creating her characters and she told me, "Most of the time I just sit down and decided on a name then start filling in the blanks. What they look like, personality quirks, what they own, and any weapons or skills they might have. That kind of thing. I have book bibles for all my projects so their character sheets grow with the characters."
"I mostly wing things when I write," Kuykendall laughed. "I have an idea and just see where it takes me. I tried to outline a story one time and the character just laughed and on threw a huge hissy fit in my head then did what they wanted anyway. The story was nothing like the outline by the time I was done, so no more outlines for me."
Kuykendall's style of writing is what's referred to as a pantser. Pantsers don't plot or outline their books. They let the story and characters lead them. Plotters, on the other hand, outline everything.
To new and young writers, Kuykendall says, "My only advice is to be true to you and your writings. I know some say write to what's hot, what the masses want, but trust me, your writing will be so much better if you write what is in your heart. Follow your muses and your reading tribe will find you and love you because you write what connects with them."
If you would like to connect with Kuykendall, you can find her here:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MeganKuykendall1
Twitter:
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/megan_kuykendall1/
Amazon Author page:
https://www.amazon.com/author/megankuyendall
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