Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katie O’rourke. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Katie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I’ve been writing since I was a kid. At first, I didn’t know this was unusual. I also didn’t realize until the end of high school that not everyone was doing the assigned reading. I read everything, and I liked most of it. Except Moby Dick.
I can credit my high school for fostering my love of reading and helping with basic essay writing, but there was only one semester of creative writing offered in those four years. Still, I was co-editor of the literary magazine in high school and continued writing angsty poetry through college. It was during my last semester of college that I was introduced to “creative nonfiction” and that was the bridge that led me to write fiction.
I started writing my first novel after college and continued taking writing classes at the community college. I joined writing groups in-person and on-line and developed a really thick skin that is one of the most important assets a writer can have.
I recommend online critique groups as a good place for newer writers to start. Getting feedback while remaining anonymous can help you toughen up in private. Writers need to be tough if they’re going to weather the vague rejections of literary agents, the suggested changes of editors and, harshest of all, the reader reviews on Amazon.
Over the years, my participation in writing groups and writing festivals and networking with other writers has helped me hone my craft. As part of my blog I’ve conducted a lot of author interviews and I find it quite comforting that everyone has such different answers. There isn’t one right way to be a writer. In some ways, writing can be an isolated endeavor. But making connections with readers and writers has allowed me to find my tribe.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a hybrid author. I’ve been at this, professionally, for about twenty years. My debut novel was traditionally published. I have two books that I released on my own. A fourth was chosen for publication by KindleScout’s crowdsourcing competition. Unclaimed Baggage and Reclaimed Baggage are coming out with Type Eighteen Books this spring.
I resist writing sequels. I often write family sagas with overlapping characters, so they’re all connected. In that way, the stories are never over. The main character in one book may show up as a peripheral character in another, and vice versa.
Unclaimed Baggage is the first book I wrote with a single narrator. When I decided I wanted to tell her mother’s story, I knew I couldn’t write it from Jenna’s point of view. Much of what shapes Barbara’s character were events that took place before Jenna was born. So Reclaimed Baggage is a sequel of sorts, but with a different main character.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I wouldn’t write if I didn’t have something to say. My books are not specifically political or preachy, but I like to imagine they challenge the reader’s thinking, expose them to new ideas, and expand their understanding of humanity.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I’m not sure what can be done in our current financial system. When I was younger, I imagined it was possible to make a living in the arts, but that seems to get harder and harder. These days so much creative work is expected to be free- music, novels, comedy, even journalism. Perhaps as AI makes more and more of our labor obsolete, UBI could free people up to pursue their creative passions. I fear that is a much rosier picture than what’s actually coming.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.katieorourke.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katie.orourke.78
• Twitter: @ktorourkeauthor
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