Interviews with Elle

An interview with Kitty Stella Bendell

An interview with Space Cat Sophie , July 2017

You're a new writer. What inspires you to write?
That's a tricky question. I certainly write for myself. I don't really write what I think other people will enjoy or understand. I put little bits of my experiences inside of my stories and see if it turns out to be relatable. One of my problems with my writing, actually, is not making the characters clones of myself!

What do you like about writing?
You can build a whole crazy world with awesome characters and write a story about it. Nobody's going to criticize you for having fun with your imagination, they'll go along with it!

In her fantasies, her hair grew longer and straighter. Her hips narrowed, her eyes widened. She blossomed into beautiful, vibrant colors.

Only, she didn't. She remained the same shades of beige and brown as everybody else. And so she burrowed deeper into her imagination, subconsciously searching for ways to make herself irreplaceable.

What genres have you tried so far?
I've written a few personal stories, and I have a blog, Childhood In Progress, but my port is mostly realistic fiction with some fantasy sprinkled in.

Are there any genres you're afraid to try?
I'm kind of worried that I'm not good enough to do an adventure story.

How do you cope with criticism of your writing?
Usually I try to take advice to heart, after all, I've barely started out, but sometimes I have to explain things to the reviewer. For example, a reviewer once told me, about a story called Cassini, that I needed to include more details. I thought that he kind of missed the point of the story, which was this dialogue between the two girls.

What is the one thing you'd most like to learn about writing?
I think it would be where do you get the determination to write a book and publish it? I bet at least 25% of this website's users are working on as novel or are already published. And I bet November is like a giant, month-long marathon on here.

Where do you get your ideas from?
Sometimes I draw a character, sometimes I type a few words or phrases at the top of my story and try to use them in my stories. The rest of the time, I'm not entirely sure where it comes from.

Do you have a favourite author? Or perhaps an author you view as an inspiration?
There are plenty of authors I admire; James Patterson, Roald Dahl, James Riley, Trenton Lee Stewart, et cetera. But my favorite author by a mile is Wendy Mass. She's insightful, funny, and has so much variety in her work. Pi in the Sky is my favorite, because it's about space, but all of her stuff is good.

You can check out more of her work in her Writing.com portfolio: Space Cat Sophie .