Gemma
asked
Helena Coggan:
My book club is reading The Catalyst and I'm sort of the leader so I thought it'd be cool to ask you some questions and then read them out to everyone at our next meeting! We're all under 17 so your age is really interesting. How long were you working on The Catalyst? What's your favourite character in it? I hope you don't mind those questions! I'm really looking forward to reading your book. :)
Helena Coggan
Hi Gemma! I'm really touched that you guys are reading it- and of course I don't mind the questions! (Also, I love the idea of being the leader of a book club. That sounds amazing. I want to try that.)
The book took me a while to write. Actually, the writing wasn't the problem- insofar as time was a problem, which I never really thought it was, given that it just meant I had an excuse to spend more time writing (you may be able to tell at this point how inefficient I am)- the editing was the problem. The first draft of the book took six months- October 2012 until April 2013- to write. Then the second draft was another three months, or thereabouts- April through August. It wasn't until December that we knew it was getting published, and only in February 2014 did the actual edits start.
Now. I have a the most wonderful editor in the world, but even with her being as kind and brilliant and patient as she was, editing took a very long time (what with my being fourteen, inexperienced and overexcited), and that time didn't fly half as quickly as the months it took to actually write it. Once, I cut 70,000 words in one afternoon. The rest of it wasn't as brutal as that, but still: looking back now, I don’t think I really knew how much I loved the story, and writing itself, until I'd gone through six months of cutting it and dissecting it and stripping it down and building it back up again. But I still had the time of my life doing all of it (and will again with the second book, once the exams are over).
As for my favourite character� I loved writing them all, of course, but I had different favourites for different reasons. Felix was the most difficult to write; Rose became the strongest from the lowest starting point, from a PoV vessel two years and four drafts ago to an actual person by the end; but David, I think, has to be my favourite overall. He started as the quiet, unrecognised voice of authority- I don't think that survived even past his first two lines of dialogue. Certainly 'quiet' and 'unrecognised' didn't. He is the perfect example of why I can never fully plot out stories, scenes, or characters before I start writing them. They always, always change between my head and the page. If I could give one piece of advice to anyone about the actual process of writing, it's that: they always change. And that's a good thing, because it means they probably have life in them.
Anyway. Thank you so much for being so lovely, and I hope you all really enjoy the book! Don't hesitate to ask any more questions if you have them- it's wonderful to hear from you guys.
Best,
Helena
The book took me a while to write. Actually, the writing wasn't the problem- insofar as time was a problem, which I never really thought it was, given that it just meant I had an excuse to spend more time writing (you may be able to tell at this point how inefficient I am)- the editing was the problem. The first draft of the book took six months- October 2012 until April 2013- to write. Then the second draft was another three months, or thereabouts- April through August. It wasn't until December that we knew it was getting published, and only in February 2014 did the actual edits start.
Now. I have a the most wonderful editor in the world, but even with her being as kind and brilliant and patient as she was, editing took a very long time (what with my being fourteen, inexperienced and overexcited), and that time didn't fly half as quickly as the months it took to actually write it. Once, I cut 70,000 words in one afternoon. The rest of it wasn't as brutal as that, but still: looking back now, I don’t think I really knew how much I loved the story, and writing itself, until I'd gone through six months of cutting it and dissecting it and stripping it down and building it back up again. But I still had the time of my life doing all of it (and will again with the second book, once the exams are over).
As for my favourite character� I loved writing them all, of course, but I had different favourites for different reasons. Felix was the most difficult to write; Rose became the strongest from the lowest starting point, from a PoV vessel two years and four drafts ago to an actual person by the end; but David, I think, has to be my favourite overall. He started as the quiet, unrecognised voice of authority- I don't think that survived even past his first two lines of dialogue. Certainly 'quiet' and 'unrecognised' didn't. He is the perfect example of why I can never fully plot out stories, scenes, or characters before I start writing them. They always, always change between my head and the page. If I could give one piece of advice to anyone about the actual process of writing, it's that: they always change. And that's a good thing, because it means they probably have life in them.
Anyway. Thank you so much for being so lovely, and I hope you all really enjoy the book! Don't hesitate to ask any more questions if you have them- it's wonderful to hear from you guys.
Best,
Helena
More Answered Questions
Natasha
asked
Helena Coggan:
my mum when to the book fair you attended this week in London which I was incredibly jealous of .she told me about you and how weird she thought it was to being given a speech by someone my age and so I looked it you up and I found that what you have down is truly inspiring and I cant wait to get my hands on your book. Q: what were your favourite books as a kid and how did they effect you and your writing?
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