A Creature of Impulse and Instinct: An Interview with Kate E. Lore

 

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Kate E. Lore and I have stories in the upcoming 2018 Spring into Sci-Fi anthology, which is due to be released on March 20th, 2018. It’s available for preorder here.  Kate is both a writer and cartoonist. Her writing has appeared in a number of publications and sites, including Orsum Magazine, Panoply, Weirderary, Sailing to the Moon and Portage Magazine. She has won numerous awards, including first place in creative writing at the Bodies Symposium at Texas A&M Corpus Christi University.

1) Welcome, Kate. Many writers began as a child. Others come upon writing late in life. When did you begin writing?

I was in second grade when I started taking writing seriously. I attempted my first novel in a notebook when I was in second grade. I never finished any until my senior year of high school, though.

2)  You’ve written both fiction and non-fiction. Do you prefer one over the other?

I can’t say that I prefer one over the other. Essentially, both of these are just playing with words. I think doing both keeps you flexible, versatile. You learn more by doing more. I’m all about growth. It’s the same way for me with cartoons/general art. It’s all equally important. It’s all an expression of something I was feeling or trying to convey at the time. It’s just that I switch up my mediums. I suppose I feel like I have more fiction in me than nonfiction. You can only live so much life.

3) How long have you been drawing your cartoon, Melancholy Evil Poptart?

That was actually just a three-year period of my life. I “finished” it back in 2014. The whole thing started as a sort of practice web-comic. I didn’t plan to do anything with it. It’s inspired by a running comic me and my two best friends in middle school would pass around and take turns drawing/making up stories. Poptart was our villain. The whole thing was nostalgic throw-back that turned more therapeutic and, dare-I-say-better, than I expected.

4)  I see you’ve done public readings of both your fiction and non-fiction. Many good writers have a hard time reading their work in public. Any advice on how to do a successful public reading? 

Breathe. If you make a mistake just improv and roll with it. People can tell when you’re being real and they respond better to that. It’s your story, you can’t miss-tell your own words. Maybe think of it as the live version; it’s ok if a few words roll out different. Remember you weren’t asked there to read for no reason. You earned your right to be there. They already like your work. Convince yourself. (I can have a bad habit of going too fast. “Stop and breathe” helps me with that.)

5)  Let’s finish up with a process question. You channel your creative energies into both writing and cartooning. All of us have only limited time to create. How do you split up your creative time? Is it something like cartooning on Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and writing on Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday?

I wish I could create that regularly. I’m not one for a set schedule. What I make is really dependent on what mood I’m in at the time. I’m a creature of impulse and instinct. I have noticed that I can draw on days that I work (my day job) but I cannot write on the days that I work. I think writing is more mentally consuming for me than two dimensional art is. While I can produce much greater quantities of written word, it drains me more mentally. It requires a deeper focus. Art tends to feel more therapeutic for me because it feels lighter. If that makes sense? I go through phases, spurts, and marathons. It’s a poorly balanced chaos that I could probably do better at.

Thank you for your time, Kate!

You can follow Kate E. Lore on Twitter @KateeLore and Facebook @writerlore