Catching Up With Karen Kingsbury

When I attended the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS), one of the highlights was my interview with multi-published author, Karen Kingsbury.

I first met Karen in 2002 at the first ACFW (then called ACRW) conference in Kansas City, where she was the keynote speaker and spoke about bringing emotion into your writing.

She’s written many books since then, and when I caught up with her last June, she was promoting her book, Fifteen Minutes, which releases October 29^th, and focuses on a “regular guy” who has a beautiful singing voice and is easy on the eyes. His family’s horse farm is in financial trouble and he tries out for an American Idol type show called Fifteen Minutes, hoping to win enough money to help save the farm. Before he leaves for the audition, his long-time girlfriend cautions him to never change. He quickly learns how easy it is to change, despite his strong faith.

When chatting with Karen, I asked her if she is a plotter or a panster. She is a plotter, and she spends about as much time preparing to write the story as she does actually writing it. Before she types the first chapter, she knows her characters’ backstories in great detail. Not every tidbit ends up being sprinkled into the book, but all of it goes to the character development.

I then asked how her writing had changed since that 2002 ACFW conference and she stated that she didn’t think she had changed all that much. The process for her has become easier, and she is a more intuitive writer. She mentioned that because God has blessed the ministry and its scope so much, there are many more demands for her time. Now she has to budget her writing time a lot more.

Karen and Me at ICRS 2013 in St. Louis

Last year I read an earlier book of Karen’s and after reading Fifteen Minutes it’s evident that Karen has grown in her writing ability, much the same way that what was considered good writing eleven years ago has changed. And that’s a good thing. As writers, we never want to remain static in our writing ability. There is always something new to apply to our craft and make our writing sing.

For those who have been writing a while, how have you seen your writing ability improve over time? For those who are just beginning your writing journey, what areas do you know you need to focus on and improve?

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago, an hour's drive away from her hometown which she visits often to dig into its historical legacy. Her novels include Thyme for Love, and Love Will Find a Way,  contemporary romantic mysteries and her 1933 historical romance, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva,Wisconsin, released in April, 2013. She can often be found speaking at events around Lake Geneva or nosing in microfilms and historical records about Wisconsin and other Midwestern spots for new story ideas.