That falls into that category called revision. But I’ve also learned (the hard way) that the words that come aren’t always beautiful and lyrical and all of that. I simply have faith that if I sit there long enough, the words will come to me. Kathi: For me, the key has always been faith. Anderson in your acknowledgments with, “Write what you think you can't,' I’m hoping you have some advice for fellow writers on how to keep going when what we are imagining is not yet showing up on the page and seems impossible to catch. Lynn: Since this is an imaginary blog and since you quoted M.T. Eventually, through successive drafts, the boy and his family disappeared and the focus fell on the cat.

So, the place was there, and the abandoned kitten was there. When I showed the story to Cynthia Leitich Smith, she felt that there was more to it, that the story had enough there to consider stretching it out. The original short story was about a boy who lived with his family on the banks of the Little Sorrowful Creek and one day finds an abandoned kitten. This book actually started out as a short story for a collection that I began working on several years ago. Don’t tell him she’s only Imaginary.īack to question. My husband has gone on the hunt for the Imaginary Kathi. When did you first start imagining or writing The Underneath? Did you begin this story with plot, setting or character? What was the original spark that pulled you into the story? Lynn: Well, whichever Kathi you might be-real or imaginary-I loved your book and I have a million questions on how you accomplished what you did. Kathi: You must be talking to someone else, this is the Imaginary Kathi, the one who cooks gourmet dinners every night and works out regularly at the local gym.

Lynn: Hi Kathi, Welcome to the Imaginary Blog.

The underneath kathi appelt summary