Kit Downes
As a child
While I was born in London; I spent my early years in a small Suffolk village; Thorndon. I had a very happy childhood and used to love going for walks around the woods and fields. Despite initially living for TV, I fell in love with books early. When I was about five, my father offered to take me to the public library in Diss. I agreed out of simple curiosity (it was a big building I had not visited before), but almost immediately became a regular visitor. At the age of seven, my family moved to Norwich and the huge city library and big school libraries were a dream come true.
I had been having elaborate make-believe adventures in the garden and my bedroom since I was small, but it was only after moving to the city that I became inspired to be a writer. My main motivation was that I kept seeing or reading stories that to me seemed incomplete; in that the most interesting elements or characters seemed to have been passed over too quickly. The first thing I can remember writing was a story explaining the history and background of a minor Cowgirl character in a Wild West cartoon. Another reason was that I was occasionally bullied at school. I wanted to do something that none of my tormentors could ever hope to. Writing a book seemed a good one.
As an adult
I cannot name any point when I started writing with serious ambitions, but I was 11 when I first attempted a novel (part one of a planned eight volume sci-fi epic), 15 when I finished my first one (about an attempt to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London) and 17 when I wrote the short fantasy novel “The Sword Dancer” that was not good enough for publication, but impressive enough that my literary agent took me on as a client.
At the same time, I went through secondary school and sixth form in Norwich and shortly before leaving for university in Bangor, north Wales; I had the idea that would become “Zal & Zara and the Great Race of Azamed.” Before I had finished my degree, it had been accepted for publication and I was working on the sequel.
As an artist
I like to work in secluded spots with music playing to block out distractions and help me get inside the story and the characters. I’m a fast typist and I usually aim to do one chapter or section of a book in one sitting. Whenever I get an idea for a story I like to make plenty of notes about plot and the characters before I start. While I know that some authors do not plan, I find that if I don’t know where the book is going, I can’t get anywhere. I generally work by writing a full first draft (which usually takes 2/3 months) and then leaving it to one side for a few months while I work on something different. I can then return to it and finish it with a clear mind. I usually have two or three projects on the go at once and many others in planning.
Things you didn't know about Kit Downes
- Favourite colour is green.
- Favourite animal is the pygmy hippopotamus.
- Would most like to visit Hong Kong.
- No favourite author. I like far too many to settle.
- Would one day like to write for film, TV, the stage and comics as well as novels.
- Would also like to find the time to learn to paint.
- Intensely dislikes asparagus.
- Loves humour and satire; particularly about the absurdities of the world.
- Does not believe in “literature” at the expense of telling a good story.
- Adores Brussels sprouts!