5 minutes with author Katherine Johnson
In 5 minutes with author, Over60 asks book writers about their literary habits and preferences. Next in this series is Katherine Johnson, a novelist and science journalist based in Tasmania. Her book The Better Son was longlisted for the Indie Book Awards and the Tasmania Book Prize. She recently completed a PhD in creative writing, which formed the basis of her latest and fourth novel Paris Savages.
Over60 talked with Johnson about her book recommendation, source of inspiration, and the universal wisdom of Henry David Thoreau.
Over60: What is your best writing tip?
Katherine Johnson: Best tip(s) are: be observant, be brave, be honest, read, write and revise. People speak about waiting for inspiration and then writing when they are in the right frame of mind, but I think we would be waiting forever to write if that was the case. Inspiration and creativity happen when you sit down at the keyboard and let the ideas flow, one after the other and sometimes sideways in directions you didn’t anticipate. That’s the magic of it.
What book do you think more people should read?
I always struggle with choosing one book – it’s like choosing one family member or one friend. I’ve read such varied books for different reasons and they all impact in various ways. I do think if people are interested in writing, or any form of creativity, Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic is wonderful.
How have your past job(s) influenced your writing?
I worked as a science journalist for over a decade and it influences my fiction in that, if there are factual elements to a story, I like to stick to those, then imagine the rest. I also like to make it clear in the epilogues of my novels where the fact ends and the fiction begins. It’s my contract with the reader in my head.
What was the last book that made you cry?
No Great Mischief by Alistair Macleod. I actually read it some time ago, but re-read parts just recently. So beautiful but so sad. Footsteps in the snow that simply stop… You’ll need to read it to know what I mean.
Do you have any writing routine? If so, what does it look like?
My writing routine is to write whenever I can. It can be difficult to fit it in around the demands of other work and family et cetera, but I have managed to carve out time. I’ve just finished a PhD in creative writing, so I had the luxury of writing full time – 8.30am to 4.30pm every day of the week. And during editing and other processes, often some evenings and weekends as well.
How do you deal with writers’ block?
I can honestly say, I have never experienced writers’ block. Or if I have, it has felt like something else. A piece of the puzzle that wasn’t yet fitting perhaps? A walk is good. And talking out the problem with someone patient enough to listen!
Which author, deceased or living, would you most like to have dinner with?
Margaret Atwood. What a woman. What a writer!
Is there a cliché that you can’t help but love?
I’ve recently been thinking about Henry David Thoreau, who, although writing in the 1850s, has made it onto many a fridge magnet. His thoughts about noticing nature, simplicity, walking, finding your own path, and not always conforming rang true to me when I read Walden as a young teenager – and I have to confess they still sit pretty comfortably now.