#sparkchamber 020821 — Kayla Cagan
How we find our way — and show the way to others — is top of mind in #sparkchamber today as we welcome Kayla Cagan, a writer of authentic, profound young-adult fiction. Her first book, Piper Perish received universal praise and was a Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Month in 2017. A dynamic, perceptive portrayal of an-artist-in-high-school, the Warhol-obsessed lead character Piper will have readers asking big questions along with her. What is love? What is friendship? What is family? What should I wear?
Kayla’s follow-up book Art Boss just released in October to rave reviews, follows Piper to New York City, where her journey of art and life continue … along with more questions: What is art for? What can art do? And how can a young artist change the world?
Originally from Texas, Kayla lived in New York and Brooklyn before taking root in her current home of Los Angeles. So, maybe there’s some autobiographical inspiration in these stories? Or maybe there’s universal truth? Or some of everything, maybe? Kayla is “inspired by poetry, art, friends, travel, and my husband,” and some of her current biggest influences are “poets, compassionate and educated politicians, well-read thinkers and podcast hosts, and TikTok dancers, comedians, and artists.” Who we are, what we are exposed to, how we process it, and who is there to guide us through make a world of difference. Thank you for your work, Kayla! Give her a follow on Instagram and Twitter.
1.] Where do ideas come from?
News articles, artists who inspire me, snippets of overheard conversations, and people I used to see on the street and in cafes pre-Pandemic. Lately, I’ve become a little more obsessed with speculative fiction and thinking outside of our current world, which I know is directly influenced by the last four-plus years of American politics and the pandemic.
2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
Storytelling is the way I can best connect with people, and I crave connection. It’s my love language — haha — but it’s true. Writing and reading is another level of communication that reaches me in a deeper place in my heart and soul. It makes me push myself to be a more compassionate and empathetic thinker and citizen of the world. I thrive on human connection, which sounds very broad, but I think during the pandemic, a lot of us get that on a cellular level now.
3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?
I was a Night Owl in college, but now that I’m in my 40s I’m an early-ish bird. Does 11:00 am count as early to start my sitting-down-at-my-desk work? I’m thinking pretty much as soon as I wake up about whatever project I’m on, but the actual work happens after coffee, walking our dog, etc. As much as I wish I was a hare, I am very much a tortoise. I want to enjoy my tortoise-dom, but honestly, it always makes me feel very behind.
I used to work in cafes and the library, but since the pandemic started, I work at home at my desk in our guest room. I generally don’t have a significant block against work, I really enjoy it, so even though I procrastinate a bit in the morning, once my brain is ready to work, I can go about 2 hours before needing a break. A quote that helped me write my first published novel is something I refer to often and like to share when unpublished writers are struggling to maintain their motivation: “Take the time to write. You can do your life’s work in half an hour a day.” — Robert Hass, poet. I think this can apply to most things that you are creating yourself. If I ever feel stuck, I just remind myself I only have to work 30 minutes that day. And that usually gets me unstuck, and I work past the 30.
4.] How do you know when you are done?
Oy! When I type “THE END!” Just kidding. After many drafts, after many rewrites, after you change the last lines, or the last moments, over and over again, you know. Sometimes you know on the first draft, but uh, that’s what rewriting is for. So, I don’t have a great answer for you, but it helps if you’re working with others, either a critique group or beta readers if you're not published yet to get their feedback. Sometimes you just feel it in your bones and that’s it. Don’t question it.
