KC North, Author

writing tip no one asked for: the more uncomfortable you are writing it, the more your readers will love it

Writing is rewriting

my character just accidentally liked their crush's old instagram post and had to unlike it and I timed how long that panic lasts (47 seconds)

Red state reality: your existence as an educated, autonomous woman is threatening. Good. Be more threatening.

currently in the phase of editing where I'm reading my own work like 'who WROTE this' (it was me) (I wrote it) (why)

I don't always write relatable content but when I do it's because something mortifying just happened and I immediately thought 'CONTENT'

the pipeline: experience something embarrassing → swear you'll never tell anyone → put it in your book → promote it enthusiastically

my search history is 50% writing research and 50% 'is this normal' which really tells you everything you need to know

being a YA author is just professionally remembering your worst moments and making them WORSE for profit

fun drinking game: take a shot every time my character says 'sorry' unnecessarily (don't actually, you'll die)

me explaining my book: it's about weaponizing awkwardness | people: so... it's about you? | me: ...why would you say something so true yet so hurtful

the thing about writing awkward characters is they always surprise you by being braver than you expected. and then immediately ruining it.

currently googling 'synonyms for mortified' because I've used it 34 times and the thesaurus is judging me

my book's tagline should be 'for everyone who's ever said you too when the waiter said enjoy your meal' (so literally everyone)

writing confession: I've used the phrase 'their face turned the color of embarrassment' because sometimes there are no other words

the way I immediately pull out my phone to take notes when someone does something cringe in public. this is journalism. this is RESEARCH.

YA contemporary writers be like: and then they had an awkward encounter. and THEN they had another awkward encounter. and THEN—

just described someone's laugh as 'like if a hiccup had anxiety' and I think I'm getting too powerful

my main character's love language is overthinking every single interaction and honestly same

the duality of writing: 'I'm a genius' at 2am vs 'I should delete everything' at 2pm

real talk: every time someone asks what my book is about I give a different answer because I'm constitutionally incapable of a consistent elevator pitch

there should be an award for 'most relatable use of secondhand embarrassment in fiction' and I'm nominating myself

my editor: 'maybe less awkwardness?' | me: *adds 3 more cringe scenes* | me: 'sorry what? couldn't hear you over CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT'

writing about teens is easy because I simply remember being 16 and wanting to dissolve into the floor constantly. unlimited content.

if you've ever rehearsed a conversation 50 times and still said the wrong thing, hi! you're my target audience and I love you

the author experience: loving your characters, hating your characters, relating too hard to your characters, becoming your characters

just wrote 'awkward silence' for the 50th time in this manuscript and I'm starting to think it's a problem but also it's ACCURATE so

What an awkward meeting that’d be…

being a young author means your embarrassing moments are still fresh enough to hurt when you write them. it's called METHOD ACTING

currently describing the exact physical sensation of sending a risky text and I've never felt more seen by my own writing