An Interview with Karen Chance
Interview conducted c. early 2010s
Introduction
Karen Chance is a New York Times bestselling author best known for her urban fantasy novels, including Touch the Dark and Midnight’s Daughter, as well as the long-running Cassandra Palmer and Dorina Basarab series. Her work is characterized by fast pacing, instinct-driven plotting, and an emphasis on momentum sustained across expansive story arcs.
This interview was conducted during a period when Chance was actively reflecting on the realities of professional writing, addressing questions frequently posed by aspiring authors about craft, discipline, and the demands of sustaining a career in commercial fiction. Rather than focusing on a single project, the conversation centers on the underlying habits, skills, and commitments required to write at a professional level.
Chance’s responses reveal a pragmatic and candid philosophy. She emphasizes instinct over formula, practice over theory, and persistence over inspiration, offering an unvarnished look at what it takes to move from aspiration to sustained output. The result is less a guide to publication mechanics than a meditation on endurance, discipline, and creative honesty.
This interview is preserved as part of the Better Storytelling Archive, documenting the voices and working methods of contemporary genre creators.
KarenChance_Interview
The Interview
On Becoming a Writer
A reader asked:
“My sister is in her second year of GCSE and is interested in becoming a writer. Could you give me some advice on the steps she needs to take?”
There are two answers to that question, depending on what is meant by “steps.”
If the question is about how to submit work to a publisher, the process itself is fairly straightforward. It involves learning how to prepare a manuscript, identifying agents or editors who work in the appropriate genre, and submitting material according to established guidelines. While conferences and workshops can be helpful, they are not strictly necessary. Publication ultimately depends on whether a manuscript engages an editor’s interest and aligns with what they are seeking at a given moment.
If, however, the question is not about how to submit work but about how to write, the answer is considerably more complicated.
On Learning the Craft
There are countless guides, courses, and programs that promise to teach writing. Some are useful. Others less so. Writing courses can help with grammar, motivation, and practice, and for those reasons they are not without value. But writing itself is not a science—it is an art.
Art does not operate according to fixed formulas. It bends rules, breaks them, and sometimes discards them entirely. Because of this, there are limits to what can be taught in a classroom setting. Writing tends to be instinctive, and instinct is difficult to transfer from one person to another.
Still, there are fundamental questions any aspiring writer should ask.
Talent
The first question is whether there is aptitude. This is not always easy to determine early on. Many early efforts—first novels included—are deeply flawed. Improvement, however, is possible through sustained effort. The key difference between success and failure is often not initial quality, but whether a writer continues long enough to develop skill.
Knowledge
The second question is whether the writer is willing to acquire the necessary knowledge. Grammar, structure, and clarity matter. Rules can be broken, but only after they are understood.
Becoming proficient at any craft requires time. Estimates vary, but meaningful mastery often represents thousands of hours of focused practice. Writing improves through repetition, study, and sustained engagement over years—not weeks or months.
Drive
The third and most difficult question is whether the writer has the drive to continue. Talent and knowledge are useless without consistent application. Professional writing requires regular output, often at high volume, regardless of mood or inspiration.
Writing as a career is demanding. It lacks many of the structural supports of traditional employment and requires long hours, self-discipline, and persistence. The rewards can be profound, but the workload is real.
Final Advice
For those who still want to write after considering these realities, the path forward is simple, if not easy: write. Study the craft. Practice consistently. Tell the stories that matter most, whether or not they are immediately rewarded. Submit the work, revise it, and continue.
Persistence, more than any single technique or insight, is what sustains a writing career.
Closing
This interview captures Karen Chance articulating a grounded, experience-driven view of professional authorship. Her reflections emphasize discipline over mystique and persistence over talent, offering a clear-eyed perspective on writing as both creative expression and sustained labor.
Presented here as part of the Better Storytelling Archive, this conversation preserves a voice shaped by long-term practice—one that speaks candidly about what it takes to turn instinct into craft, and ambition into durable work.