How a 3-hour train ride turned into a debut novel

On long commutes and talking to your characters with Nicci Kadilak

I knew my book characters were real when my iPhone kept auto-correcting to their names.

Turns out I’m not the only writer who’s experienced the phenomenon of having full-on dialogues with their characters. So I’m glad I got the chance to catch up with indie author

Nicci Kadilak

and discuss the inspiration behind her debut novel, When We Were Mothers. In this dystopian sci-fi tale, she explores a future where children are conceived, incubated, and born from artificial wombs, and a secret society of women who must conceal a member’s death during natural childbirth. We dig into:

• Using NaNoWriMo to finish her first 50,000 words, before settling on the final two characters to narrate the story.

• The single piece of advice that transformed how she approaches every writing piece she publishes.

• Why her neuroscience background prompts her to plot, but her Gemini zodiac encourages her to ditch the outline and listen to her characters.

On Long Commutes and Talking to Your Characters with Nicci Kadilak

WRITE 👩‍💻 (3:07)

Nicci spent her middle school years reading Christopher Pike novels and, in her words, “mash away at the keyboard writing stories.” But it wasn’t until she took a job that required a three-hour train ride that she began writing again.

After realizing the long commute was taking a toll on her family life, Nicci made the leap to writing full time. She started the first draft to When We Were Mothers later that year, and published the book in January 2023.

LIFE 🏡 (1:57)

In addition to being a published author, Nicci is an edtech consultant for a local nonprofit, wife, and mother to three children. She also writes

Burlington Buzz

, a news publication covering local government and current events for the 26,000 people that live in her town.

I [like] energizing myself with this local work and making
connections that are helpful to me and the community.

BALANCE 🧘‍♀️ (33:35)

Nicci had plans to publish the sequel for When We Were Mothers in January 2024, but is discovering that life can interfere with your best laid plans (which is the entire point of this newsletter!) She’s hoping to gain more momentum when her kids are back in school, and will be thrilled if she gets the second book faster than the first one. Even though Nicci sometimes gets frustrated with how her various roles interfere with her book writing progress; she also enjoys the unpredictability in her projects.

Life is about balance and I’m somebody who doesn’t like to do just one thing.

PARTING ADVICE 💭

If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a book, just take the first step! Nicci adds:

It might be trash, and it might be beautiful, but either way, you can shape it into something that is meaningful to you and meaningful to other people.

READING 📚

Books

A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum. Nicci read her second novel, Atomic Anna, first, and loved it. She loves Barenbaum’s way of capturing characters and their journey while also nerding out over theoretical physics.

Substacks

Loreteller's Compendium

Loreteller is a master teacher of writing craft, and Nicci learns something new every time she reads.

Fictionistas

A gorgeous community of writers working together to create beautiful things.

That Trans Friend You Didn't Know You Needed

Robin (Your Trans Friend) shares vulnerable stories about his life and, in doing so, humanizes a slice of society that many are unfamiliar with.

STREAMING ⏯️

The Bear. Nicci loved Jeremy Allen White as Lip on Shameless, and loves him as Carmy in this comedy-drama about a Michelin-Star chef who inherits his family restaurant when his brother dies unexpectedly—it’s human and real and funny as hell.

COOKING 👩‍🍳

Whatever Nicci can make with an air fryer, a hot plate, and a microwave. Her kitchen has been torn out for four months now, and there is no end to construction in sight. What she does love cooking, though, is Indian food—when she has a kitchen again she’s going to knock herself out with some paneer dosa.

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To follow Nicci’s journey, you can:

• Buy When We Were Mothers on Amazon

• Subscribe to her Substack publication,

  Nicci’s Notes

• Follow her on Instagram

• Visit her website

Hope you enjoyed this episode,

Sophia :)

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P.S. In case you missed it, here’s last month’s episode with freelance writer and aspiring memoirist,

Claire Tak

.