Kristen is a television writer, producer and director. She started off wanting to be an actor, and, after discovering she wasn’t very good, scored a job as a trainee film editor. She's worked across film and television for decades, working on lifestyle shows, documentaries, unscripted telly, comedy and kids TV, where fart jokes rule.
After a painful and messy divorce, Kristen turned to writing for a much needed distraction. She wrote articles for various women’s websites on parenting, relationships, and the wild world of Tinder in your forties.
Kristen is a published writer of short stories, most recently for The Hope Prize. She lives in the Inner West of Sydney with her rescue mutts, two kids and a boyfriend who has just proposed because he thinks living in a house full of ADHD, teen angst and perimenopause is a fun adventure. He can also cook, thankfully.
Sh*t Show: Quiet (Murder) on Set is coming soon.
What inspired you to be a writer?
I’ve always loved making up stories, writing and reading. On family holidays when I was a kid we used to share the same Stephen King book. You were only allowed to read three chapters at a time and then you had to pass it on so we were all up to the same spot every day. Then we would discuss.
Writing articles for various online publishers became my job when I went on maternity leave and I fell in love with writing again. But with little kids and working, I always made excuses not to do ‘real writing’. An explosive divorce lit the fire again and I enrolled in a short writing course. I’ve never looked back.
What prompted you to write 'Sh*t Show: Quiet (Murder) on Set'?
I’ve worked in kid’s TV for a long time, and back in the early noughties we used to make a show where kids camped and did whacky and disgusting challenges for prizes. The crew stayed out in a remote location and everyone went a little wild with cabin fever. I’d been toying with the idea of using this as a setting for a murder mystery and one day it all just poured out of me.
This is my third novel. With the first two, I didn’t intend to put murders in them. But somehow, murder always finds me. This time, I gave in and made it intentional.
Do you have any more books in the pipeline?
I’ve got two manuscripts that I would like to revisit. One is about siblings who are party kids in Kings Cross in the 90s. It’s…a murder mystery, of course.
The other is about a small town girl who moves to London to become a stripper. Unfortunately she’s not very good at it, and returns back to her one horse town to find her family destroyed by lies and secrets. And guess what? There’s a murder!
What is your professional background?
I’ve worked in advertising, film and TV since I finished high school, starting as a receptionist at an editing company. I also worked in bars, florists, Woolworths deli and as a door bitch at a bikie strip club. I trained as an editor, and then moved into writing, directing and producing. I’m currently working as the series producer of a kids gardening show.
Any advice you’d like to give to aspiring writers?
I spent eight years writing three manuscripts and copped at least fifty rejections. People always say don’t give up, but it can get a little soul destroying at times. You pour your heart and soul into something and then it seems nobody wants it. But every page you write makes you a better writer. I know that now.
As a person who struggles with commitment, I force myself to carve out writing time, even a small amount, every day. I try to be kind to myself when I don’t even make that, and I celebrate the days that I’m on a roll.
Who/what inspires you?
I find a lot of joy in dark comedy. I like to jot down random ideas in my notes app in the middle of the night, none of which ever make sense reading back. But sometimes they spark an idea.
Being the chatty Cathy that I am, I love to get into deep chats with awesome, flawed, brilliant, hilarious people. This inspires a lot of my writing. I’ve also led a rather silly, reckless life so far. Let the mistakes of my youth be the books of my future.
What are your hobbies, interests and favourite books?
I’m a shameless TV series lover. My recent fave is Vince Gilligan’s Plurabis. My Australian picks for some of the best series ever are Mr Inbetween and the Puberty Blues reboot. I also love to read. Books I’ve loved in the last year are Natalie Sue: I Hope This Finds You Well and Miranda July: All Fours.
I adore the ocean and have declared this summer ‘the summer of snorkelling’. Whether that will happen is irrelevant.
One of my hobbies is trying to get my teenagers to hang out with me. Another hobby is food and I have a lovely partner who is an excellent person and an even better cook.
How can readers contact you?
On Insta: @kristendaggauthor
