How to Trust the Process and Stick with Your Story with Author Kristin Offiler
What if the story you’re working on right now is the one, not because it’s perfect, but because you refuse to give up on it?
In this week’s episode of The Write It Scared Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with debut author Kristin Offiler to talk about the long, winding, messy, beautiful process of writing her psychological suspense novel The Housewarming — a story she started in 2018 and rewrote many times before it was finally rigth. And thank goodness she did, because it’s SO GOOD.
Kristin is refreshingly honest about what it really takes to finish a novel, how her story changed (and changed again) over the years, and why sometimes the best thing you can do is not quit, even when you really want to.
Here are a few of my favorite takeaways from our conversation:
1. Stories Are More Malleable Than You Think
When Kristin first began The Housewarming, it wasn’t a psychological suspense novel at all — it was a quiet book about female friendship. The missing person element came later, as did the true crime blogger, the shifting POVs, and the layered suspense that now defines the book.
“It’s the same story I started with,” Kristin says, “but how things are happening, how they’re revealed—it’s so malleable.”
Sometimes, we think the book has to arrive fully formed in our heads. But more often, the story takes shape as we revise, if we give it enough time and space to evolve.
2. Don’t Quit Before the Magic Happens
There was a moment in 2020 when Kristin almost gave up on her book. She had rewritten it so many times and felt like she’d hit a wall. The shiny new idea was calling. But instead of ditching it, she joined a class led by author Chelsea Bieker, and something clicked.
“I was so close to quitting,” Kristin says. “And that was the magic—just staying in it a little longer.”
That decision led to her landing an agent and eventually a book deal. Sometimes, what feels like the end is just one revision away from a breakthrough.
3. Your Genre May Surprise You (and That’s Okay)
Kristin originally pitched The Housewarming as upmarket fiction, but multiple agents saw clear suspense and thriller elements. At first, she resisted. But after reflection (and five offers of representation!), she leaned in and gave herself a “summer of suspense” crash course.
The lesson? Your story might know what it wants to be before you do. And if the feedback points toward a different genre than you expected, it’s worth exploring.
4. It’s Okay If It Takes Years (Seriously!)
Kristin started writing The Housewarming when her son was a toddler. He’s now eight.
Let that sink in.
She revised during nap times. Wrote during preschool drop-offs. Hid in the car to squeeze in a few more words. And she kept going—even when the end felt nowhere in sight.
“I thought I’d never be done with this book,” she says. “But you get there eventually.”
5. Self-Doubt Doesn’t Go Away — But You Learn to Work with It
Kristin’s relationship with self-doubt has evolved. In the beginning, it was: Do I even know what I’m doing? Now it’s more like: Will people like this?
But the doubt hasn’t stopped her—and that’s the point.
“Let someone else tell you no,” she says. “Don’t be the first person to shut your own book down.”
6. Your Process Can Evolve (And Probably Will)
Kristin’s first two novels were drafted by feel, no outline, no structure. But when she started writing her third novel, she followed a 90-day novel framework and outlined loosely before diving in. It worked. She finished her draft in three months.
Each book might require something different. Be flexible. Try new things. And don’t marry yourself to one “right way.”
Final Thoughts
Writing a novel is rarely a straight path. It’s more like a spiral—returning to the same questions, circling the same themes, rewriting the same scenes until something finally clicks.
Kristin Offiler’s journey is proof that persistence, community, and a willingness to re-see your own work can take you exactly where you’re meant to go.
🎉 The Housewarming comes out August 1, 2025. You can preorder it wherever books are sold and follow Kristin on Instagram at @kristinoffilerwrites.
