What are your top 10 favorite authors?
In no particular order (except for the first one!):
Jane Austen
Mary E. Pearson
Rae Carson
Leigh Bardugo
George R.R. Martin
J.R.R. Tolkien
Suzanne Collins
Katherine Kurtz
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Nancy Bilyeau
How long have you been writing?
Since I was 6.
Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?
I always have my protagonist planned ahead of time, but characters also come to me as I write!
What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
It depends on the book! For Stormrise, I researched things like martial arts stances and “how long does it take to bleed out from a groin wound”. For The Stolen Kingdom, I did a lot of research on vineyards and wine-making (which was fun!).
Do you see writing as a career?
Absolutely.
Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?
Oh, yes – you can’t be a writer if you’re not a reader! Fantasy is my first love and it’s what I read most (both YA and adult, but mostly YA). But I also enjoy YA speculative fiction and adult historical fiction set in the Tudor era. My favorite author of all time, though, is Jane Austen.
Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
Not “noise” – music! I create a playlist for each novel I write; the music helps to immediately propel me into the story’s world.
Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?
One at a time. I have tried to multitask, but I’m not very good at it!
Advice you would give new authors?
Read voraciously. Write regularly. Get lots of quality feedback. And never quit. It took me 12 years to publish my first novel. You can read my story HERE.
Describe your writing style.
Slow! Messy word vomit isn’t my style; in fact, I have trouble turning off my inner editor. This isn’t a bad thing, really; it means I’ve got less slop to get rid of later. It takes me roughly 3 months to complete a first draft (which I don’t love doing). The revisions process is my favorite part—it’s where the magic happens!
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Don’t spend your time believing what you can’t do. Remember how you used to sit at the kitchen table and write stories? That’s because you were made for this. Just start. Because you probably should never have stopped.
No comments:
Post a Comment