Rebecca Ross's Blog, page 37
August 18, 2019
Hi! Was TQR your first book or did you write books before that? (I know it was your first published book but I mean books that you’ve written!!) :)
I wrote a fantasy before TQR. It was the first full length fantasy novel I had ever written, and it was full of cliches. But drafting that book was the perfect trial run. I learned what to do, what not to do, what it took to actually get a fantasy novel written. So when Brienna showed up to my imagination a few months later, I was ready to write her story.
Hi! Do you have any music/art/poems/anything creative! recommendations that give you inspiration/ideas for your writing? I’m desperately in need of sources to inspire my creativity!
Here are a few things that I am loving at the moment:
MUSIC:
Braveheart Soundtrack
Tame Impala
Two Steps from Hell
ART:
Sibylline Meynet
Winterofherdiscontent (Instagram handle)
Ruth Speer
POETS:
Morgan Harper Nichols
Alison Malee
Atticus
How do you get over embarrassment/anxiety about people reading your writing? I’m SO nervous about that! It’s almost as if, if I ever got a book published, I *wouldn’t* want people to read it because I’d be too shy and embarrassed for people to read it! Hav
Oh, yes. This is a very real thing and I have experienced it.
A few years ago, I saw an author’s tweet that went along the lines of this:
Me: Hey everyone, my book is finally out in the world! Yay!
Family member/friends: Oh, that’s awesome! I’m going to pick it up and read it tonight!
Me: WAIT WHAT NOOOO DO NOT READ MY BOOK *goes and crawls into a hole until next summer while friends and family reads book*
I remember reading this tweet and laughing, because I totally related. Publishing a book, or putting anything that you create out there for public consumption, is rewarding but it’s also very tough.
My debut year was hard. It was hard because I was very anxious and nervous for people to read my novel. I remember the first negative review I ever saw about TQR. I felt crushed by it initially. But then I started getting messages from readers who told me my book had helped them get through dark times. That my book had gotten them out of reading slumps, had encouraged them to start writing their own story. That my book and my characters meant something beyond words to them.
I still get these messages, and I am always humbled by them. It reminds me why I write, why I want to share my stories with the public. Because there are always going to be readers who do not like or connect with your work. But then there will be readers who do, and it means everything to an author.
Creating something requires bravery. Even more so when you share it publicly.
It will be a process to overcome the nerves of what other people are going to think about your writing. But just take it in small steps. Submit a short story to a writing competition. Publish poetry on your blog. Find a fellow writer and become critique partners.
In reality, the more you let your work go, the more you will begin to see your work outside of yourself. So when people have opinions about it…you know those opinions are not about you. Because you know who you are, and you still dream of the next story, and you keep writing and putting the work in to hone and better your craft.
xx
Book three in The Queens Rising series?
Hi there! I am sad to say there will not be a third book in THE QUEEN’S RISING series. My publisher asked me to deliver a new Young Adult Fantasy for the third book of my contract, so my next book will have a new cast of characters and world, and is titled SISTERS OF SWORD AND SONG. It will be publishing on June 23, 2020 (and I’ll be sharing more details about this book soon!).
There have been quite a few readers who have asked about a third book in the TQR series, and I know it’s a bummer to hear it’s a duology. I will say that I am very happy with how I left things in THE QUEEN’S RESISTANCE (Brienna’s story arc definitely feels complete to me).
BUT….if the stars ever align and the chance to add more books in the series arises, I would love to return to the world of Valenia and Maevana.
Book three in The Queens Rising series?
Hi there! I am sad to say there will not be a third book in THE QUEEN’S RISING series. My publisher asked me to deliver a new Young Adult Fantasy for the third book of my contract, so my next book will have a new cast of characters and world, and is titled SISTERS OF SWORD AND SONG. It will be publishing on June 23, 2020 (and I’ll be sharing more details about this book soon!).
There have been quite a few readers who have asked about a third book in the TQR series, and I know it’s a bummer to hear it’s a duology. I will say that I am very happy with how I left things in THE QUEEN’S RESISTANCE (Brienna’s story arc definitely feels complete to me).
BUT….if the stars ever align and the chance to add more books in the series arises, I would love to return to the world of Valenia and Maevana.
Book three in The Queens Rising series?
Hi there! I am sad to say there will not be a third book in THE QUEEN’S RISING series. My publisher asked me to deliver a new Young Adult Fantasy for the third book of my contract, so my next book will have a new cast of characters and world, and is titled SISTERS OF SWORD AND SONG. It will be publishing on June 23, 2020 (and I’ll be sharing more details about this book soon!).
There have been quite a few readers who have asked about a third book in the TQR series, and I know it’s a bummer to hear it’s a duology. I will say that I am very happy with how I left things in THE QUEEN’S RESISTANCE (Brienna’s story arc definitely feels complete to me).
BUT….if the stars ever align and the chance to add more books in the series arises, I would love to return to the world of Valenia and Maevana.
Book three in The Queens Rising series?
Hi there! I am sad to say there will not be a third book in THE QUEEN’S RISING series. My publisher asked me to deliver a new Young Adult Fantasy for the third book of my contract, so my next book will have a new cast of characters and world, and is titled SISTERS OF SWORD AND SONG. It will be publishing on June 23, 2020 (and I’ll be sharing more details about this book soon!).
There have been quite a few readers who have asked about a third book in the TQR series, and I know it’s a bummer to hear it’s a duology. I will say that I am very happy with how I left things in THE QUEEN’S RESISTANCE (Brienna’s story arc definitely feels complete to me).
BUT….if the stars ever align and the chance to add more books in the series arises, I would love to return to the world of Valenia and Maevana.
Book three in The Queens Rising series?
Hi there! I am sad to say there will not be a third book in THE QUEEN’S RISING series. My publisher asked me to deliver a new Young Adult Fantasy for the third book of my contract, so my next book will have a new cast of characters and world, and is titled SISTERS OF SWORD AND SONG. It will be publishing on June 23, 2020 (and I’ll be sharing more details about this book soon!).
There have been quite a few readers who have asked about a third book in the TQR series, and I know it’s a bummer to hear it’s a duology. I will say that I am very happy with how I left things in THE QUEEN’S RESISTANCE (Brienna’s story arc definitely feels complete to me).
BUT….if the stars ever align and the chance to add more books in the series arises, I would love to return to the world of Valenia and Maevana.
Book three in The Queens Rising series?
Hi there! I am sad to say there will not be a third book in THE QUEEN’S RISING series. My publisher asked me to deliver a new Young Adult Fantasy for the third book of my contract, so my next book will have a new cast of characters and world, and is titled SISTERS OF SWORD AND SONG. It will be publishing on June 23, 2020 (and I’ll be sharing more details about this book soon!).
There have been quite a few readers who have asked about a third book in the TQR series, and I know it’s a bummer to hear it’s a duology. I will say that I am very happy with how I left things in THE QUEEN’S RESISTANCE (Brienna’s story arc definitely feels complete to me).
BUT….if the stars ever align and the chance to add more books in the series arises, I would love to return to the world of Valenia and Maevana.
How did you hone your writing skills? Your writing is so magical and beautiful!
Hi! Oh, thank you so much!
When I’m writing a first draft, I give myself a lot of liberty so the words will flow. If I try too hard to edit or focus on my craft while I’m drafting, the logical side of my brain will begin to kick in, and my creative, imaginative side will begin to dim. Which is not very productive when I’m trying to discover the story and get words on the page.
So, first drafts are for myself. I discover the bones of the story, the heart of my characters, and I let myself enjoy the process.
My second draft, though, is when I begin to measure scenes, plot holes, character motivations, etc. I’ll start cutting, adding, rewriting. My long first draft begins to get whittled and honed, and I start to see the shape of the novel, which is exciting.
My third and later drafts are when I truly begin to look at my language, my word choice, my descriptions. I am, by nature, a very visual writer; I love to describe things. Sometimes I describe too much, and I need to trim it down. Sometimes I don’t like how I previously described something, and I will take time to simmer on it, reworking the sentence, exchanging words until I find the one that clicks.
All in all, good writing is made from re-writing.
