Cassandra’s Comments (group member since Aug 19, 2010)

Cassandra’s comments from the Q&A with Cassandra Clare group.

Jessica wrote: "I was wondering how you write? Do you have a favourite place? Do you listen to music? Do you write every day?

I write every day, I write to a word count, I generally write in my office or on my couch, and I listen to music and post playlists on my website.

☮♥♪Chloe wrote: "I was just immensely curious on how you came up with your inspiration for the Mortal Instruments series, and how you came up with the characters in those books. Also, do the characters in the books relate to people you know in real life?"

Hey Chloe:

Because this question has already been asked and answered a few times, I'm going to point you toward the answer on my website:

http://www.cassandraclare.com/cms/faq...

As for the characters — characters tend not to spring fully formed into one's head. They begin with a set of sketchy characteristics, and they grow as the story grows, taking on life, having their backstory filled in, developing quirks and habits. (This does mean you eventually have to go back and rewrite to make them consistent, but you have to go back and rewrite anyway, so why not.)

Bri wrote: "After reading MI I fell in love with Jace. After reading CA I fell in love with Will :) Their characters are very similar and I have spent a lot of time comparing and contrasting the two. I want to know the major differences you had in mind between Jace and Will's characters/personalities when writing TMI and ID."

I knew when I set out to write a character who was Jace's ancestor that he would be endlessly, endlessly compared to Jace, and that I would wind up being told repeatedly that he was either too much like Jace or not enough like Jace. So I decided that since there was no winning that one, to put all that aside and write him as a commentary on Jace.

First: Sure, there are deliberate similarities. After all, they are blood relatives, and I like to think all the Herondales have a similar snarky humor. However, there are also a lot of differences. Jace is close with his adoptive family. He's quite able to love the Lightwoods, accept love from them, and show affection. Will pushes literally everyone away but Jem. He is not able to form family ties and treats everyone with the same coldness. He is in fact cruel, which Jace is not. Will lies constantly about what he's doing and is clearly hiding something huge. Jace "never lies" according to Izzy, and is not hiding anything. Jace yearns for his dead father, Will flatly refuses to see his very much alive parents. When Jace falls in love with Clary he is perfectly willing to pursue it until outside forces intervene. Whatever Will feels for Tessa, he is obviously not willing to even start to pursue it and in fact burns it to the ground. Will's whole life is self-sabotage; Jace's isn't. Will may in fact actually be crazy; I don't recall anyone theorizing that about Jace.

Will has built his entire life around the fact that he has a secret. Jace's entire life is built around something completely different. When the absolute core defining fact about a character is different, stuff like "They are both hot! And sarcastic!" is sort of surfacey. The main thing is: We (readers) don't really *know* Will. We know Will as he presents himself in public; we know that that's a facade, but we don't really know what's under that facade. We do know that the character Will has created - False!Will — to show as his public face is Jace-like, and that's what I mean by a commentary on Jace. I'll be able to say more about it when CP comes out. :)

Jessica wrote: "What character in either or both The Mortal Instrument Series and The Infernal Devices is most like yourself?"

TMI: Simon
ID: Tessa

Nezzo wrote: "SPOILER FOR MORTAL INSTRUMENTS

Ok, here's the Q: Why exactly U chose that love story in the novels. I mean, is not something usual or rarely in the same time, but keeps U on the book. And if I have to be honest, it's little annoying. The love is supose has to be not that difficult in the novels, we all want and search for the easy and sweet happy end. But this.... is very different as I say and I'm just asking. Why?


I am going to assume you are talking about TMI though you didn't specify. First, I'll repeat where I got the idea:

"I read a newspaper article (and its been so long that the details have dimmed) about a married couple that wanted a baby so they went for genetic testing and discovered ... that they were brother and sister. One had been adopted but never known it. It struck me as a modern day Greek tragedy, one of those horrors that seems visited on us by vengeful gods and it sparked my imagination to write a fictionalized version (in which everything turned out okay, because I felt really, really sorry for those people). The idea existed before Clary and Jace did, really. There would be no Clary and Jace, probably, without that idea."

"And if I have to be honest, it's little annoying. The love is supose has to be not that difficult in the novels, we all want and search for the easy and sweet happy end."

No offense, but this is not even remotely true. Perhaps all you read is romance novels, which are required to have an HEA (Happily Ever After) and that's all you like — and that's fine — for you. But dictating what you think other people should read and enjoy is not fine or okay.

I do not "search for the easy and sweet happy ending"; I am usually absolutely bored to death by having no doubt that the hero and heroine will end up together with no obstacles. And there are many other readers like me — who like their happiness, but like it hard-won; who enjoy the tension that forbiddeness brings to a love story. It sounds to me like you don't enjoy suspense, and that's okay — there are a lot of books out there with very low-stakes narratives because lots of people don't enjoy suspense. But I do, and my audience does, so I am unclear on why "Why didn't you write a book specifically tailored to my own personal preferences?" is even a question at all?

Annie wrote: "Do you have any books that no matter how many times you read it, you love it? I've met tons of people who read a book once, and then are done forever, but I like reading them over and over. How abo..."

Pride and Prejudice.

Gaitedgirl wrote: "Hi Cassandra! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions from those of us who adore your writing! I have one question for you... when did you decide to "throw a ratchet" into Clary and Jace's relationship by saying they were brother and sister? Did you want to do something new and different as a hurdle for the lovers to cross (honestly, I've rarely seen a brother-sister plot line for the two romantic leads)? Did you decide on a spur of the moment idea when you outlined the book in the beginning or was it something else? Thank you so much, again!"

I read a newspaper article (and its been so long that the details have dimmed) about a married couple that wanted a baby so they went for genetic testing and discovered ... that they were brother and sister. One had been adopted but never known it. It struck me as a modern day Greek tragedy, one of those horrors that seems visited on us by vengeful gods and it sparked my imagination to write a fictionalized version (in which everything turned out okay, because I felt really, really sorry for those people). The idea existed before Clary and Jace did, really. There would be no Clary and Jace, probably, without that idea.

Rose-Amber wrote: "***SPOILER CLOCKWORK ANGEL***

I just had to say that in the beginning of the book when Tessa is joining everyone for dinner the first time and Henry comes into the room with his arm on fire I la..."

That's sweet! Thanks.

KSMary wrote: "Cassandra,
1) While rereading City of Glass, I found a little part at the end around the time with the celebration.
It was when Clary saw Magnus talking with a brown haired girl that looked strangely familiar. Could that possibly be Tess?

http://www.cassandraclare.com/cms/faq...

2)Will Valentine make a reappearence in any of the newer books? Really, at this point, it wouldn't surprise me.

Not a chance.

Gaitedgirl wrote: "hey cassandra I would firstly like to say WOW you might just be the best writter i have read and secondly i dont know if you will answer this or not but i was just wondering because i luv clary and jace if they get married or something because as it says shadowhunters live shorter lives!!!! and i was also just wondering if simon gets with isabelle or mayia!!!!"

I can't answer your questions, but thank you. I will say that Clary and Jace are not ever going to get married in the books. As for their future, asssuming they both survive, it could happen.

Dianadee wrote: "i have seen pictures of the graphic novel for COB where can you buy it or if its not out when will it be available??"

I don't know.

Amy wrote: "At the end of CA when Tessa was reading the Codex, she confirmed what Will said about how Warlocks can't have children. Jem mentioned that they weren't entirely sure about her lineage and that she's special. If Warlocks truly can't produce offspring, would it be a fair statement that there aren't that many Warlocks out in the world? I mean, how often do demons breed with humans? And, if her mother wasn't a human would she and a demon actually create a Warlock? I don't believe there was a "term" for what Sebastain was, is there? Are demons and faeries able to produce?"

Usually the price for immortality is sterility in folklore. Vampires don't die but also can't breed. Faeries don't die but can only rarely have children which is why they steal human babies. Werewolves are mortal, and can reproduce. Warlocks are immortal and can't reproduce, but since they don't die, while there are not a huge amount of them in the world, there are plenty. If the mother wasn't human would she and a demon create warlock — if they were a kind of Downworlder who could breed, probably.

"Also,
Will we learn more about Church later in the series? Jem had a hunch about Church being special when he found him, but Will didn't seem that excited about him. Did the connection between Shadowhunters and cats begin with Church or long before that? "

Will is not that excited about the cat. He thinks its just a cat. Church will show his true colors eventually.

Sarah wrote: "Are other immortal characters from TMI, like Meliorn and Rapheal, also going to pop up in your Clockwork series? Also have we heard of what type of downworlder Tessa is before or is it a new type "
\
Is Meliorn all that popular? There is very little to do with faeries in Cycle Two so most likely not. Raphael is not old enough to show up in ID.

Oh yes, and Tessa is a new type of creature, so not a Downworlder you know of.

Jessica wrote: "1) Jace has been constantly tormented with his love for Clary, finding out she's his sister, temporarily disowned by his adopted family, not being trusted, finding out he's been lied to and that Valentine isn't really his father, Jocelyn not wanting him to be with Clary, upsetting the delicate balance of life and death (excerpt from COFA) so on and so forth. Will the poor guy ever catch a break and be at peace with himself and those around him? He's my favorite character and I find myself feeling concerned for his well-being, haha."

They say you torment most the characters you love the most. :) I could tell you Jace is at peace with himself and happy in the 2nd TMI trilogy but that would be a lie. He has happy *moments* — he's dating Clary and that's good for him in a variety of ways — but it is not the destiny of heroes to be happy all the time. In many ways it sucks to be a hero. No one ever leaves you alone and you're always stuck saving the world and whatnot. To quote Roberto Calasso about Jason (of the Argonauts):

""I would be happy enough, living in my home country. May the gods see fit to free me from my labors," said Jason. And his voice is at once that of the ever-hypocritical lover trying to soften the cruelty of his desertion, and that of the hero who looks, weary and detached, over the scene where he is obliged to kill, cheat, travel, desert, and, finally, to be killed."

Not that I am saying Jace is going to be killed. Just that while (hopefully) the reader years for him to be happy and at peace, you are yearning for the same thing he is yearning for. But if you (or he) got it in book 4, there would be nothing much else for him to do. It would just be a lot of pages of Jace going to the park and playing boules or whatever. You want happiness for him, but trust me, you don't want it before the end of the series. Jace would be bored playing boules, and you would be watching it.

Lea wrote: "Since you've said that the next to covers in the ID-series will feature Jem and Tessa, respectively, would it be right to assume that they are The Clockwork Prince/Princess?"

Nope.

Su Mon wrote: "--I'm a new fan who's just finishing up "City of Glass" right now. I have to say I was EXTREMELY tickled by the fact that Max and Sebastian were reading the "Angel Sanctuary" manga--one of my faves from high school! Was that a bit of an inside joke/homage regarding the SaraxSetsuna brotherxsister relationship (RE: ClaryxJace)? Also, as a fellow anime fan, I just have to ask--did you get Sebastian's name from a certain smolderingly hawt black-haired butler? ;-D (I love him too~~) In any case, I absolutely love the little nods and winks scattered throughout MI (or am I just reading into things too much?). Thanks as well for MagnusxAlec--so great to have a canon same-sex couple!"

I hate to crush people's dreams, but I am not that much of a manga reader/anime watcher. I based Clary, with her artistic tendencies, in part on two friends, both artists: both obsessed with manga, like a lot of younger artists today. They gave me recs and I watched/read Hellsing, Trigun, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fruits Basket, Vampire Knight, etc. I don't think it was until CoB came out that a fan recommended Angel Sanctuary (angels, incest, I can see why they did) but (SPOILER) I only read up to the part where Sarah dies because I like my incestuous stories to have a happy ending. If there is a manga butler named Sebastian I don't know about it (And I can't see Sebastian butlering, but I am sure I am missing some badass backstory.)

I did develop an appreciation for manga I hadn't had before and when I was reading for Clockwork I did devour Godchild and Emma, but couldn't find much else in the supernatural Victorian vein.

Hi Cassandra, I have a writing question for you not listed on your website. I wanted to know where you get inspiration or how you come up with realistic or feasible villains. I have a few villains in my stories that I am writing that are definitely dark and evil however sometimes they lack the proper motivation. Why on earth are they even bothering to attack my characters, sometimes I think I know why but it just doesn't hold up with the story. You definitely know how to write a villain who knows their purpose and motivation. So, any advice for getting my head in the villainous game?
"

Well, keep this in mind: "Everyone is the hero of their own story." No one regards themselves as evil, or doing evil for the sake of evil. Villains have motivations, just like your heroes and heroines do. They regard themselves, generally, as good people. Valentine genuinely thinks he's doing the right thing, cleansing the Clave, bringing Shadowhunters back to their glory days. [He's also not so absolutely wrong - the Clave IS corrupt - that he seems like a lunatic.] Even Satan in Paradise Lost has motives and feelings and a view of himself as not a bad guy — and he's Satan.

Give your villain a believable motivation and think about how s/he views themselves as the hero of the story and your heroes as the evildoers. Try to look at the story from that perspective. Suggested reading: Interview with a Vampire/The Vampire Lestat, in which the villain of one book is the hero of the next.

Karen wrote: "

Here's my question:
Who is your favorite couple to write about?"

Clary and Jace
Magnus and Alec
Will and Tessa
Jem and Tessa

*shrugs* I'm not good with picking favorites!

Amy wrote: "Yes I'm one of those readers that is especially anxious about the romantic fate of Tessa and her two suitors. My thoughts were that I agree with you on the fact that any two people who are in love and grow old together are fated to die at different times simply due to fact of life. But the thing is that those two people would AGE together; they would grow older and visibly age, etc. In the case of the Infernal Devices however, either one of whom Tessa might end up with will probably (and I'm going with conjecture here, assuming that he doesn't die young) grow old and grey, while Tessa remains eternally youthful (as based on her appearance in COG). This is the thing that's bothering me. No doubt Tessa and whoever she ends up with will love each other dearly, but at the end of those 50 years, while the love between them might still hold strong, wouldn't the immortality/mortality difference between Tessa and her lover be a problem? Tessa would still be a young woman, while Will/Jem will be an old old man... gah!"

Oddly, this is starting to remind me of the movie Highlander, where he's immortal and the woman he loves isn't, and he stays with her while she grows old and gray and then buries her sadly when she dies. And it *is* sad. I'm not saying it isn't. Death and mortality and aging are sad facts of life. But the way you are phrasing it makes it sound like if Tessa and, say, Jem were to grow old at the same rate, they would not be bothered by the other person's aging because if you yourself cosmetically age, some switch in your brain flips and you are now able to be attracted to people who look old because . . . you look old. That's not actually the way it works. If it was, 80 year old millionaires would not marry the likes of Anna Nicole Smith. You love someone when they're old and gray because you love them, not because you're old and gray too. And perhaps the idea of Tessa looking young and being with an old man strikes you as ick, but I am not sure why Tessa should care. :)

Alexandra wrote: "I love your books and you have inspired me to want to be a writer! I have had tonnes of questions for ages but when I was reading the post above it struck something in my head. You probably can't answer this but I need to ask any way.
Does Jem confess his love to Tessa and then die in her arms(or something along those lines) at the end of the ID? And then does Tessa feel guilty for loving Will and being with him when Jem dies because she loved him as well?"

I think you wrote yourself some fanfiction there. Well, that certainly would be a bittersweet ending, if a tad melodramatic. I will say that by the end of CPrince, Tessa knows how both boys feel about her.

"Also about the ID series...can you please make Magnus more...glittery please!! I miss his glittery-ness!
Sorry just had to get that off my chest!"

Glitter wasn't invented until 1906. I looked it up. I can't be anachronistic. :D Also, Magnus is (slightly) different in ID because he is 150 years younger and not exactly the same person he is in MI. You're watching his evolution as a character. He could just be glittery all the time, yes, but then he'd never be anything more than a punchline, not a real person.

"Also about the MI series I really hope you bring Sebastian back! I know this is odd but I really liked him even though he tried to kill Jace. I thought he was a great character and that he shouldn't have died. But I don't think he died and I really hope that you bring him back."

You know, there's "bad boys" and then there's "guys who whack nine year olds with hammers." I guess you can never be too evil to have fans...