Gennifer Eccles
asked
Brendan Halpin:
After Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance, would you write another novel with an author? How did you go about writing the book? Did she come to you or vice versa? Where do you get your inspiration from?
Brendan Halpin
I would, and I have! Emily and I wrote Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom after Fauxmance, and I've also written three books with Trish Cook, most recently A Really Awesome Mess.
With both Emily and Trish, the process was pretty similar: we'd get together at the beginning to talk about what the book was going to look like,and then we'd trade chapters, with me writing the boy chapters and them writing the girl chapters. There's usually some back and forth in the middle where we figure out whether we're headed in the right direction or not.
Fauxmance actually came from an idea that an editor pitched to us. My other books with Emily all came from ideas that she originally had that we worked out the details of together; with Trish, I had the skeleton of an idea for Notes From the Blender, and she had the idea for A Really Awesome Mess, and, again, we fleshed them out together.
I don't really know where inspiration comes from. In my case, mostly from being nosy and curious--I'm just interested in people and their lives and how they deal with situations. But I also often find something from my own life that connects to the characters.
With both Emily and Trish, the process was pretty similar: we'd get together at the beginning to talk about what the book was going to look like,and then we'd trade chapters, with me writing the boy chapters and them writing the girl chapters. There's usually some back and forth in the middle where we figure out whether we're headed in the right direction or not.
Fauxmance actually came from an idea that an editor pitched to us. My other books with Emily all came from ideas that she originally had that we worked out the details of together; with Trish, I had the skeleton of an idea for Notes From the Blender, and she had the idea for A Really Awesome Mess, and, again, we fleshed them out together.
I don't really know where inspiration comes from. In my case, mostly from being nosy and curious--I'm just interested in people and their lives and how they deal with situations. But I also often find something from my own life that connects to the characters.
More Answered Questions
Alona Bagley
asked
Brendan Halpin:
My favorite is Donorboy because of how simple it is, told entirely in transcripts, journal entries, messages, emails; all sorts of points of views, but never really any point of view at all. Just what the people in the story thought was important enough to write down, to save, to remember. Many things are only shown by the beginning and the end. I love it. But I was wondering, was it ever hard to write like that?
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