Q&A with Sabaa Tahir

[Seira]

For those of you who have finished the book or have hit a place in the story that begs a question of the author... Add your questions to this topic by 1/22 and I'll post Sabaa Tahir's answers at the end of the month. Here's one of mine:

I have an image of what Blackcliff Academy looks like in my head--do you have pictures or drawings of what it looks like to you?

[Jacqueline]

Roughly how long did it take to go from writing the first draft of An Ember in the Ashes to the published version, and what steps did this revision process involve?

[Yan]

Can you drop some hints about what we can expect in the sequel? More Helena maybe?

[Jennifer]

1) How did you come up with the idea for An Ember in the Ashes? What inspired the characters and setting?

2) You have a lyrical prose style that's absolutely stunning. Which authors and books have influenced or inspired your style?

[Kathleen]

Did you create your new world in your first draft, or was it mostly planned out in advance?

I liked how almost every chapter ended with a "hook" making me want to continue reading.

[Seira]

Here are Sabaa Tahir's answers to our questions:

From Jennifer:
Roughly how long did it take to go from writing the first draft of An Ember in the Ashes to the published version, and what steps did this revision process involve?

Sabaa Tahir:
It took from 2007 until 2015 to go from the first draft to published book. The revision process looked a lot like this:

Step 1: Angst over draft of Ember for 5-9 months. When finished, set draft aside for 6 weeks.
Step 2: Re-read draft. Realize draft is the worst thing in the world and cry.
Step 3: Eat chocolate. Cry more.
Step 4: Grouchily pull out draft and start pecking at it.
Step 5: Read through draft, identify areas that “feel” wrong. Create solution document and follow it carefully. Begin revisions. Layer in subplots, research, world detail, structure and plot twists.
Step 6: Finish revisions. Set aside book for 6 more weeks.
Step 7: Read revised draft. Give up because the book will never be good and decide would be better if I became a full-time basket-weaver.
Step 8: Eat chocolate and cry.
Step 9: Repeat above steps for years.

From Yan:
Can you drop some hints about what we can expect in the sequel? More Helena maybe?

Sabaa Tahir:
Certainly. : ) I like the number 3, so how about three hints? First, readers will get a closer look at the fey, or supernatural world. Second, a character who is mentioned, but not seen, in An Ember in the Ashes will make an appearance. And third, you will meet Helene’s family. All of this is, of course, subject to edits. The book is currently undergoing the revision process I detailed above. (I’m at the ‘Eat chocolate and cry’ phase. Kidding.)

From Seira:
I have an image of what Blackcliff Academy looks like in my head--do you have pictures or drawings of what it looks like to you?

Sabaa Tahir:
I have a ton of pictures on my pinterest page, which you can find here: https://www.pinterest.com/sabaatahir/...
While writing, to get a sense of what Blackcliff looked like, I looked up pictures of ancient Roman buildings, as well as more modern military academies like West Point.

From Jennifer:
1. How did you come up with the idea for An Ember in the Ashes? What inspired the characters and setting?

Sabaa Tahir:
In 2007, I was working at the Washington Post as a copy editor, reading stories from all over the world. These stories were about the kidnapped, the murdered, the forgotten. They were from survivors of war and genocide. And they got me asking questions like “What would I do if I was a child soldier?” “What would happen if my siblings were taken from me with no explanation?” An Ember in the Ashes and its characters grew out of those questions. The setting and themes were further inspired by the fact that I grew up in a small desert town, where I often felt like an outsider.

2. You have a lyrical prose style that's absolutely stunning. Which authors and books have influenced or inspired your style?

Sabaa Tahir:
Hmm—I can tell you my favorite authors, though I don’t try to emulate their style because I don’t have that kind of skill! I love J.K. Rowling, Marilyn Robinson, Mary Doria Russel, Patrick Rothfuss, Junot Díaz, Marcus Zusak, Alison Croggon, Terry Brooks and Anne McCaffrey. I also like a lot of non-fiction writing that combines the lyrical and factual— authors like Antoine de Saint Exupery, Katherine Boo and Jon Krakauer.

From Seira:
Has it been difficult to write the second book when you have so much going on with Ember (book tours, interviews, etc.,)?

Sabaa Tahir:
It has been a challenge at times, but strangely, it’s not really all the events or obligations that make it difficult. It’s more that for me, writing is an iterative and immersive process. If I don’t have time to do revision after revision, the story doesn’t feel right to me. Similarly, I have to go deep into a story to truly understand it, and that can mean months in which I write hundreds of pages that never get used. Those pages are really just me looking for the threads of the story.

So with TORCH, I had a much shorter timeline to write than with Ember. So I had to go from being a part-time writer to a full-time one. And I also decided to save time by making an outline, getting the book’s structure down early, and discussing it with a couple of early readers in detail, so that I could work out the major kinks before I wrote it.

[Yan]

Thanks for the Q&A :)

[Jennifer]

I enjoyed this so much!! Truly an inspiration and I appreciate the insight into her process. Thank you Sierra for putting our questions together and also to Sabaa Tahir for answering them!