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caren
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Jun 29, 2011 07:38AM
Hi Maggie. :) I was wondering if you would ever consider writing a fourth novel in the Mercy Falls series?
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Maggie, Why do you think your Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy has become such a great success?
Thank you for letting me ask you a questing.
Great event,
Anne Nikoline, Denmark.
Hello Maggie! If you could have a superpower, which would you choose and why? Hope you're having a great day and thank you for answering questions from your fans! =D--Melissa Smith (mabsmith)
Maggie,In your books, what experiences did you share with some of the main characters?
Maggie, I am very sad to see the Wolves of Mercy Falls series come to an end. I completely understand that they can't go on "forever" (terrible I know hehe), but will you ever consider throwing together any short stories or even a novella about Mercy Falls to keep us hopeless piners in check?
Good Morning Maggie,I am in love with the titles for your book. I feel they are a catalyst for what we all feel as we read each book. Were the book titles already in mind as the book was written or chosen after the books were complete? I think its genius!
Thank you!
Monica
Hi Maggie! Thanks so much in advance for reading my question. I look up to you as an author, and I really wanted to know if there was any advice you could give me on how to become a better writer. Also, how fast do you usually write a draft? It's taken me nearly five months to get to 90% in my novel. Is that normal?
And finally, what can you tell me about having a critique partner?
Hi Maggie,Thanks so very much for all your books.
I was just wondering if you will be writing another book that comes after Ballad?
Also is there any other series you plan on writing in the future about any other supernatural beings?
Thanks so much again and can't wait to see you July 12th !!!!!!
Okay, so Saundra, Ela, Sandra, Annie, and Malxox what's next? People ask me if it’s weird to finally move away from writing the Wolves of Mercy Falls, but honestly, SHIVER, LINGER, and FOREVER feel like one long book that I’ve been writing for years. I knew where I wanted to end up and when I finished FOREVER, I finally felt like I had gotten to the end of the book and I could close the cover. So starting my next novel (which is coming out October 18th in the U.S.) felt exciting and different and like I had completely forgotten how to start novels -- because it felt like the last time I’d started a novel was when I began SHIVER, and the rest were just chapters in that long, long book.
Anyway, THE SCORPIO RACES is a standalone novel (not part of a series) for upper teens and adults. I know the Goodreads description is a little cagey, but here is one of my favorite early reviews for it so far (they got an early reviewer’s copy): http://bit.ly/lgGgs1
It’s about a tiny remote and rocky island where, every November, savage water horses emerge from the ocean. The islanders tame them like tigers and race them, and the island relies on the income of this savage, bloody race -- The Scorpio Races -- to support them for the rest of the year. The novel follows two people in the race: Sean Kendrick, the taciturn 4-time winner (think Mr. Darcy) and Puck Connolly, a girl who reluctantly chooses to race in an attempt to keep her older brother from emigrating.
I know the whole homicidal horse thing sounds gory, but it’s not a horror book. In fact, I think it’s my most delightful book yet (sort of Chocolat meets The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down A Mountain). It’s also not a horsey book, even though the island’s defined by horses.
It’s my most Maggie Book yet.
Annie, Sandra, Ashley, Caren, Lenmeo & Landy asked about whether I would consider spin-offs and/ or epilogues for the Wolves of Mercy Falls and the answer is no. I mean, I never like to say never, because I said I'd never write about werewolves either, but it feels like a very non-possibility right now. It was always about those characters, and their story is done. I also have to say that I'm not a huge fan of epilogues, because sometimes they tell me things about the characters' lives that I could have imagined better. I'm all "WHAT!? HE ENDS UP WITH A BUNGALOW? THAT'S IT!?!?!? I IMAGINED SO MUCH BETTER FOR HIM!" Sometimes the best gift a writer can give me is an ending that lets me fill in the cracks.
I also get asked why FOREVER must be the last in the trilogy and it's really that idea that the series was like one long book. It only ever had one ending place, and it's hard to imagine where I would go with it if I picked that world back up again.
It is really amazing how these have captured readers' hearts and it would be fantastic to be able to do it again, with a different world. We'll see! :)
Hi Maggie,I love your Mercy Falls trilogy and super excited to read Forever!!!
I was wondering
When you go to book signing what do you do to get ready for public speaking???
Oh and you rock!!!
- Ariana
Sort of as a continuation to the “What’s next!” questions, I figure I could answer the questions about my faerie books now. I really loved writing my faerie novels LAMENT and BALLAD -- and LAMENT was my debut novel, so it’ll always have a special place in my heart -- and it still thrills me when readers come up to me at my signings and say “I’m such a James girl!” or something like that. There are quite a few questions today about whether or not I’ll write more in the faerie series (Matilda, Landy, and Laura), and originally, I had thought the answer to that was yes -- the series had been planned as a longer one. But SHIVER happened (SHIVER was just a side project, written for me), and I started tackling a lot of the emotional questions that interested me in that series instead of in an additional faerie story. I completely cannibalized things from my first series into my second, and there were also some other business-related issues that came up with the first series that complicated issues as well. So will there ever be a third faerie book? Far more likely than there ever being another Wolves of Mercy Falls book. But I’m not sure when it might be.
Where do you come up with your characters? Do they start off from you and then do what they want? or are you totally in control of them the whole time? Or by the time you're really aware of them are they fully formed doing what they want?And also, do you use your dreams in your writing, day dream even?
So in reading some other writers blogs, I noticed some of them post, scences that did not make the cut. Do you have deleted scenes? If yes, are there a lot or just a few?I ask because as I write, I tend to add little events or convesations that are really more for my amusement then anything else.
Now onto the millions of questions about FOREVER! You guys TOTALLY know I’m not going to tell you anything about what happens, right?
*grin*
I have posted teasers on my Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/mstiefvater) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MaggieStiefv...) every Tuesday. A lot of them have been recapped here: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/2...
And here are your questions:
@Maxine: Will any/many new characters be introduced?
Not really. This is really about following how Sam, Grace, Isabel, and Cole work through these problems. I will say that they do find both help and hell in the arms of characters you haven’t really scene a lot of since SHIVER.
@Rivkah: How did you feel when you were writing the end to Forever?
I was at relieved and . . . weirded out. Like, this was a moment I had imagined for SO LONG and here it was. The first time I wrote the ending I still felt incomplete, like there was more to tell. Then I went on tour overseas and I was in Bulgaria, I think, when I realized I needed to reframe the last scene -- the same things happened, but I wanted to change the camera angle. And immediately I just felt . . . zen. Everything had fallen into place.
@Rivkah: Can you tell us which girl died when you read the first two pages??? Not Grace, right??
AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA.
I mean . . . um, no.
But I think it’s nice of you to try asking me. >:D
@annie: Maggie, You love to make your readers cry, but did you cry when you typed your last words?
Nope. I only cried once during the Shiver series, one tear from each eye, and that was in Shiver.
@Ashley: Okay I absolutely love Sam and grace! Okay so is there going to be a love scene with them in the book? Aka a sex scene? Are they going to be kissing and stuff? Please let me know!!!!
Again, I can’t tell you anything specific. But I can say that there is definitely more kissing in FOREVER than there was in LINGER.
@Shannon: Maggie, Music seems to inspire you a lot, I write the same way, and if you had to pick one song to pair with 'Forever' what would it be?
I should say that I always use a playlist when I write, and my playlist for FOREVER is my longest one yet -- iTunes informs me that it is over twelve hours long, and 197 songs, everything from “Talk Amongst Yourselves” by Grand National to “One Last Message” from the City of Ember soundtrack. I would say there are two songs that I used to establish mood though, more than any others. “Sandra’s Theme” from the Big Fish soundtrack, and “Comes and Goes (In Waves)” by Greg Laswell.
I do love music. One of my favorite things is when readers bring me mix CDs at my signings. :)
@Darlene: Hi Maggie! Love reading your books and can't wait to read Forever. I completely love Sam in these books. He clings to his humanity even though he has every reason to want to let it go, even refusing to be with Grace as a wolf. I love that! However, I found myself fascinated with Cole and looking forward to his chapters to learn more about him. He is so complicated and not what he seems and I love how you reveal a little about him at a time. Will we see more of Cole in Forever?
Ahhhh, thank you!! Yes, you will definitely see more of Cole in FOREVER. All of the demons inside themselves the four main characters have been trying to ignore come out to play in the last book.
@Jia: will forever have a sad ending i mean u lyk books which make u cry so....i thought anywayz luv u !!
Thanks! And also HA! DOUBLE HA! I will not tell you.
Phew. I am back. I had to take two minutes to make myself a cup of tea. It's Ginseng tea, and I think it tastes fairly gross, but it also looks really good for me, so I do my best to drink it when I'm home. Okay, Okay, I'm focused now. I am answering more questions now!
I am not a big fan of tea, but have been told its better for you then coffee. If you had to pick a tea that you think tastes best which would you pick?
You've said before that you don't start writing a story until you know the ending, but how long does it usually take you to find an ending (and a plot) for an idea? Because the real issue I have when writing is that I tend to abandon stories halfway through because I have no plot. How do you know when an idea is worth pursuing, and how do you turn ideas into stories?Thank you so much for letting us have the opportunity to connect with you like this.
Hi, Maggie! I'm anxiously awaiting the release of FOREVER. I can't wait! I was wondering- will your Nashville event include a book signing?Thanks!
Is Isabel a school year younger/behind Grace?
Hi Maggie,I love the way you take care of us (your fans, I mean) writing on FB, Twitter, your blog and so on :D But I've to ask you: how do you manage all?!
Books, family, home, tours, etc and you still find time for us! So thank you very much!
I love your books and your writing, I think you are one of the few writers capable to find the right balance between fantasy, reality and poetry.
You're a very special soul. I'm very glad to have discovered you in the bookstore ;)
HI MAGGIE! :D :D :D (Huge fan, btw)When you're creating characters for your books, what do you think about when you do? Which one of your characters has the personality most similiar to your own? How did you come up with Sam?! Or Cole? Or Grace?
When you're first starting to write a novel, do you have the plot and all written down or do you just make something up along the way? How many hours/day do you spend writing? Daytime or nighttime?
Where do you find inspiration for your novels? Do you have any tips for a young writer?
Thank you so much, Maggie, for this opportunity, it's really cool :D Can't wait to read Forever! (I didn't think I'd end up with so many questions when I started writing xD)
I have a bunch of folks asking me what inspired me to write the Wolves of Mercy Falls. (Riykah, Rachel, Alex, Dannie, )Well, here it is: I would like to say that I was inspired to write Shiver by some overwhelming belief in true love, but here’s my true confession. I wrote Shiver because I like to make people bawl. Before I’d started SHIVER, I’d just finished reading The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger for the second time, and even though I knew what was coming, I cried anyway. And I am NOT a crier. I am kind of a serial career non-crier actually. If you look up ‘schadenfreude’ on Wikipedia, you’ll see a picture of me with a snide smile on my face. And so the fact that this book had made me cry not once but twice, and not just cry but storm around the house doing the seven stages of grief, it really kind of inspired in me this desire to do the same thing to other people. With Shiver, I wanted to write a book that would make someone sneak a peek of it in their cubicle, and then mascara would run down their face, and they could shake their fist at the sky and curse me to the heavens. Honestly, I write for mood. It’s like when you go to the movies and say “I want to see a funny action flick!” That’s how my novels start, not with a plot, but with me saying, I’d like to tell a bittersweet love story!
@Sue: What or who inspired you to create Sam and why were you inspired to come up with him?
Sam was a direct response to me reading a lot of urban fantasy where absolutely everyone was kick-ass. They all had kung-fu action, witty repartee, and possibly leather boots. That was all very cool, but it didn’t feel very realistic. I wanted to write a book about what normal people would do in response to this very extraordinary situation, and I wanted to write about a strong girl and a boy who was damaged but trying to fix himself.
@Rachel: was there a location that inspired the imagery in the books?
I stole a lot of real places for the books (the candy shop in SHIVER is a real store -- well, parts of it -- , as is the bookstore and the diner in LINGER, the woods are real, and so are several of the locations in FOREVER.) because I think as an author, I tell lies for a living. And lies go down much better if you make them as true as possible.
@Anna: Why are there two alphas, one when the pack members are human and one when they are wolves? I always thought wolves fought for dominance.
These are my internal rules for the novel -- obviously there are no real werewolves that I could walk up to and say, hey, what’s going on here? But the personality traits that make wolves respect each other are not always the same as the ones that make humans respect each other. Beck is a better human leader, but Paul is a better wolf leader.
@Annie: Who/what was your inspiration for Cole, and what made you come up with the idea for his effect on the story? -Whenever I picture him, I see Jordan from The Ready Set . . . but that's just me. ;)
Originally, Cole was meant to be the opposite of Sam. I love writing about opposites -- very good things and very bad things, very pretty things and very ugly things, very bold people and very shy people. Cole was meant to emphasize what sort of person Sam was by being a complete tool. However, it turns out that it’s very hard for me to write novels about complete tools.
Ultimately, it became a way for me to talk about suicide and teens who choose to lose themselves instead of dealing with the sometimes crappy, sometimes alien life that we’re all in.
@Lily: My question for you is, who is your favorite character from Werewolves Of Mercy Falls to write?
I can’t admit this, because the other characters will come after me in the night and murder me.
Hey Maggie,I was wondering, on your tour while your in Canada, will there be any special guest surprises like Cassie Clare did with her Clockwork Prince cover reveal, where she brought out "Will"? That would be so cool to see how you imagined Sam in real life! *hint hint* :)
I can't wait for Forever!!!!!!!
Okay, and now some little unrelated questions! @Matilda: And will you keep on doing blog videos? They are so awesome!
*grin* Thanks. (For those of you who don’t know where to find me on Youtube, it’s here: http://www.youtube.com/user/MaggieSti...) I definitely will be. I’m working on a trailer for THE SCORPIO RACES and I’ll also be doing videos while on the road for my giant FOREVER road trip book tour.
@Cristina: You've mentioned that you like (love?) to make your readers cry, did you cry while writing any of your books?
@Andalee: At which part of SHIVER did you cry?
I cried two tears in the car crash scene of SHIVER, and I felt insane about it then, and I feel insane about it now. An author should not cry over her own books.
@Sue: Is it true a movie is coming out?
Well, it’s true that Warner Bros./ Unique Features has optioned the movie rights, which means they are working on it. They have a screenplay and a director, but everything moves veerrrrryyyy slowly in Hollywood. I also don’t have a say in any of the casting or anything, so I am a little out of the loop.
@Jen: Maggie, you often tell us about awesome books you've read, and I love your recommendations, but are there any books which have literally defeated you? (The kind of book you keep trying to read, love and finish, but for some reason, you just can't get through it!)
Hahaha! I am actually very picky, annoyingly picky, in my reading, and I am sad to say that many, many books defeat me. Either I don’t make it through them or I do make it through them but I throw them across the room or I sigh sadly and close them, unsatisfied. But I think that reading is such a subjective thing that it’s more useful to talk about the ones that I really loved rather than the ones that really stymied me. Although I understand the desire to write a hilariously scathing review, I don’t think they really help other people figure out what the read. It’s better to suggest a book to someone that they might not have picked up otherwise than turn them off a book that they might have loved even if you didn’t.
@Becca: What draws you to writing YA fiction? Have you ever thought about writing for children or adults?
I got a really good piece of advice once: Write what you wish you could find on the shelf. And it means that YA is pretty much my home, because that is what I love to read. It doesn’t mean I don’t have several middle grade or adult novels I love too, but YA has always been my favorite. I identify a lot with teens -- their furious passion and that sense of all possibilities laid out at their feet.
@Angela: Have you ever considering writing any contemporary fiction (without paranormal or supernatural elements)?
I suspect that this will never happen. I feel like I talk about the real world now, except through the lens of a paranormal metaphor. I also can’t imagine writing a book without a kiss in it somewhere. Magic and love sort of power my world.
@Eleanora: My question for you is why you love to write?
@Kimberlee: I just wanted to ask you what's your favorite part about writing, and the Shiver series?
I write because I have to tell stories. This just seems to be the way that I am. If I don’t tell them, they bottle up inside me and I have wild dreams with coherent plots and I create massive paintings that tell stories and I write songs that are soundtracks for aborted novels that cannot happen. I write because, when I do, I feel content in a way that I never can when I don’t. The stories don’t have to be about me -- they just have to be stories, and they have to be told.
My favorite part of writing is when I suddenly get a brilliant solution to a plot or character problem that’s been nagging me. This nearly always happens when I’m going over 65 miles an hour behind the wheel of a car.
@Ela: I was wondering if, because you wrote books about werewolves, wouldn't it be only fair if you wrote a series about vampires and/or ghosts?
Hahahah! Well, I can tell you right now that vampires will never happen, because I really want my characters to have a pulse. But I wouldn’t say never to ghosts. I’m quite fond of ghosts.
@Darlene: Who would you cast to play these four main characters in a perfect world?
Oh, this is a dangerous question, because then people assume that I really am casting these folks in the movie, and I have no part in that. I’m always quite flippant about it, I’m afraid, because in my head, there’s no one who looks precisely like them, and I’m sure they look quite different in other readers’ heads. But James Franco for Cole, and Rachel Hurd-Wood for Grace, and Taylor Momsen for Isabel, and Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys for Sam. ;p
@Kaci: All the questions I have have been answered, but I just wanted to post a comment and say that I love your books. You make it seem so real. You are a great writer! :)
Thanks. :)
@Shannon: maggie,
first of all, i absolutely loved shiver and linger! by far one of my favorites. the way you wrote the stories made me feel so close to sam and grace and all of the characters. cried my eyes out in both books. my question is, will there be another gut wrenching, tearful goodbye for any of the characters? (not just sam or grace)
Yes. >:D
@Melissa: If you could have a superpower, which would you choose and why?
Understanding lots and lots of languages! Or . . . knowing exactly where in a strange city I can find a good pastry shop! Or . . . being able to sleep less than 8 hours a day.
@Sydney: In your books, what experiences did you share with some of the main characters?
I steal a lot from my life for my characters, but often tiny, unrecognizable things. Only rarely do I steal big parts: there is a bagpipe instructor scene in Ballad that really happened, and a Northern Lights scene in FOREVER that also happened, and the pom-pom hat scene really happened -- but when I say they “really happened” I also mean that they actually happened entirely differently from the way they went down in the books, because they happened for different reasons, to different people. You just can’t take things exactly from your real life because your life is unrolling in an entirely different way than your characters. It would be like pasting a scene from Star Wars into The Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Is there any type of book you've always wanted to write, but haven't thought up a story for? *scratches around in brain for random examples*
Like a pirate novel with flying cars, or a western set in the future, or a story about a little duck who just wants to be a pig...
Now for a giant batch of writing questions. I should mention before I answer these that I talk A LOT about writing on my blog, and all of the posts about writing are tagged with “how I write” -- so you can look up fuller answers to these questions on there. This is where you can find the blog on LiveJournal (http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com), and here’s where it is on Blogger (http://maggiestiefvater.blogspot.com). The tags are on the right-hand side.Aj: What is the hardest part about writing a book? Was it easy for you to write this trilogy?
Tamara: And what's the easiest and the hardest part of being an author? :)
Fact: Writing is hard. A lot of people think that since anyone can type or tell a story while standing in the lunch line, writing a story is easy. However, I bet that none of these people have ever actually tried writing a novel. If you’ve tried -- and I think many commentors here have, judging from the questions -- you know it’s hard. And the thing is, it doesn’t get easier. I no longer struggle over the same things that I did when I was first starting out. But new things keep popping up, like a whack-a-mole game. I also get more stern with myself. I become more and more of an evil perfectionist with each novel.
So the hardest part about writing a book changes with every book that I write. Sometimes it’s character, sometimes it’s plot, sometimes it’s time management.
Maligan: I was wondering how you plan your books. do you just come up with an idea and then write the rest of the book or plan it to more detail? say if you only have a couple of ideas for plot, how do you turn these ideas into a fully planned, detailed novel?
Alexa: My question is: approximately how long does it take you to write a book?
Kaye: How fast do you usually write a draft? It's taken me nearly five months to get to 90% in my novel. Is that normal?
Riykah: How long did it take you to write them?
Four months. ish. Sometimes by four I mean three. Sometimes by four I mean six. Sometimes by four I mean that I write it in four, hate it, and throw it all out and write it all again in another four.
That’s just the first draft. Editing can take even longer than the first draft.
There is no “right” answer to this question, because some authors can take two months, and some authors can take ten years. It depends on how complicated your book is, how long it is, and most importantly, how you write. If you edit as you go along, it could take longer to write the first draft. If you write a very skeletal first draft, if could take you less time. Also, you can get a little faster once you know your process. I know now what it means when I start to slow down and I can fix that before I get totally stopped, for instance.
Julia-Anne: Do you ever plan out your plot and then find it hard to write a difficult passage later? (death of a character, heartbreak) How do you get yourself to write those passages?
Very rarely, but sometimes. There was a character that was meant to die in one of my novels that I felt very badly about killing (not saying which of my novels, but it’s one of them coming out in 2011), and in the end, I just had to bite the bullet. But I felt badly not for me, but for my readers. When I make a drastic decision like that, I want to be sure it really serves the story and isn’t just for shock. I generally have very little compunction about breaking my characters. If they didn’t want to be hurt, they shouldn’t have wandered into my novels.
Monica: What can you tell me about having a critique partner?
That I highly recommend them. The thing about writing novels is that you get totally wrapped up with the story in your head, and often it doesn’t look the same on paper as it does in your head. If you have a critique partner to read for you, they can tell you what they see and you can compare those two visions to try to make them the same. It’s really crucial that your crit partner enjoys the same kind of novels that you write and read, though. I have a place to find a critique partner here: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/1...
@Sindy: So in reading some other writers blogs, I noticed some of them post, scences that did not make the cut. Do you have deleted scenes? If yes, are there a lot or just a few?
I have loads of deleted scenes, because when I get writer’s block, I know that it means that I took a wrong turn and the only solution, for me, is to cut out that scene that my subconscious is telling me is wrong. I have 51,000 words on the novel I’m writing now. I’m looking at my outtakes folder now (That’s where I put all these deleted scenes) and it is over 25,000 words long. The thing is, they aren’t deleted scenes proper, like in a movie. Usually they are the same scenes that are in the finished book, just told very wrong. In the wrong setting, or too slow, or with bad dialog.
Marissa: Do you use your dreams in your writing, day dream even?
Definitely. I think most authors do -- dreams are a great place for your subconscious to work on story ideas without your logical brain stepping in. I often dream about characters. And I often use my dreams as a base for my monthly short stories on www.merryfates.com.
Andalee: You've said before that you don't start writing a story until you know the ending, but how long does it usually take you to find an ending (and a plot) for an idea? Because the real issue I have when writing is that I tend to abandon stories halfway through because I have no plot.
Sometimes it can take me years -- I have several ideas gestating at any given time. The novel I’m writing now first appeared in my head almost a decade ago. The ending and idea for THE SCORPIO RACES took a year to really grow. SHIVER gestated for several months. The important thing is to be willing to give your brain that time to simmer what you’re really trying to say with your novel. If it’s just about blurting the plot out, you’ll lose interest. If it’s about really creating a mood and tone, you’ll take your time. Also, I won’t go out on limbs when I’m writing. I generally think about what is going to happen in the scene before I sit down and write it. I have written myself into enough corners that I don’t feel like doing it any more.
Bambi (Kaylabear): How do you start writing? What's your writing process?
Ayundabs: I want to be a book author and I am trying to write a book. Do you have any tips on writing a good story like you?
Emilie: When you're first starting to write a novel, do you have the plot and all written down or do you just make something up along the way?
I MUST know the ending. If I don’t know the ending to my stories, I will not ever get there -- I already know this. I have dozens of unfinished novels from my teen years. After that, I start brainstorming core scenes -- the scenes I’m dying to write. I jot the ideas for them down, in order, and then I start to write, trying to connect the dots. This is just my process, but your process might be very, very different.
If you’re an organized person in general, you’ll probably want an outline. If you’re a more spontaneous person like me, that dot-to-dot method might work. Really, you have to experiment.
Emilie: How many hours/day do you spend writing? Daytime or nighttime?
I generally try to write one scene a day, if I’m not running up against a deadline. For me, a scene is generally 2-3,000 words, and it can take an hour, or it can take 14 hours. I write until that scene is done, and then I tackle e-mails and business paperwork and blogging.
Maggie, What word processing program do you find most conducive to writing a manuscript? I currently use Scrivener.
Any advice or tips on landing the right literary agent?
Thank you for your time.
Hey Maggie,Always makes me glad to know there are still a few authors/artists out there who like to connect with their fans the way you do. :)
As a member of the "I Tweak Without My Tea" community, I was curious what your favorite brand/flavor is these days?
Attempting to be an self-published author, what's one of the biggest pitfalls you think there is to starting out?
Maggie, what is your favorite charactar from the three books?...thanks for letting me ask a question!!!!<3;)
Hey Maggie! ; D I hope you're doing well. I just have to say that I absolutely love Shiver. I bought it it's release week and it's been my favorite ever since. I've read it many times, and it never loses it's magic.
I'm enjoying reading these posts, and many questions have already been answered. Plus I check out your blog and websites often, so I think everything I want to know has already been answered.
So, I'll just ask something simple: Do you have certain things you eat while you write? I've heard that some writers eat certain things while writing their books, and I'm curious as to if you do the same.
Thanks for taking the time to do this; you're amazing ^.^
Hi Maggie - I'm a middle school teacher and YA fiction lover myself. I had the pleasure of meeting you at BEA and our school librarian and I posted a video to you on one of our school blogs! I want to say thank you - you have been such a huge inspiration in getting my students to read. We love to talk about your books, debate over the characters and events, and to see my students get so excited over novels is amazing. So thanks for being that inspiration. Personally - I loved Forever. I'm 3/4 of the way through Scorpio Races and it's amazing...where do you come up with some of your ideas? Horses...out of the sea? Sounded crazy, but it's brilliant as I'm reading.
Hi Maggie!I really like Shiver and Linger,they are awesome and I love the way you're writing!(:
How does it feel for you to have your books translated into other languages? I mean, you have fans all over the world, how does that really feel?(:
Northern Lights scene in Forever???? Yes, a clue!! :-)
Hi Maggie! I'm in love with The Wolves of Mercy Falls series. You're an amazing writer!What three things could you not live without?
What is your favorite book that you've written?
What is your writing process like?
Feel free to just pick one of those to answer....I know there are tons of people wanting your answers. :) Keep writing! You're fantastic!
-Posie
Okay, now I’m going to get onto some of the writing business questions -- with the caviat that there is absolutely no replacement for being well-informed on the writing business. Agents and publishers will expect you to have done your research, and why shouldn’t you have? There are tens of thousands of writers who want the same thing you want, and many of them will have read up on the querying and publishing process. Those are the ones the editors and agents will choose from! Be one of them! Go, JEDI! LEARN!There are lots of places to learn, too. www.verlakay.com/boards is a great community of writers, published and not. The forum there is full of every question you could think to answer, and if you come up with a new one, you can start a new thread. There are loads of books and websites on the process, and it doesn’t take that long to become well-versed so that your submission will get looked at instead of chucked in the trash.
I hate to answer questions with just links, but I’ve written a LOT about query letters here: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/1...
That said, here are some of the publishing questions:
Olivia: What's your best advice about getting published at a young age (or any age)?
Becca: Hey Maggie! How would a young author get her/his book published? How did you get your books published?
Ruth: My question for you is, when did you decide to be an author?
Annie: For a young author trying to get her story out there, what advice would you give?
Genevieve: I am not sure quite how many people have asked you this, but I was wondering how old you were when you started writing?
Genevieve: And what advice do you have for getting published?
I always wanted to be a writer. I wrote novels on the lining of my mother’s womb (I was a bad baby). I told stories to my brother, and as soon as my dad got a word processor, I stole it in the evenings to write novels about dogs test-driving Porsches. Before the age of 20, I wrote 30 novels.
They sucked.
At the time, I did not think they sucked, but they did. And here is the thing. Most novels you write before the age of 20 are going to suck, not because you are a sucky writer, but because you are LEARNING. You’re not only learning how to write, you’re learning how to be you, and you’re learning how to communicate your emotions effectively in real life, too. I don’t generally believe in write what you know, but I think, for instance, you ought to have fallen in love before you write a love story. The reader can tell when you’re writing love and you’ve only ever read about it.
Now, I know this will sadden many young writers, and it would have made me furious as a teen. I would’ve gotten all rebellious and said, oh YEAH? YOU DON’T KNOW ME AND MY COMPLICATED INNER LIFE!
I believe you, that you have a complicated inner life.
This would not have helped. As a teen, I would’ve said, OH YEAH? SO YOU JUST THINK I CAN’T WRITE!?
No, teen Maggie. I believe you are very talented, and your writing is revoltingly promising. I’ll bet teachers even tell you how great your writing is.
YEAH THEY DO!
But let me promise you this: if you’re an awesome teen writer, you will be an even awesome young adult writer, and chances are, you will have a better career if that first book the rest of the world sees is NOT your debut teen effort. I know that my books when I was 15, 16, 17, had some great ideas in them and occasional flashes of brilliance, but really, it wasn’t until I was 19 and 20 that suddenly and magically I took a huge leap forward. I went out into the world and I fell in love and my stories became novels.
SO ARE YOU TELLING ME NOT TO WRITE AS A TEEN!?!? YOU ARE THE WORST ROLE MODEL EVER!!!!
No, I’m totally not telling teen writers not to write. In fact, the opposite. Write every second you can, about everything interests you. Write as many novels as you can, and revise as many novels as you can, and READ as many novels as you can. Get as good as you can. And get as many critique partners as you can who aren’t family to read your book, so that you can see when you make that sudden leap forward. But don’t be seduced by self-publishing or lured into a deal with a vanity publisher. Hold out for the best career you can possibly get.
Now, how to get published? Here, in fact, is a Facebook note I wrote about the nitty gritties of the process. https://www.facebook.com/note.php?not...
It is actually a pretty straightforward thing, to get published. You just have to write a good book first.
Arlena: Any advice or tips on landing the right literary agent?
Research! Research! Google is a miraculous thing, and it’s not a terribly hard thing to find out the agents of the authors you admire. I recommend the website www.agentquery.com. Send your queries out in small batches of three and four instead of thirty-four, so that when you get rejections, you can tailor the letter for the next batch instead of making the same mistake over and over.
Ian: Attempting to be an self-published author, what's one of the biggest pitfalls you think there is to starting out?
Confession: I don’t think much of the current trend of self-publishing. I think it’s possible in the way that being a self-representing artist is possible: you have to have a great big platform of people who already know you, a great business head, and a lot of time to market and promote. I think the publishing model is changing, but it’s not there yet, and I’m a little sad about new authors making that jump without realizing how big of a sea they’re jumping into.
I was a self-representing artist, and I worked 60 hours a week. Only 10 of those would be actually creating art. The rest was chasing down my living with promo, marketing, blogging, traveling, design, etc. When I found a gallery to represent my work, they took over a huge part of the non-art business. My income went up, and I started being able to paint 30 hours a week, and actually watch prime time TV too.
I think that’s what the role of the publisher is right now, still. Freeing up writerly lives so that we can write instead of do the non-writing business.
A few more random questions!ayundabs: Will you please come to Indonesia?
I’m sure I will some day! Right now, my travel schedule is crazy — I only have 81 more days at home this year. Phew . . .
Caity: I heard that you enjoy writing sad books. Is that true? If so, will you be writing any YA books that will make us readers cry?
Well, I certainly hope that FOREVER will make readers cry. There are bits in THE SCORPIO RACES that I hope might make readers sniffle a bit, but it’s not really a crying book. That was the whole reason I wrote SHIVER, to write something bittersweet, but I’m not sure when that evil urge will hit me again.
Szilvia: I'm writing from Hngary. (Hi! It's Szilvi:) Your hungarian fans have a few questions for you, too.
1. Andrea asks what do you feel when you hear the word Shiver? Do you feel like a mother who is proud of her baby when you hear about the succes of the book?
2. Katalin would like to know, if you ever imagined beeing a part of your story (Shiver). If the answer is yes, who would you like to be?
3. Kitti asks what your opinion was on the hungarian "wolf man" (Zoltán) who showed you the wolves here in Hungary.
4. And a question from me: is there any part in the series that you would like to change? I mean: did you ever think "I wish I wrote that scene in a different way!" or something like that... :)
Greetings from Hungary! Your fans wish you all the best! Thank you for answering! Szilvia
Hi SZILVI!!!!!! :)
1. I feel like SHIVER is MY mother. It has certainly changed my life in a thousand different ways, many of them very unexpected. I’m just very flattered and blessed and amazed.
2. Oh, no way. Terrible things happen to characters in my books! I’d never want to be in one of them.
3. I thought that Zoltán and his wolves were absolutely amazing. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that moment when he prompted them to howl all around me. Don’t you guys think he should play Beck in the movie? YEAH! *grin*
4. Oh, I often wish I could go back and change one line here or there, if only to make the magic system easier to manipulate. Sometimes I will write something glibly in book one and it will make rules in book three more annoying. And sometimes I will go back and think, I could make that scene so much shorter/ longer/ happier/ sadder/ etc. I know I’m really happy with a book when it takes me longer than a year to get to that point, when I go back and pick it apart.
I wish I could come back to Hungary some day (preferably when it’s warmer!!)
Monica: I am in love with the titles for your book. I feel they are a catalyst for what we all feel as we read each book. Were the book titles already in mind as the book was written or chosen after the books were complete? I think its genius!
In fact, the original title for SHIVER was STILL WOLF WATCHING, which I thought was the finest name for a book ever. There was some doubt, however, whether or not I meant STILL WOLF, WATCHING, or STILLLLLLLLLLLLL WOLF WATCHING. Scholastic asked me if I could think of anything punchier, and I came up with a list of titles that had double meanings. I liked the idea that SHIVER was something you did both when you were cold and when you were touched by a lover.
Titles are hard. You’re trying to sum up 90,000 words with one or three, and it can mean the difference between someone giving you a chance or leaving that book on the shelf.
Laura: I am not a big fan of tea, but have been told its better for you then coffee. If you had to pick a tea that you think tastes best which would you pick?
Ian: As a member of the "I Tweak Without My Tea" community, I was curious what your favorite brand/flavor is these days?
I confess I will drink any black breakfast tea with an insane amount of sugar and a splash of milk. It is more like a confection than a drink by the time I’m done.
Arlena: Maggie, What word processing program do you find most conducive to writing a manuscript? I currently use Scrivener.
I’m not too fussed about my programs. Anything that doesn’t get in my way while I write will work -- I’ve written on Word, Pages, Text, the back of homework, napkins on an airplane, and the backs of my hands. If you have a story, it doesn’t really matter, I don’t think.
Andalee: Is Isabel a school year younger/behind Grace?
Nope.
Danika: So, I'll just ask something simple: Do you have certain things you eat while you write? I've heard that some writers eat certain things while writing their books, and I'm curious as to if you do the same.
I adore cookie dough. Chocolate chip. I can make a batch in seven minutes. I’ll race you.
Mary Grace wrote: "Maggie, what is your favorite charactar from the three books?...thanks for letting me ask a question!!!!<3;)"Hey, Mary Grace, I answered this one before you popped in, if you scroll back through. :)
is there more to come in the Lament series? i hope so!
Hey Maggie! This question is from a fan in Mexico. Are there going to be any more books in the lament series? Thank you and I LOOOOVE you books!!
Hi Maggie!I know you probably won't tell me but I have to ask... I absolutely LOVE Beck. Will he be in FOREVER (either as a wolf or human)??
And, what has been your favorite city/country to visit while you were on tour? (Thank you SO much for adding Philly to your tour this summer :))
Okay, now a few questions about characters. I know I said I hated to answer questions with links, but I really, really have written a lot about characters in my blog. Here: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/1...
Here: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/1...
That said, I think I or any author could write entire novels about how to write characters, because they are the MOST important factor in a novel. And here are the character questions from today!
ayundabs: How do you create different and unique and totally lovable characters?
Marissa: Where do you come up with your characters?
Emilie: When you're creating characters for your books, what do you think about when you do?
How I come up with characters . . . this is a huge question, and I’m trying to boil it down simply. I think I have three important things I keep in my head when I come up with characters.
1) Why this person?
I want to know why this character and no other got into this situation in the book. Why am I using him or her to tell the story instead of anyone else. A character is like a movie camera -- each one provides a different angle. Why am I choosing this one? I don’t have to know all the reasons, but I need to have a few very good ones that I’m aware of.
2) Are they real?
I mean, are they motivated by book people motivations or by real person motivations? “Book People” tend to do things that real people don’t. Book People like to roll their eyes. And raise one eyebrow. And shrug. And squeeze their hands into fists until their nails make their palms bleed.
These are all things I see a lot in books, but not a lot of in real life. Aside from these Book People gestures, Book People often do things for dumb reasons so that they can serve the plot. They also tend to be very simple. Angry Characters only do Angry Things. Sweet Characters only do Sweet Things. They’re not characters. They’re short hand for characters. Often I’ll steal someone for the heart of a character. Not all of them, but just a bit of them -- a friend’s hand gestures, a stranger’s way of speaking, a colleague’s way of taking on problems. The more real things I can stick onto them, the more likely they are to be real instead of book people.
3) Are they specific?
I not only want to know why this character and no other got into this situation, but I also want to know why this character is not anyone else. And that’s all down to specifics. I don’t need my teen girl to represent every girl in the world. I need her to represent one.
Marissa: Do they start off from you and then do what they want? or are you totally in control of them the whole time? Or by the time you're really aware of them are they fully formed doing what they want?
Definitely in control. I do my best to make them as 3D as possible, and that way, I don’t have to think about what they would do 100% of the time, they just operate their own limbs. That might FEEL like they are doing things on their own, but really it means I’ve done a good job making them predictable and set in their ways.
I will say that they do morph and change as I write. Part of revising for me is to go back to the beginning and make sure that they are the same person I mean for them to be at the end.
Emilie: Which one of your characters has the personality most similiar to your own?
Well, many of them are like me on different days, since I still my real emotions and give them to my characters. Some days I think I am like James from Ballad. Other days, I suspect I am like Cole. I’m trying to write myself directly into a novel I’m working on now, as a secondary character, and it’s remarkably difficult to imagine what I look like from the outside.
Danielle Houltberg wrote: "is there more to come in the Lament series? i hope so!"Paomtzp wrote: "Hey Maggie! This question is from a fan in Mexico. Are there going to be any more books in the lament series? Thank you and I LOOOOVE you books!!"
Hey, guys, this was one of the first questions answered. :) If you scroll waaaaaay back up, you'll see it!
Maggie~ First of all, you should know that I think your writing is absolutely beautiful. As for my question, it's "What advice do you have for aspiring teenage writers?"
Because I may or may not be one. *cough*
Hello Maggie :D Thanks for the oppurtunity of asking questions :D !How does a cover and layout of the book gets accepted? Are you involved in making the covers perfect and do you do edits? How do you end up approving them?
Hey Maggie -If you ever discovered that one of your children had been letting their high school boyfriend/girlfriend sleep in their room (like Grace & Sam), what type of punishment do you think you would dish out? As a parent, I think I would implode on the spot.
Maggie, I'm an aspiring young author and a big fan of yours from the Virgin Islands. I LOVE your writing style, it flows easily and paints a picture perfectly.
Q: What advice would you give aspiring young authors like myself?
Q: What advice would you give aspiring young authors like myself?
Sammi: Your obviously a very talented writer, was writing lyrics to include in your novel difficult? Or is something you enjoyed before writing novels in the first place? Bambi (Kaylabear) Specifically for Shiver, which was so incredibly poetic. Did you make the music for the "Summer Girl" song while you were writing Shiver?
Thanks! I will say that I compose music, but I’d never really tried to write lyrics before SHIVER. I’m not a vocalist, and I’m not a poet, and I think that good lyric writing is an incredible skill (The Shins have some of the best lyrics out there). It was hard to write lyrics that worked as part of a novel while still looking singable.
I did write little ditties along with all of the lyrics in the books as I was phrasing them, but the music that you can hear in the two versions of Summer Girl (Jonas & Plunkett’s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsDtc4... Sulaiman Azimi’s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOvM_1...) was written by those artists, not by me.
My music tends more toward the Celtic spectrum, with some instrumental stuff. You can download some of it here (for free): http://www.maggiestiefvater.com/shive... and here http://maggiestiefvater.com/lament.php
Annie: What was the hardest part when writing about werewolves? Were there drawbacks because of the wide fan base, and how "Twilight" set the preset?
I really expected there to be more kickback because my werewolves were not traditional werewolves at all (the ones in Twilight are, of course) — my wolves have very little monster to them at all. I’d stripped so much off from the werewolf myth that I thought I’d hear from eye-rolling readers, wondering where the magic had gone. But really, it’s just been a very nice cross-pollination. I have lots of readers who come to me because they read Twilight and loved it, and then I have lots of readers who come to me because they read Twilight and hated it. I never quite expected SHIVER to get so huge.
Anne Nikoline: Why do you think your Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy has become such a great success?
I’m not sure. I think part of it is Twilight, for sure — readers have found the paranormal and they want more, more, more. I think part of it is because of the tone of it. When SHIVER came out, it was a bit of an oddity, a sentimental, bittersweet, slow moving love story with random German poetry. But I think a huge part is because of readers and indie bookstores. Word of mouth fueled this book like no other. I’m always very, very quick to thank readers when they let me know they passed the word along to their neighbor or mother or whoever — I’m very conscious of how much of my success is because of that sort of generosity.
Rachel: I was wondering- will your Nashville event include a book signing?
Yep. Every event on the tour will include a discussion and signing, except for Philly, which is just a signing.
@Natalie: I was wondering, on your tour while your in Canada, will there be any special guest surprises like Cassie Clare did with her Clockwork Prince cover reveal, where she brought out "Will"? That would be so cool to see how you imagined Sam in real life! *hint hint* :)
Haha!! Well, I won’t be revealing Sam (in my head he’s rather like Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys), but I will have Sulaiman Azimi performing Summer Girl live at the Tyson’s Corner launch event, and then I’ll be giving away the two Sharpie Guitars (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOvM_1...
) at the launch and in Canada. I’ll have a few other goodies, too.
@Jen: Is there any type of book you've always wanted to write, but haven't thought up a story for? *scratches around in brain for random examples* Like a pirate novel with flying cars, or a western set in the future, or a story about a little duck who just wants to be a pig...
Oh yes, but this is how all my novels start to gestate. I have an idea but I don’t know how to use it yet, so I just let it simmer. Sometimes it takes days, and sometimes it takes years. I know that one day I will write a book that uses John Singer Sargent. And another book that uses doppelgangers. And another that is about time travel. In fact, maybe they will be the same book. Who knows.
Posie: What is your favorite book that you've written?
THE SCORPIO RACES. For now. It’s a very Maggie book.
Chelsea: Hi Maggie! I know you probably won't tell me but I have to ask... I absolutely LOVE Beck. Will he be in FOREVER (either as a wolf or human)??
*wiggles eyebrows*
Chelsea: And, what has been your favorite city/country to visit while you were on tour?
This answer changes from day to day. I can’t really choose, because they were all amazing for different reasons. Budapest for the food, UK for the scenery, Lithuania for the humor, San Francisco for the green vibe, Austin for the funkiness . . . it goes on and on.
Anna: How does it feel for you to have your books translated into other languages? I mean, you have fans all over the world, how does that really feel?(:
Most days, I can’t even imagine it. I just can’t, because it will stop me in my tracks and I’ll stare at the wall. Really, I forget about just how . . . big it all is until I get a letter postmarked from India, or a video from a reader in Sweden, or my publisher calls and says, how do you feel about flying to Australia this fall?
It’s incredibly humbling. There is this big, big world, and me and my books feel like such a small little thing to affect so many.
Ariana: I was wondering When you go to book signing what do you do to get ready for public speaking???
Confession: I am an introvert. I used to be painfully shy, actually, completely unable to speak in front of people. I learned really quickly that the only way I could become good at public speaking was to be prepared. I never go out without knowing mostly what I want to say, and the only time I really get nervous now is when I realize that I’m unprepared.
Sue: I love the fact that you made this whole mythical werewolves thingy into a totally scientific thing! I was so impressed and I think that is the very reason I love this series! There's no magic or mythical things, is all pure logic and science! How did you come up with this idea? And why did you took a more scientific reason rather than a magical one?
I wanted the book to be very grounded and real, to feel like something that could really happen, and to do that, I had to lift it out of magic and into science. Of course, some days that was maddening, and I don’t think I ever want to read so much about the hippocampus or the amygdala ever again, but I think -- hope -- that I succeeded in making it feel like something very real. More wondrous than fantastical.
This next batch of questions is all about ideas and process! Again, I have blogged about this a LOT. Jen: I'm 3/4 of the way through Scorpio Races and it's amazing...where do you come up with some of your ideas? Horses...out of the sea? Sounded crazy, but it's brilliant as I'm reading.
Andalee: How do you know when an idea is worth pursuing, and how do you turn ideas into stories?
Emilie: Where do you find inspiration for your novels?
Tamara: Now, what inspires you?
Jbrackers3: I always seem to have so many ideas bouncing around in my head. What strategy do you use for converting your ideas and thoughts into a novel?
For me, ideas come from everywhere. I think that is what defines a writer, actually, someone who see stories in everything. There is no such thing as a good or bad idea, by the way. They’re like atoms. They just exist. It’s what you do with them that’s good or bad. The only time I can imagine a novel idea being poor is if it’s derivative. It’s probably, for instance, a bad idea to write a novel about sparkly vampires at the moment.
For me, an idea becomes a novel when I can’t put it down. When it gets bigger instead of smaller in my head. Often I’ll write a short story or a synopsis about the idea — that’s what I did with THE SCORPIO RACES. Normally the short story puts most ideas to rest, but this one was still running around like a hyperactive toddler. I knew it was going to require a novel to shut it up.
Here is one of my favorite blog posts I’ve written about how I convert an idea into a novel: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/1... Oooh, ooh, this one I like too: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/1... And also this: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/1...
Basically, it involves getting the idea, imagining who would get them into that situation, figuring out the tone I want, thinking of the very last scene, and brainstorming core scenes that I’m really excited about writing. If any of those things are missing, I’m probably not passionate enough to dedicate months of my life to writing the novel.
Hey, it's Kaye again. Do you have to work out your characters before you write the story, or do you make up their qualities as you go along?
