There’s a thing going around twitter where New York Times bestselling authors talk about how their success was not overnight. It’s true, success is not overnight! But here’s a variation for you.
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Many years ago I wrote a blog post called “Five Foundations of World-Building,” focused on fantasy and science fiction. Writing novels set in the real world still requires world-building, so I’m revisiting that “Five Foundations” post today and revising it to focus on realistic fiction.
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My first novel, Ash, was published in September 2009, which means this year marks my tenth year as a published novelist. Over the last few months I’ve tweeted out some of the lessons I’ve learned in the past decade, and as 2019 draws to a close I wanted to gather those lessons together in a more archivable format. These lessons come from my experience in traditional young adult publishing. Writers who are published in other genres, age categories, or who are self-published may have differing experiences.
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I've been purposely quieter on the internet this summer because I've felt like I needed a break from the noise. I probably follow too many political pundits and not enough calming voices. But I'm also sort of defensively taking some space for myself as I approach two things: the publication of A Line in the Dark in October, and the start of drafting my next novel.
Read MoreI've put together a list of resources for writing with and about diversity.
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Questions about how to do research are among the most common questions I hear when it comes to writing books based on non-white cultures. Often the questions are like this: “Are there any resources that will be sure to help?” (emphasis mine) The answer is: no. There is no guarantee that any resources will be universally seen as true and right.
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Over the weekend I caught the tail end of a Twitter discussion centered on the hashtag #dontselfreject, created by writer and editor Rose Lemberg in response to an essay by writer and editor Nisi Shawl in the literary quarterly The Cascadia Subduction Zone. Nisi Shawl’s essay, titled “Unqualified,” is about how difficult it is for writers of color, and particularly African American writers (Nisi is African American, among other identities), to develop the confidence to try to get published — essentially, how hard it is to believe that their stories are valuable and worth it.
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