Twisted Fairy Tales: an interview with Mette Harrison

This is the first in a series of interviews I'll be posting once a week on Mondays for the next few weeks with Mette Harrison, YA Fantasy author—and one of my idols. This first interview focuses on doing fairytale retellings—one of my favorite genres to read and write. Mette has a vast array of knowledge and some wonderful insights into the subject. So here we go! Hope you get as much out of and enjoy the interview as much as I did.

Me and mette (or I should say Mette and me) at LTUE

1. Twisted Fairytales

 What made you decide to write fairytale retellings?

I love fairy tales, always have since I was a little kid. But I also studied them while working on my PhD in German literature. I taught for a while, then decided to work on my writing and it seemed a natural transition. I get absurdly excited about almost anything German and am obsessed with WWII and the Nazis. I think sometimes I felt in grad school like everything in German literature had to answer the question: How did this lead to the Nazis? I think it might be just as interesting to ask how fairy tales work against the Nazis. There are a lot of powerful characters and lessons in fairy tales.

Do you plan on doing more? Why or why not?

I am reminded of Hugh Grant's interview with Julia Roberts in Notting Hill where he pretends to be a reporter from Horse and Hound and asks her if she plans to use horses in any of her other movies. She says no, because the next one is set on a submarine.

I have actually moved to seeing every book I write as a retelling. Perhaps not always of a fairy tale specifically, but of something else that I love. I read a great post on-line about authors stealing http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/. I've also written my own essay http://metteivieharrison.com/allwritersthieves.html about writers stealing. We all steal. It's how we recreate the story that matters, not where the material came from.

Some of the projects I am currently working on include:

A retelling of The Happy Prince story by Oscar Wilde

A retelling of An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilds (An Idea Boyfriend)

A retelling of The Nibelungenlied

A retelling of Cinderella from the stepmother's point of view

A retelling of The Little Mermaid called The Sea Witch

A retelling of Pride and Prejudice called Magic and Misapprehension

A retelling of the Queen Elizabeth/Mary Queen of Scots story

A retelling of Dr. Who with a female doctor set in medieval Germany with death magic.

I never know when I begin a project if it will end up working or not, nor am I always conscious of which fairy tale/original material will end up being the most closely linked to the final draft. When I wrote The Princess and the Hound, I did not think of it as a Beauty and the Beast story at all, though of course it is. It took my editor to see that.

Your fairytales vary a lot from the originals. How do you come up with your ideas?

Ideas assault me day and night. I wish I could get rid of ideas. I've heard some writers say they keep notebooks to write ideas down in. I NEVER do that. I want the ideas to go away and leave me alone. If they keep bugging me to write them down until I can't stand it anymore, then I do it. I will say that I have not always been this way. I used to have no idea what to write. But I think that after I realized that ideas just came from stealing something I loved from someone else and twisting it to make it better, then it was easy.

I love the way that Dr. Who is able to transform the doctor into new actors. The old doctor dies, and the new doctor has his memories, but isn't him anymore. And the way the companions love him, but are also ruined by him. I also love the way that the romance arc between Rose and David Tennant works. Trying to figure out how to do that all my own way, I thought up a series (it will probably never sell, mind you) about a girl who realizes she has magic that makes her revive every time she dies. The only problem is that the price for this magic is the death of the person she loves the most at the moment of her death. How does this change her? Well, it makes her avoid attachments to other people. It also makes her reckless to begin with. But then as more and more people she loves (even a little) die, she has to become more careful about her own life to protect those around her. But she can also never tell them the truth.

I'm just using that as an example of the process I go through, wanting to copy something I love and yet tweak it and make it something I love even more, and also something that is mine.

One problem that I've had recently is with my Jane Austen with magic novel. I love Jane Austen so much that it has been really hard to write something that echoes her without echoing her too much. I think it is actually easier when you hate a fairy tale (as I hate Snow White, for instance) and want to twist it around. Anger is great fuel for writing.

What is it about fairytale retellings that appeals to readers?

Oh, I think it's the same thing that appeals to readers about all stories. The combination of the same and the new. This modern Western idea that we are somehow writing "original" material is just so silly. In medieval times, bards were acutely conscious of who they were stealing from and I think they were smarter.

It is also true that princesses seem to appeal to girls (who are big readers) right now a lot. I think that a lot of people believe fantasy in particular is an escape from modern life. I think it is more a meditation of what we have lost and what we have gained in becoming more modern. It is a story about what it means to be human, then and now and how we are connected to our past.

How do you choose which retellings to do?

See above. They make me. Probably I am most interested in retellings that allow me to subvert patriarchal culture with feminist ideas and to debunk certain myths of humanism that unerly a lot of modern political philosophy. This idea that humans are capable of changing who we are from millenia of evolution just because we want to seems rather foolish to me.

Do you think retellings are still popular or have they all been done before?

There will always be new retellings. I can't imagine Cinderella not being told again and again in ways that will always delight me. Yes, there will be retellings that don't appeal or that feel less fresh, but then a new Gail Carson Levine or Megan Whalen Turner comes along, and the world holds its collective breath.

Is there room for more in today's market?

I think the pendulum is swinging back to more traditional fantasy at the moment, away from urban. But I could be wrong.

What is your idea of a good/bad fairytale retelling?

I have been trying (not altogether successfully) to accept that my idea of good writing is not necessary the "true" or Platonic ideal of good writing. Nonetheless, I like female characters who do something. However, I am annoyed by anachronistic modern characters set in a medieval world. If you want to do modern characters acting out a fairy tale, set it in a modern world. That's what I've done with Tris and Izzie. Another annoyance of mine is overwrought language. I tend to think language should be a window, not a picture. You should see through it to the story. If you have something to say, do it with the story, not the words. My prejudice.

What are some of your favorite fairytale retellings and why?

Robin McKinley is one of my all time favorite retellers. Also Patricia Wrede. Patricia McKillip. Gail Carson Levine. Shannon Hale. Diana Peterfreund is doing interesting stuff with unicorn myths. Also Nancy Werlin. There's a new book coming out called The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal that I think is great.

How do you handle romance in your fairytales?

I spent years trying to figure out what the formula of a good romance was. When the first meeting should happen, what sorts of obstacles should come up, how things should be resolved. The proposal. The humilation.

In the end, I decided that the individual characters have to dictate what happens. In The Princess and the Hound, I had two strong characters, George and Beatrice, who had their own motivations. Once I figured out who they were, they just had to figure out their own way together. I felt like I was sort of a scribe for them, writing down what they told me they would do. But it's also true that the set up required me to choose characters who desperately needed each other. In my original version of the novel, George had no magic. But I realized that he had to have a counter balance to what is set up later in the novel. He needed to have his own sorrow and pain. And also, he needed to have something that was complementary to what Beatrice was going through. He understands her in a deep way. That's the set up and that's important. But how it plays out, well, Beatrice is not an ordinary female character. There are some very odd moments. And I used some tricks to reveal character to each other in magic dreams. I think it worked, but it still feels a bit like a trick.

Tell us about your new book coming out.

Tris and Izzie is about Izzie, a girl whose mother makes potions. Izzie's best friend Brangane is in love with some guy desperately but she won't tell Izzie who. Izzie decides to solve the problem by making a love potion (a potion her mother thinks is dangerous and has never used) and she plans to give it to Branna and whichever guy seems the best bet. But due to a series of disastrous circumstances, Izzie has to take it herself and she ends up falling in love with the guy that was supposed to be Branna's, even though she already has a boyfriend who is awesome in every way. It's based on Tristan and Isolde by Gottfried von Strassburg, which is the first German story I read in college. I gave it a happy ending and updated it, but a lot of the old magic is the same. There are a lot of tips of the hat to those who know the original. Everyone else I'm sure won't care. But of course, Tris and Izzie have to save the world. After they figure out if they can really love each other.

Any other tips for those interested in writing fairytale retellings?

Write a lot. Revise a lot. Try a lot of different ways to work the story. Don't be afraid to change things up or to start over from the beginning.

Thanks for the wonderful interview, Mette!

That's it until next week. Be sure to come back for my second interview with her on "Editing" next Monday May 14th. 

Contest: Win a copy of Tris and Izzie!!!

Also, for a chance to win a copy of Mette's fabulous book, Tris and Izzie, go to my writer's group podcast at www.writingsnippets.com where we'll be posting several podcast interviews with Mette starting on Monday May 14th, and comment on one of her interviews! 

Shapeshifter's Secret Review and Giveaway

Book Blurb:

She tried telling herself to stop, but it was useless. Something had fully claimed her mind and body. A sound began to erupt from inside her chest, a deep sort of growl that seized her entire being. She felt as if there was a grizzly bear inside her, trying to escape. And then a deafening roar echoed from her mouth, only inches away from Lancer’s face. It took everything inside of her not to attack him.

In Julia’s life, timing is everything. Like the time her paranoid father put bars on her window so she wouldn’t sneak out at night—even though she’s never given him a reason not to trust her. Or the time this weird new kid showed up at her school and pretty much every girl in sight instantly and inexplicably fell in love with him. What was up with that?

But as time moves on, things in Julia’s life go from strange to seriously impossible. Now it’s all she can do to keep herself and the life she’s always known from falling apart.

This fast-paced action-adventure story is packed with humor, romance, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing to the very last page. Get lost in a world of hidden royalty, shifting alliances, and dangerous vendettas, but don’t ever forget: nothing is what it seems.
Author bio

Heather Ostler grew up near the mountains with a rambunctiously entertaining family. She majored in English at Utah Valley University, and soon began composing stories about masquerades, water nymphs, and shapeshifters. She and her husband, Kellen, reside in Highland, Utah with two remarkably pleasant pugs.

Quote from the book:

As
Julia burst through the school’s front doors she began

running with
quickness and agility she’d never known before.

Normally it would
have taken her at least an hour to get to Covington

Park. However, only
minutes had passed when she arrived

out of breath and
fatigued. Her chest heaved, but she continued

onward to the
deserted woodland behind the park.

Julia
entered into the hidden dark forest and collapsed on the

dirt floor. She tried
to shake off the anger and heat that pulsed

inside her, but it
only seemed to have gotten worse. Images of Ms.

Finnary and the
students swirled in her head, and she screamed

with anguish. Why
couldn’t she get rid of the horrible feelings? It

seemed her whole body
was reacting more extreme this time, and

she knew she was dangerous.

A
branch snapped near her, and she sprang up from the

ground baring her
teeth again like a wild animal.

“Who’s
there?”

She
spun around menacingly, and to her shock, found Caleb

standing just a few
feet away from her.

“Julia,
are you okay?” he asked walking toward her with his

hands out. 

“How
did you find me here?”

“You
need to calm down. I can help you,” he said, far too

composed for the
situation.

“Leave.”
Julia’s voice was mean, and she hoped it would be

enough to get him to
disappear. “I don’t want to be responsible

for what I do to
you.”

“I’m
not going to leave you,” Caleb stated. “I want to help.”

         “No,”
she growled. Soon her hands began shaking harder

than ever before. Her
breathing seized her, and she felt her lungs

might explode before
she had enough air. She shook her head as

her
vision was obscured, and suddenly she was no longer Julia.

Review

I'm thrilled for this opportunity to review my friend Heather Ostler's debut novel, Shapeshifter's Secret, the first book in her YA fantasy series.  If you like Twilight-esk paranormal romance, Harry Potter-like magic, and Phantom of the Opera-ish ghost mysteries, then you'll love Shapeshifter's Secret. From shape shifting werecats to masquerade balls, the story is brimming with action, romance, and danger around every corner.

Julia is just an average teenage girl—or so she thinks—until she starts having odd fits and seeing strange things. Her world is flipped on it's head when she finds out the dark secrets her over-protective father has been keeping from her; such as the fact that she's not who she always thought she was, that there's a whole world she never knew existed, and that her life is on the line.

I enjoyed the premise of this book: a young woman trying to find herself and deal with the normal teenage infatuations, friendships, and school work, while also dealing with supernatural elements, betrayal, and attempts on her life.

I look forward to the next books revealing more of the world and characters and developing Julia's powers further to give her an even greater role in resolving not only her own problems, but also the problems that threaten to bring the downfall of her world. 

If you'd like to read other reviews of Shapeshifter's Secret check the blog tour calendar here:http://www.cedarfortbooks.com/blog-tour-the-shapeshifters-secret/.  

Here are some other links:  

Author Website: http://www.heatherostler.com/ 

Author blog: http://heatherostler.blogspot.com/ 

Publisher Blog http://www.cedarfortbooks.com/ 

Publisher Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cedarfortbooks 

Publisher Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/cedarfortbooks 

Purchase link to Amazon or BN.com http://www.amazon.com/The-Shapeshifters-Secret-Heather-Ostler/dp/1462110339/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335931337&sr=1-1

Giveaway: 

Also, if you'd like the chance to win a copy of Shapeshifter's Secret, please  follow or like Cedar Fort or the author on Facebook or Twitter and comment on this post to let me know.

Launch Party:

The launch party will be at the King's English at 7pm on June 14th. Hope to see you there!

Defy Promotional Package, Quote Wars, and Contest

As part of the Defy book tour I'm excited to promote the book on my blog with a summary, trailer, quotes from the book, and a link to a contest where you can enter to win a book or some cool "swag!" 


Defy summary: 

Seventeen-year-old Tate is about to make her parents’ dreams come true. Unfortunately for her, their dreams foretell her death.

Eager to explore more of the Estilorian plane and prove her abilities, Tate goes against her parents’ wishes and leaves the area of protection surrounding her home. Her choice puts her on a deadly path…one that leaves her alone, severely injured and battling for her life.

Her possible savior arrives in the form of Zachariah, a male who has removed himself from Estilorian society for more than fifty years. Fighting an unexpected connection to Tate, he must decide whether saving her life is worth destroying his.

As Tate struggles to find a way home, she ends up drawn into a dark Mercesti plot involving multiple murders and a powerful ancient artifact. With the unpredictable Zachariah as her only source for aid, she’ll soon find out if her abilities are strong enough to help her defy her Fate.

Click on this link to watch the amazing trailer: Defy trailer

Quote Wars: 

                                                                                           

Quote Battle for Defy

Tate VS Zachariah

ROUND 1:

Tate: “You probably think I’m an idiot for getting myself into this mess.”

Zachariah: “You have a highly developed sense of the dramatic.”

ROUND 2:

Tate: “Drama? Oh, you want drama? I have no idea where I am. I have no clothes besides the ones I’m wearing, which are filthy and essentially rags. I have no food, no map, no healing supplies…and to top it all off, I’ve lost my mind and I’m now communicating with a hallucination.”

Zachariah: “You really must learn to control your emotions.”

ROUND 3:

Tate: “Oh, great. Not only do I have a breakdown, but I have some uncaring stranger around to witness it. Could this possibly be any worse?”

Zachariah: “Having a rough time of it, are you?”

ROUND 4:

Tate: “It’s called sarcasm, Sparky. Haven’t you ever heard of it?”

Zachariah: “I know very well what sarcasm is, Beautiful.”

ROUND 5:

Tate: “You’re funny, Sparky. Heaven knows why I like you, but I sure do… I trusted you to do what you said you would.”

Zachariah: “Trust me when I say that you should never trust me, Beautiful.”

Brief bio: Raine Thomas is the author of a bestselling series of YA fantasy romance novels about the Estilorian plane, including the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy and the upcoming Firstborn trilogy. She is a proud member of Romance Writers of America and is a contributing blogger to The Writer's Voice. When she isn’t planning weddings, writing or glued to social networking sites, she can usually be found on one of Florida’s beautiful beaches with her husband and daughter or crossing the border to visit with her Canadian friends and relatives.

Now for the contest! To enter go to: http://yabound.blogspot.com/2012/03/blog-tour-sign-up-defy-by-raine-thomas.html Good luck!

Plots, Subplots, and Foreshadowing

Here are, yet, more of my notes from LTUE. These are from a panel on plotting, subplotting, and foreshadowing. I tend to have too many subplots so this was helpful in figuring out how to narrow it down for me. Hopefully some aspect of it will help you with plotting too. The authors on the panel were Bree Despain, James Owen, Scott Savage, Brandon Sanderson, and Stacy Whitman.

Stacy Whitman and Karen Sandler

Brandon Sanderson

Bree Despain

Minor subplots—need to be pulled together and relate to the large plot. All characters should have lives before the story. They need to have passions unrelated to the real plot. Having them care about other things rounds out and makes characters real.

Things to juggle—You don't just want filler chapters. You want multiple plotlines in between.

Scott Savage

How do you have subplots to support your main plot? They are running threads throughout that make your character stronger. Look for integration and complexity of plot and character.

Plot (Epic fantasy)—End of an era. Survive.

How many subplots is too many and how do you know? Read, read, read in the genre to which you aspire to write to get an idea of how many subplots are usual for that genre. Keep an eye out for adding anything new in the last quarter of your book, which undermines the focus of the last quarter of your book.

Layer subplots—so the book can be read at different levels. (e.g., use references alluding to other books.)

Don't have so many characters that your story becomes diluted.

Subjects—just like main plots have to have a beginning, middle, and end, if you start something, you have to follow it through, especially in a series. You have to tie it all up.

YA watchword—When pitching a book or series to an editor, say it's a stand alone with a series potential.

Start outlining books 2 and 3 and think of things you may need to outline.

Writing process—do a 1 page outline (1 sheet/yellow legal pad) of the character's trip or journey. Stops along the way are plot points. For side trips you have to come back to the main destination. You can use pictures or images for each chapter.

Where do subplots come from? They come from the character's dreams or passions. They cast people in roles. Write the first chapter. Throw it away and rewrite it. For the over arching plot have a strict outline.

Foreshadowing—drop something in here and there and have someone mention something. Make the reader accept the story along the way. You need to lay the groundwork and have enough clues, but not make it obvious, so that it's surprising, yet inevitable. Get the reader really interested in something that's coming up. Be a story magician and distract them. Surprising the reader in a way that makes them say, "Oh, I should have seen that coming," is tricky. Give them little bread crumbs.

Difference between idea and plot—plot is the main character's major goal and obstacles and consequences for failure.

How do you keep from giving away too much? Use a red herring that never pans out, another thing that pans out, and something that has a twist. With 1st person it's easy to keep secrets with an unreliable narrator. In 3rd person, stay out of the head of the person with a secret. Just have them not think about it because it's too traumatic.

So what are some your plotting tips or things that have helped you with plotting?

The 7-7-7 Challenge

3. Pat Esden tagged me in the 7-7-7 Challenge. Here's how it works:
The 7-7-7 Challenge:
Flip to page 77 or page 7 of your current WIP. 
Find line 7.
Post the 7 sentences that follow.
Tag 7 more writers.
Here are the seven sentences of my Paranormal Romance novel, Mystic Mound. The main character, Mindy, has just graduated from high school. She performed with her band and the show choir at her graduation (she plays the electric guitar) and her best friend, Krista, sang the solo. Brady, the class president, who she's had a crush on since junior high, gives a speech and Mindy almost trips walking down the ramp from the stage after receiving her diploma. 
             
            Ha! That would’ve been a stunning entrance to my new life as an adult.

Afterwards, I stood in the packed hallway next to Krista waiting for my mom to find me. Classmates squished by, slapping our shoulders and congratulating us on our graduation and on our performance.

Brady sauntered past. I tried not to stare at his sun-bleached hair and electric blue eyes, but he caught my gaze. “Nice job, Cooper,” he said, doing a pretend riff on an air guitar.

            He’d hardly ever said a word to me before. I didn’t even know he knew my name. 


The 7 other author/bloggers I've chosen to tag for this contest are: 
1. http://erinshakespear.blogspot.com/
2. pink-ink-pink.blogspot.com
3. http://lauren-ritz.blogspot.com
4. http://heatherostler.blogspot.com/
5. http://houseofpayne.blogspot.com/
6. http://cathywitbeck-storypainter.blogspot.com/
7. monibw.blogspot.com


Have fun with this!

Writing Multicultural Novels

Stacy and me at LTUE

Stacylwhitman, editorial director of Tu books, an imprint of Lee and Low, gave a very enlightening presentation on writing multicultural novels at LTUE in February. Here are some highlights of her presentation:

Issues:

• Who gets to write what? 
• Who actually reads multicultural books?

Recommendations of books to read:
Liar, Justine Larbalestier
Magic Under Glass
Wolf Mark

Resources:

• CCB Children's Book Council
• Alvina Ling, Little Brown
• Diversity committee
• Oyate.org
• This American Life (radio show)

Different types of multicultural writer's:

• Invador—Arrive without warning. Take what ever they want. destroy. Stay. 
• Tourist: Nusance, pay way, can be accommodated. May be intelligent but ignorant, but can learn.
• Guest—relationships can become long term and reciprocal. 
• Native—Someone who is part of that culture

Examples of what not to do:
The Dear America Series: My Heart is on the Ground
Holes 
The Wizard of Earthsea, "Whitewashing"

Research:
Museums
Cultural institutions

Questions to ask yourself as you're writing:
Surface—food, clothing,
Deep culture—family interaction
       Whom are people loyal to? individualists or collectivists?
       Who are people responsible for?
       Who gets respects? (chief status? scribe status? Being vs. doing? Best player at sports? or age that  gives you status?
       How do we ensure fairness?
       Converstation vs. emotions? emotions nuetral or expressive?
       Who is in control? Outer vs. inner? You, fate, God?
       What time is it? Time is absolute verses flexible
       Guilt vs. shame?
       Men and women (separate or similar?)
       Am I in your space? (work, personal life, space)
       Shall we look forward or back?

I had a wonderful sushi lunch with Stacy and other writers, and she is considering one of my novels. I decided after talking with her and listening to her presentation that rather than setting my novel in a real historical place in Africa, I would simply base it on a certain culture and time period and make it an imaginary place. If you've written a YA or MG multicultural fantasy novel, Stacy would be a great editor to send it to.

Writer's On Writing

This was one of my favorite, most inspiring panels from LTUE with panelists Brandon Sanderson, Tracy Hickman, David Farland, and  L.E Modesitt Jr. I especially appreciated what Tracy Hickman had to say.

 

Brandon Sanderson (in the middle with the black jacket and hat) talking to a group of writers at LTUE 

Tracy Hickman and me at LTUE

1. What is the most important (useful) writing lesson you've learned lately?

David Farland—Write for the love of writing. Write better, longer, get more done. Accomplish your goal for the year. Everyday sit down before you write for a few minutes and meditate. Tell yourself, "I am writing and I am excited about it."

Don't write around it. Write it. Write a story from a painting.

Brandon—Write short fiction. My first love is big fat fantasy novels. They're the most profitable, but as a writer I had a lot of ideas jumping out at me. I could put them in a 15,000 word novella and be done with them. This is a way to keep myself from worrying about the novels I'm not writing. (He calls 15,000 word novels short stories?)

Tracy Hickman—It takes 3 elements to make a writer. 1) talent 2) craft 3) discipline. Talent without discipline is a waste of air. There are a lot of people who are talented but not disciplined. They are "unwept, unhonored, and unsigned."

L.E. Modesitt—You have not yet written your best work, that story you must write and love will crash and burn and you'll have to pick yourself up and start over on page one.

Brandon—Do things more intentionally. I learned to start looking for the things that work well. I started looking at fiction as more of a performance, like a baseball pitcher. Writing is not totally conscious. It's partly subconscious. Train your subconscious by reading a lot.

Tracy—A story is structure. A story is meaning. It's craft. Craft is understanding method. Method is Character, plot, etc. . . . Recommended reading: Stephen Kings Book On Writing and The Black Swan.

Dave—Structure stories with characters, conflict, and people caught in the middle. I started looking at story as an argument. What is this story saying about society, etc. . . ?

2. How is publishing and writing changing? What is a time when writing was really hard for you?


Brandon—Just before (1 year) I published my first book. I wrote 12 novels and none of them sold. It took too long. I tried to chase the market and wrote mediocre novels. It's okay to look at trends, but I had a hard long look at why I was writing. I was writing to get published, but if not, would I keep writing? Yes, 1-2 books per year. Writing was more important than publishing.

Tracy—I'm in the most difficult part of my writing career, the worst thing that's ever happened. I can't talk about it. My way of dealing with it is my belief that I'm supposed to write for a living. What I do matters after all this apparent success you still have obstacles that you have to overcome and just have to rely on faith to get through.

Dave—We're at a tough time in the market and the rules are changing. The playing field has been leveled. What used to work doesn't anymore, but I'm going to keep trying to find a way. At another hard time in my life was when my teachers were pushing me toward a literary market—writing short stories to try to define myself as a writer. I decided to write what I would want  to read—genre ficion, SciFi, weird. I was not going to be untrue to myself. It was not the literary mainstream. Once I started writing to an audience, doors kicked open.

L.E. Modesitt—It was hard as hell when I first started. I sold the first Scifi story I ever wrote. I wrote 26 (18 before selling my 2nd and 3rd). I finally got a letter from my first buyer saying, "Don't send anymore stories. I won't buy them. You are a novelist. Write novels." I was trying to cram novels into short stories. I never tried to chase the market. I just kept trying to do what I do. More readers like what I write than editors. I stuck with it. This is what I know how to do/like and there are enough people out there who like it.

You're only as good as the last thing you write.

Dave—Every book I write, I set the bar higher. Each new novel is the hardest.

3. What do you see as the future of writing?


Tracy—1950's motion picture industry in trouble because of TV. 1960's individual producers came in and started making strange counter culture films. They weren't in the business of making movies but in the business of financing movies. Publishers today are in the same place. New distribution technologies are not in the business of making books, they're in the business of arbitrary quality. It's all going to come down to quality. Someone may read you once, but will they read you again? Provide them with a solid story.

Dave—Stories are everywhere. Your stories are your intellectual property. Fans are the future of book publishing: Facebook, Twitter, Webpage views. Your "following" sells books
_________________________________________________________________________________

I hope you've enjoyed these excellent thoughts from these amazing writers and maybe even learned a thing or two or at least felt inspired to keep writing or start writing or to write more! Happy writing and much success!