You got your start on Fanfiction.net,
writing amazing Sailor Moon fiction. How did writing fanfiction shape
your original writing? So much! I
like to make the comparison to how many authors have a drawer of unfinished or
unpublished manuscripts somewhere. I don't have that - but I DO have a
fanfiction.net page. Those years spent writing fanfiction were really how I
learned how to tell a complete story, increase suspense, write dialogue and
humor, create compelling characters, and on and on. Beyond that, it also taught
me how to take criticism and listen to feedback, and the importance of writing
(and 'publishing') consistently - because fanfic readers get VERY IRATE when
their favorite stories go un-updated for too long.
How did you choose the fairytales you developed in your Lunar Chronicles? Were they favorites of yours, or just worked with the concept of the series best? When I first had the idea for the series, I started by making a list of twelve or so of my favorite fairy tales, and then brainstorming different ways that I could "futurize" them. These four stories - Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White - kept rising to the top, as far as interesting twists I could give them. On top of that, the more I brainstormed, the more I could see how these tales might potentially fit together into one continuous story. It was a very organic process.
What inspired you to tie four different stories together in one major plotline (which are the different plots to your four books) instead of writing sequels with the same core characters or stand-alones with completely different characters in the same series? (If this question needs clarification, I can ask it a better way and apologize for the confusion.) That was actually the original plan - to write a series of stand-alones taking place in one world. But as I started to work on the Cinderella story, I realized that she had a very important link to the evil Lunar Queen, who I already knew was Snow White's stepmother. And as more ideas came to me, I could see how that wicked queen could be the villain of all four stories, and be antagonizing all of my main characters. So the stories started to bleed together until I had this clear picture of how my main heroine (Cinder) would go through the books gathering these other fairy tale characters to her side, in an attempt to wage war against the queen.
Can you give us any information about Cress? Gladly! Cress is my Rapunzel character, with crazy long hair and all. But instead of being trapped in the traditional tower, Cress is stuck in a satellite orbiting Earth. She also happens to be an excellent computer hacker, but unfortunately these skills have ended up putting her in the employ of Queen Levana, and she's being forced to spy on the rulers of Earth, while desperately trying to find a means to escape...
Terrible question, but do you have a favorite heroine AND hero that you just like to write more so than the others? Or maybe their voice is just more natural to write than others? Not terrible at all! A lot of interviewers will ask if I have a favorite hero or heroine and that question is impossible - I love them all! But at this point, I do have to say that my favorite romance thread is Cress's. I like the arc that both characters go through as they get to know each other, and both of their personalities to tend to come out more easily than a lot of the other couples.
Has your writing process changed over the course of the four books? It seems like it's changing CONSTANTLY! Though I've always been an outline writer, I've had to come up with new "tricks" to keep myself motivated and to get words written consistently, especially now that my time is always getting swallowed up by publicity obligations and book tours and school visits, and on and on. I've taken to 'bouncing around' in the book and writing scenes that appeal to me, rather than always writing chronologically, which I never used to do. And I've also recently started using the 'star sticker' technique, which Victoria Schwab explained in this great vlog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvDtCIA-_dk&feature=c4-overview&list=UU_Y6xAtwXaiQhmyKu5kdmAw. It's super easy and effective!
CRESS: Book Three of the Lunar Chronicles is now available for pre-order!
http://www.marissameyer.com | Blog | Newsletter | Giveaways
Twitter: @marissa_meyer | Facebook: Marissa Meyer + The Lunar Chronicles
How did you choose the fairytales you developed in your Lunar Chronicles? Were they favorites of yours, or just worked with the concept of the series best? When I first had the idea for the series, I started by making a list of twelve or so of my favorite fairy tales, and then brainstorming different ways that I could "futurize" them. These four stories - Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White - kept rising to the top, as far as interesting twists I could give them. On top of that, the more I brainstormed, the more I could see how these tales might potentially fit together into one continuous story. It was a very organic process.
What inspired you to tie four different stories together in one major plotline (which are the different plots to your four books) instead of writing sequels with the same core characters or stand-alones with completely different characters in the same series? (If this question needs clarification, I can ask it a better way and apologize for the confusion.) That was actually the original plan - to write a series of stand-alones taking place in one world. But as I started to work on the Cinderella story, I realized that she had a very important link to the evil Lunar Queen, who I already knew was Snow White's stepmother. And as more ideas came to me, I could see how that wicked queen could be the villain of all four stories, and be antagonizing all of my main characters. So the stories started to bleed together until I had this clear picture of how my main heroine (Cinder) would go through the books gathering these other fairy tale characters to her side, in an attempt to wage war against the queen.
Can you give us any information about Cress? Gladly! Cress is my Rapunzel character, with crazy long hair and all. But instead of being trapped in the traditional tower, Cress is stuck in a satellite orbiting Earth. She also happens to be an excellent computer hacker, but unfortunately these skills have ended up putting her in the employ of Queen Levana, and she's being forced to spy on the rulers of Earth, while desperately trying to find a means to escape...
Terrible question, but do you have a favorite heroine AND hero that you just like to write more so than the others? Or maybe their voice is just more natural to write than others? Not terrible at all! A lot of interviewers will ask if I have a favorite hero or heroine and that question is impossible - I love them all! But at this point, I do have to say that my favorite romance thread is Cress's. I like the arc that both characters go through as they get to know each other, and both of their personalities to tend to come out more easily than a lot of the other couples.
Has your writing process changed over the course of the four books? It seems like it's changing CONSTANTLY! Though I've always been an outline writer, I've had to come up with new "tricks" to keep myself motivated and to get words written consistently, especially now that my time is always getting swallowed up by publicity obligations and book tours and school visits, and on and on. I've taken to 'bouncing around' in the book and writing scenes that appeal to me, rather than always writing chronologically, which I never used to do. And I've also recently started using the 'star sticker' technique, which Victoria Schwab explained in this great vlog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvDtCIA-_dk&feature=c4-overview&list=UU_Y6xAtwXaiQhmyKu5kdmAw. It's super easy and effective!
CRESS: Book Three of the Lunar Chronicles is now available for pre-order!
http://www.marissameyer.com | Blog | Newsletter | Giveaways
Twitter: @marissa_meyer | Facebook: Marissa Meyer + The Lunar Chronicles
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