The following are from authors I’ve met, heard speak, followed on social media, and/or read their books.
Challenge Yourself
“Don’t be afraid to engage with the difficult parts of yourself.” – Meg Rosoff
“Generating new material feels like running a marathon. I just want to get to the end, and every step feels painful. Each chapter feels like a mountain I don’t want to climb.” – Dhonielle Clayton
“All you have to do is be brave today, for the next hour, the next day.” – Laurie Halse Anderson
“Okay, so here’s how I write something new: I make a list of things I like to read/watch, plot-wise or character-wise, then try to cram them together for a story.” – Kurt Dinan
Be Persistent
“Before I had an agent and was published, I used to think there was this hidden code that I just couldn’t crack that would enable me to be a writer. Spoiler alert: it’s a business, just be professional and keep trying.” – Beth Revis
“I feel like this novel has been rattling around my head forever.” – Gordon Korman
“Being published is not a necessary validation or a path everyone wants to take with their work. Writing—and finishing—a novel is a great thing in itself, whether or not the book is published, or becomes widely-read or not.” – Garth Nix
“Writing is an extremely rewarding and humbling process, and I’ve learned to go with it, that even if it feels absolutely impossible, I will find a way to tell the next story.” – Marie Lu
Craft Tips
“Characters get themselves out of an alien situation by the truths within them.” – April Henry
“If you think you made a wrong turn but you’re not sure where, think back to the last place you were certain about the story and judge every decision from there.” – Jodi Meadows
“I tend not to attempt to describe pain. I don’t feel I can comprehend or re-create the personal suffering of others, so I simply try to tell what happened, or what I imagine happened. I also think it helps to let the reader fill in a lot of the blanks.” – Elizabeth Wein
“I think the best fictional tales come from a grain of truth.” – Shea Ernshaw
How Others Work
“I find things in the real world and hammer them into my stories.” – Maggie Stiefvater
“Writing isn’t just about sitting at the desk and typing into the laptop. For me, most of the plotting, and dilemma solving, happens walking on the trail. It’s my secret weapon against writer’s block.” – Stacey Lee
“Sometimes visiting a place is just what’s needed to add authenticity and depth to your text.” – Suzanne Morgan Williams
“I still keep thinking someone will penetrate my guilty secret – that I have been masquerading as a writer all these years while all I was really doing was enjoying myself, pursuing my passion.” – Geraldine McCaughrean
