Ask the Author: Laura Williams McCaffrey
Answered Questions (8)
Laura Williams McCaffrey
Well, I teach, so some of my reading relates to what I'll be teaching next year. This summer, I'll definitely be reading the books on Vermont's Dorothy Canfield Fisher list, and I'm especially looking forward to Kelly Barnhill's The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Delia Sherman's The Evil Wizard Smallbone. I'm also looking forward to catching up with Nnedi Okorafor's Binti series, as well as the Akata series. Before September, I need to read Daniel José Older's Shadowshaper, so I'm ready for the release of Shadowhouse Fall.
Laura Williams McCaffrey
This is tough one to answer.
I think I have to say Puck and Sean from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I love how determined they both are, and how dedicated to their families and their passions, which are in conflict. I won't give away how their romance unfolds. It's a true pleasure to read.
Another recent favorite is Finn and Petey in Laura Ruby's Bone Gap. They both have to accept some difficult truths about each other, which is, to me, an honest portrayal of how love works and how it sometimes fails to work.
I think I have to say Puck and Sean from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I love how determined they both are, and how dedicated to their families and their passions, which are in conflict. I won't give away how their romance unfolds. It's a true pleasure to read.
Another recent favorite is Finn and Petey in Laura Ruby's Bone Gap. They both have to accept some difficult truths about each other, which is, to me, an honest portrayal of how love works and how it sometimes fails to work.
Laura Williams McCaffrey
I guess I'll answer for Marked.
I started with Lyla, and her need to get ahead but her inability to follow the rules. Then I started to wonder what inspired her. I was reading Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay at the time, which led me to read Maus, Persepolis, Blankets, American Born Chinese, Fun Home, and on and on. That's when the comics that Lyla reads appeared to me. I started writing those, and I decided that one of the storylines of the comics she reads would actually appear in the novel.
I started with Lyla, and her need to get ahead but her inability to follow the rules. Then I started to wonder what inspired her. I was reading Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay at the time, which led me to read Maus, Persepolis, Blankets, American Born Chinese, Fun Home, and on and on. That's when the comics that Lyla reads appeared to me. I started writing those, and I decided that one of the storylines of the comics she reads would actually appear in the novel.
Laura Williams McCaffrey
I get up at 5:30am. I drink my tea and read a little. Then I set my timer and start at 6am. Writing, for me, is a ritual.
I know that doesn't really answer the question. Some days I feel more inspired than others. Reading inspires me. Photographs. Comics. All kinds of art.
I always feel that I have this character I care about, and I have to tell her story. I simply have to see the writing through, for her sake. I can't abandon her.
I know that doesn't really answer the question. Some days I feel more inspired than others. Reading inspires me. Photographs. Comics. All kinds of art.
I always feel that I have this character I care about, and I have to tell her story. I simply have to see the writing through, for her sake. I can't abandon her.
Laura Williams McCaffrey
I'm always working on a number of things. I'm finishing all the tweaky final proofreading on Marked. I'm also working on a YA speculative fiction mystery, as well as a number of speculative fiction short stories.
Laura Williams McCaffrey
Read, read, read. Read the kinds of things you like to write. Read other things, too — anything that startles you and moves you.
Also, write. As often as you can. Write regularly, whatever that means for you. It could mean every day, or every summer, or every weekend. There's no correct schedule, but find out what regularly means to you. You won't be a writer if you don't write.
Also, make your peace with terrible drafts and the need to revise. The existence of these in your life don't make you a failure. They're a normal part of the process for most writers.
Also, write. As often as you can. Write regularly, whatever that means for you. It could mean every day, or every summer, or every weekend. There's no correct schedule, but find out what regularly means to you. You won't be a writer if you don't write.
Also, make your peace with terrible drafts and the need to revise. The existence of these in your life don't make you a failure. They're a normal part of the process for most writers.
Laura Williams McCaffrey
Writing, and other writers.
I don't always find the act of writing easy. I throw away a lot of what I write. Still, I love my mechanical pencils and my lined white paper. I love putting words on pages, the way the words accumulate and grow into characters.
And I love talking with other writers, about the books we're reading, about the stories we're writing, about the pitfalls of working in a home office and wearing pajamas too often.
I don't always find the act of writing easy. I throw away a lot of what I write. Still, I love my mechanical pencils and my lined white paper. I love putting words on pages, the way the words accumulate and grow into characters.
And I love talking with other writers, about the books we're reading, about the stories we're writing, about the pitfalls of working in a home office and wearing pajamas too often.
Laura Williams McCaffrey
I sit down every day at the same time, and I simply try to write something related to the story. What I write doesn't have to be good. It doesn't have to end up in the draft. It doesn't even have to be relevant to the story — though I often find the thing that unsticks me is information about a character or situation I need to know to continue.
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