Ask the Author: Nadya Sayre
Answered Questions (9)
Nadya Sayre
The interesting thing about this is...I don't have any mysteries in my life. At least, none that come to mind. Which is probably why I don't try writing crime or mystery.
Nadya Sayre
Most of my to be read books aren't even out yet. Except Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson. So that's on my list. After that, it's whatever book strikes my fancy.
Nadya Sayre
The best thing about being a writer is the ability to fully explore worlds and see the characters grow. When I'd daydream The Rebels, or even scenes from The Irregulars (not out yet, don't worry), I was always stuck on a few scenes and it never expanded beyond that.
I had a scene I for The Irregulars that I'd first come up with about 5 years ago now. Before I began writing that book, I reread it and it still fit, still pulled up all the emotions. By the time I reached that scene in the full story, I realized it didn't fit anymore. Not because of the concept, but because of the characters. They'd grown more than I'd known they would and I had to redo the entire thing to suit who they really were. It also meant I had to rethink the ending, because they wouldn't react like I'd originally thought.
So, being able to see my worlds and my characters grow and change, and to be surprised by them is one of the best things about being a writer right now.
The other thing is having people come up to me and request to be a character in a book, and to be killed slowly and gruesomely lol
I had a scene I for The Irregulars that I'd first come up with about 5 years ago now. Before I began writing that book, I reread it and it still fit, still pulled up all the emotions. By the time I reached that scene in the full story, I realized it didn't fit anymore. Not because of the concept, but because of the characters. They'd grown more than I'd known they would and I had to redo the entire thing to suit who they really were. It also meant I had to rethink the ending, because they wouldn't react like I'd originally thought.
So, being able to see my worlds and my characters grow and change, and to be surprised by them is one of the best things about being a writer right now.
The other thing is having people come up to me and request to be a character in a book, and to be killed slowly and gruesomely lol
Nadya Sayre
The Northwest Uprising happened slowly, a scene here, a scene there, but what really kicked it off was watching Red Dawn. It's an interesting idea, but the scope of the newer movie was so small. I decided it needed to be bigger, cover more ground. Bits and pieces are drawn from rumors about the Cascade Mountains, and things my cousins told me. Putting them all together is what created the world Captain, Sirius, and Phoenix live in.
Nadya Sayre
There are almost too many to name, but one fictional world I go to in a heartbeat is Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn books, but in the same timeframe as Alloy of Law when it's known as Scadrial. The early 1900s setting leaves so much available to the imagination. I'd be one of the Mistborn, of course.
Nadya Sayre
Waiting to 'get inspired' was the worst thing I could do. It meant not writing for days at a time because I didn't know what I would write. The best thing I did was aim for consistency. A friend gave me a challenge: write for 1 minute a day, every day. Ever since then, I've never had to worry about 'being inspired' or dealt with writer's block.
Nadya Sayre
When it comes to writer's block, I listen to Terry Pratchett: There's no such thing as writer's block. That was invented by people in California who couldn't write.
I've never had a problem with writer's block, not once I set a small time goal and kept to it daily.
I've never had a problem with writer's block, not once I set a small time goal and kept to it daily.
Nadya Sayre
This isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. If you find that you can't meet the word counts other people are setting, or your writing comes in fits and starts, try setting a time goal. I started with 1 minute a day.
Nadya Sayre
I'm currently working on book 2 of The Northwest Uprising, The Irregulars
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