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Marissa Stapley

Goodreads Author

Born

Toronto, Canada

Website

http://www.marissastapley.com

Twitter

marissastapley

Genre

Fiction

Influences

Mary McCarthy, Lauren Groff, Meg Wolitzer, Melissa Bank, Anne Tyler, A ...more

Member Since

January 2014

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Marissa Stapley is the NYT bestselling author of the novels Lucky (a Reese's Book Club pick), The Last Resort, Things to Do When It's Raining, and Mating for life. Her fiction has been published around the world and her journalism has appeared in magazines and newspapers across North America. She has taught creative writing and editing at the University of Toronto and Centennial College, and lives in Toronto with her family. ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Marissa Stapley If you want to be a writer, you must read widely -- not just the type of fiction you want to write, but all types of fiction. In particular, you shoul…moreIf you want to be a writer, you must read widely -- not just the type of fiction you want to write, but all types of fiction. In particular, you should read great fiction that can teach you, in the most interesting way possible, how to construct perfect sentences and spin a perfectly paced story. I say "in the most interesting way possible" because the craft of writing is often taught in classrooms and workshops, and that's fine. In fact, I teach and mentor students and we both get a lot out of it. But the best way to learn about good writing is by reading good writing. And the best part about that is that it doesn't feel like work or school--it feels like pure pleasure, because it's reading! My favourite authors to read when I'm writing and want to be inspired to write great sentences and exceptional stories are Lauren Groff, Alice Munro, Meg Wolitzer, and Julia Glass.

If you want to be a writer you must also attempt to silence the voice in your head telling you can't do it. The first moments of writing are always the most self-conscious, and that's when the critical voice sees its opportunity to try to take over. Keep at it, until the voice gets tired of criticizing you and goes silent. Resist the urge to go back and read what you've written halfway through your writing session. Just write! That's the best writing advice I've ever received. (less)

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Marissa Stapley I used to believe there was no such thing as writer's block, that the secret to dealing with it was just continuing the process of sitting down -- as …moreI used to believe there was no such thing as writer's block, that the secret to dealing with it was just continuing the process of sitting down -- as Stephen King instructs in his excellent book On Writing -- at the same time, in the same place, every day, and just keeping on until the muse returns.

But this past fall I experienced true writers block. I couldn't think of a new book idea to save my life. I felt tired and listless all the time. There was just no way I could sit down in front of my computer (or a notebook, or the dictation app on my phone) and fail every day. So, I stopped trying. I let myself rest. I went for walks, I read, I organized closets and sold a bunch of stuff on Kijiji. I made tea and took naps and tried not to worry about how I was going to continue paying my bills. And the next thing I knew (just kidding MONTHS later, when I thought I was going to go insane), I suddenly couldn't stop the ideas from coming.

Now I have two books I'm working on, plus a television show idea. During my time of writer's block -- which seems a distant memory, now -- a good author friend told me that every writer needs to allow herself to go into a fallow state after a big project. It feels desolate and hopeless at the time, but what's really happening is new seeds are being planted. So my answer is, I deal with writer's block by submitting to it and knowing it's not going to last forever! (less)

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Marissa Stapley’s books

Average rating: 3.57 · 101,076 ratings · 9,835 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	Lucky 3.58 avg rating — 73,603 ratings — published 2021 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin (Goodreads Author), Marissa Stapley (Goodreads Author) 3.55 avg rating — 15,640 ratings — published 2023 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Resort 3.30 avg rating — 5,792 ratings — published 2019 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lightning Bottles 3.89 avg rating — 3,876 ratings — published 2024	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Things to Do When It's Raining 3.39 avg rating — 1,629 ratings — published 2018 — 28 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mating for Life 3.72 avg rating — 642 ratings — published 2014 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Legacy: An Anthology by Regina Calcaterra (Goodreads Author), Adria J. Cimino (Goodreads Author), Kristopher Jansma (Goodreads Author) 4.23 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lightning Bottles: An absolutely gripping and heartbreaking page-turner 3.87 avg rating — 30 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What Happens Now? (Telegrams from Home, Vol. 3) by Jesse Thisle, Marissa Stapley (Goodreads Author), Michael Redhill 3.29 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2020	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Resort (2010-08-17) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Marissa Stapley's Blog

Lucky cover reveal

Hi everyone!
The cover for LUCKY has now been revealed. You can add it to your bookshelf and stay tuned for contests and news!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Have a great week!

Marissa Read more of this blog post »

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Published on October 05, 2020 06:41

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Marissa is Currently Reading

Marissa Stapley is currently reading

A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings

by Helen Jukes

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Sep 29, 2020 10:13AM

Marissa Stapley is currently reading

And the Dark Sacred Night

by Julia Glass (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Sep 06, 2014 09:34AM

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Marissa’s Recent Updates

Marissa Stapley is now following Rachel Hanes's reviews
Nov 10, 2024 04:39PM · like
Marissa Stapley and 1 other person liked Tyler Witt's review of The Lightning Bottles: "There’s just so much to this book. I don’t think any amount of words can do it justice (but I will try). When I tell you I was transported to wherever Jane was, I mean it. I felt like I was in their world, able to literally turn off my brain and just" Read more of this review »
Oct 15, 2024 06:56PM · see review
Marissa Stapley liked Amanda's review of The Lightning Bottles: "everyone who has an opinion on the Chappell Roan discourse should read this"
Oct 10, 2024 03:01AM · see review
Marissa Stapley wants to read The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 19, 2024 11:39AM · like

More of Marissa's books…

Quotes by Marissa Stapley (?)

“No problem. People deserve second chances. And third chances. All people do is make mistakes. If we never forgave, we’d all be alone.”
― Marissa Stapley, Lucky

10 likes

“The lottery is the greatest con of all time, kiddo. Proves our government is just like us, tricking people into thinking any dream can come true.”
― Marissa Stapley, Lucky

8 likes

“The world’s like that. What matters in one moment, it doesn’t matter the next. Things that fall apart eventually come back together again. Everything passes. You can be sure of that.”
― Marissa Stapley, Lucky

4 likes

See all Marissa Stapley's quotes »

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Marissa’s Quotes

“Personally, I believe “Young Adult” to be an arbitrary title that means the book "Can be enjoyed by anyone/Has a main character who’s not quite an adult/Isn’t really boring.”
― Shannon Hale

tags: books, genre, young_adult

372 likes

“In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

tags: da-vinci, famous-quotes

108 likes

“A word after a word after a word is power.”
― Margaret Atwood

tags: reading, writing

3265 likes