Let's start off with something simple. Who are you?Depends on who you ask. Regardless of what my ex-boyfriends say, I am not a “bleep bleep bleep bleep”. *Quote has been modified to account for inappropriate language.
But in all seriousness, I’m a 24-year-old young adult writer currently living in New Jersey (soon to be Ohio), who just quit her job in the insurance industry to go to school full-time for social work. Other career possibilities included mortician and X-Ray technologist.
I’ve called myself a “serious writer” since the age of 11 when I started scribing screenplays. They were about ghosts and werewolves, stuff that CGI wasn’t advanced enough to depict at the time. That’s not a problem these days – Avatar, anyone? – but narrative has grabbed my attention since I was 17.
I finished my first novel in 2004, during my I-wanna-write-like-James-Joyce phase, then started a second novel shortly thereafter and scrapped the project four years later. I started a third novel – once more with feeling – and finally, by the end of 2010, I had something worthy of a query.
I’m happy to say that novel, The Whip-Slip, has gotten great response from agents, and it’s now a quarter-finalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award! Just search for my name on Amazon.com and an excerpt will come up for download.
While I anxiously await the semi-finalist announcements on 4/26, I’m hard at work on Novel #4.
Could you tell us a little bit about your work in progress?
It’s called Tender. It’s young adult dystopian.
And there you have it! Sorry, but no spillage on this one. I’m keepin’ it snuggled in the folds of my brain until it’s ready to query (hopefully by the end of the year).
But I will gladly share the query for The Whip-Slip (I mentioned the excerpt is available on Amazon, right?):
The powers aren’t the problem – it’s Left-Hander.
Sixteen-year-old Thea Vans has always hidden her ability to heal or infect with a touch, but when a voice in her head named Left-Hander steals the powers, Thea’s more worried about giving someone the Black Death than her GPA. Unfortunately for Thea, Left-Hander prefers hurting to healing.
Thea hoped to graduate without a criminal record and keep her best friend Sully in the dark about her freak status, but that was before Left-Hander gave the Queen Bee a coughing fit, the attendance lady heart palpitations, and a dose of projectile vomiting to the field hockey team. Now the cops want her for questioning and Sully’s trying to set her up with a good exorcist.
It’s time to figure out who – or what – Left-Hander is, where the powers come from, and how Thea can get her life back. But the soldiers of Life and Death find her first. In their secret, war-ravaged world, having both powers means Thea’s either a threat to eliminate, or a weapon to exploit.
It would be easier to run, except Sully is injured. Only the soldiers of Life can help. If Thea pretends to be as pure as them, maybe she and Sully will make it out alive.
As long as Left-Hander cooperates.
What is the first story you remember writing? What was it about?
It was called The Magic Crystal, and oddly enough, it was about a magic crystal! The Sorceror Maximus had to steal the crystal from an evil king, but when he finally succeeds to remove it from the king’s lair, he trips and the crystal falls down a crevasse in the land. The last line of the story reads: “And you can still see it glittering in the depths to this day.”
Are you more of a “plotter” or a “pantser”?
I allow myself a bit of “caution-to-the-winds” in the beginning of a novel, about 10 pages or so, but I learned early on that if you don’t know where you’re going, you’re never going to get there. As soon as I start to develop a plot in my head, I write it down and develop as much as the story as I can. I usually won’t proceed until I know what the main character is accomplishing, and the turnaround they need to make by the end. That’s imperative, since the plot itself can always be fixed (for the most part), but a main character lacking motivation and purpose cannot.
Know what they want, why they want it, and what they need to overcome to get it.
All writers need encouragement. Who first encouraged you to write, and who is it that encourages you today?
My parents never skimped when it came to urging creativity – and I love them for it. Instead of television, I grew up reading, drawing, making sculptures, and putting on plays. Writing was a natural extension of that and the most concern my parents have ever shown about my writing is that I’ll edit “too much”. They love my stories, and want to see them maintain that fuzzy, first-draft innocence. It’s a full-time job assuring them that I know what I’m doing…most of the time.
They’re still uber-supportive to this day, but I’m happy to have the support of my fabulous crit group, as well as the blogging community.
You could also say that I’m a huge encouragement to myself as well. I believe in my work, and I love it. Having that core of respect for your own abilities helps you sit down every day and type yourself into a frenzy. If you don’t love what you do, no one else will. That was important to learn.
Which authors have had a significant influence on your writing?
My love for the young adult genre started with J.K. Rowling. (Is that a stock answer by now?) Growing up in America, you really don’t get a sense of the world. (Or maybe that was just me.) Classes seemed so America-centric that when Harry Potter first mentioned Big Ben in Sorceror’s Stone (Or, cough cough, Philospher’s Stone), I was shocked that maybe the book was not written by an American. The version I was reading had been “modified” so the slang wasn’t confusing to us Yanks, but by the second and third books, the publisher allowed the British to come through – and I was fascinated. The movies came out with an all-British cast, and I read how many languages these books were translated to, saw the international fan-sites, and how many people this one series had effected across the world – and it made me understand how large and varied it is “out there”. It’s comforting that a novel could span so far and wide, and besides the thrill of creating and controlling a new world, experimenting with words, coming up with new ideas, I’m drawn to writing because of the power of books to brings people together. The power of art in general. I’m glad to be a part of that, and I have Ms. Rowling to thank for the initial thrill of discovery.
What music, if any, do you enjoy listening to while you write?
I rely heavily on music of all types to inspire me, but when I’m in my write-zone, I avoid anything with emotional context. The tone of a song bleeds into my work and influences what I’m writing. While off-the-job, however, I love Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Cure, DJ Shadow, and yes, even Ke$ha.
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses as a writer?
I’ve heard I’m really good with dialogue, which must stem from my early work on screenplays. I always try to infuse my characters with their own way of speaking. I see writing as an opportunity to show the world something new, so any time I can make up a new curse word or turn of phrase, a product name or a new chain of stores, I go for it. I’m also pleased with my level of dedication to writing daily, and maintaining a good schedule. I’m lucky to be able to do that.
My weakness was always my inability to stop and smell the roses. Until recently, I had a great fear that describing something for more than a sentence was too boring, so my descriptions were often blink-and-you-missed-‘em. As my crit partner told me, my last book, The Whip-Slip, was all about dialogue and action, while my current novel, Tender, is all about dialogue and scenery. Since the setting is so important in my current work, I needed to take some time and focus on description, so I’m happy I’ve been able to conquer something I’ve avoided for some time.
What do you hope to achieve with your writing?
In simple terms, all I want to do is keep writing for the rest of my life. Barring a coma (knock on wood), I think I’ll be able to do that.
More specifically, my next step is getting an agent, which I’m confident I can do in the next two years. After that, it’s publication, exploring the world of marketing a novel, and getting to work on new projects. I’m blessed to have worked a full-time job already while maintaining a writing career and a blog, so I feel I can handle the stress involved with promoting a novel on a small advance from a publisher, and still having a “real life”.
What was once traditionally a print medium is now rapidly branching out into many digital formats. What do you think of this trend?
I think it’s fantastic. As with any new technology, there’s always pros and cons. People are afraid print books will disappear. I say that’s unlikely, just as I doubt traditional movie theaters will ever disappear. The novelty of both is very strong among all age groups, and that will keep people buying. Do I think traditional book stores like Borders and Barnes & Noble will take a hit? Absolutely. They already have, obviously. But that’s the nature of business, isn’t it?
The world is changing at a rapid pace, and businesses will have to adapt. As with the cycle of life, some businesses are going to shut down, while others thrive. There’s no way around that. The golden side of this is that books are now available in a format that’s cheaper and easier to use for a lot of people out there – and the e-book format has also made it possible for authors to publish their own works without the tremendous cost.
What was the last sentence that you had to re-read over and over again because of its awesomeness? What struck you about it?
This sentence: “He smiles down at me, thru that beard of his, smiles down at me in the grass. A smiling fist.”
Which is from The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. One of the most unique descriptions I’ve ever read, that catches the tension of the moment, and the cruelty of the character Todd is dealing with. I really love a good metaphor. They take some extra work, but when you can hit on a metaphor or simile that truly describes something – a feeling, a situation– that’s what writing is all about. It always gives an author the chance to be creative.
What book(s) have you recently read that you would recommend to the readers of this blog?
I read mostly young adult, as that’s what I write. If I were a zombie, I’d suck the brains out of Lauren Oliver’s head. Before I Fall and Delerium are two fantastic young adult novels, written beautifully. I also have to recommend Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly – it’s a must. Other favorites include Looking For Alaska by John Green, the afore-mentioned Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Liar by Justine Larbalestier, Clay by David Almond (and anything else by this author – he’s frakkin’ amazing!), and Wake by Lisa McMann.
What advice do you have to other aspiring authors out there?
Be motivated. Set a schedule for yourself. You don’t have to write every day, but you do need to write the same amount of set time every week. Set realistic goals, and read as much as you can.
Most importantly: write. The only way to be a writer is to write. And it will take you several drafts, thousands of pages, and even more thousands of words before you’re actually good at it. Trust me on this. And even though it may seem like it, your first book is probably never going to be published.
Always be open to new ideas – working on the same project for years with the same characters and style of writing can hurt you more than help you.
Challenge yourself. Take a risk and write something you never expected to.
The other thing it’s important to remember is to love what you write. If you’re bored writing something, it’s not working. You should always be excited – and yes, you can be slightly intimidated too – about what you’re writing. If you’re not in love with a scene, a character, a setting, etc., no one else will be. Change it.
Writing is all about change. Not permanency. You have to be open to suggestion, and even more open to scrapping it all and starting over.
How do you know when to scrap? Develop an instinct about what you need to do. This means reading a lot and talking to as many writers as you can. Listen to a lot of advice, but more importantly, start listening to your gut. That’s the force deep down that attracted you to an idea in the first place. Stay true to that idea, but learn enough about the craft that you can take the essentials of a good novel and bend it to fit your story.
Avoid people who talk about money. You’re not doing this for money, are you? And avoid NEGATIVITY. Always.
Don’t blog if it interferes with your writing. If you do blog, do not post excerpts of your first, second, or any unedited draft on-line, especially not more than a paragraph or two. Anything online is considered published, so having a hunk of your novel available for free won’t impress a publisher who wants people to pay for it. You want to avoid posting first-draft quality writing on the internet because, yes, agents do snoop around. If you’re posting work that does not show what an awesome writer you are, that’s a problem, right?
It’s okay to be excited about your work and want to share it with the world, but remember – it’s your work. Once it’s out there, you can’t take it back. Respect your talent.
An apocalypse destroys the entirety of human literature, apart from the work of three authors that you can magically save with your wizardry – what do you save from imminent destruction?
Fyodor Dostoevsky.
J.K. Rowling.
Kazuo Ishiguro.
Our time is at an end. For our curious readers, how can we follow your progress?
The easiest way to follow me is at my blog, You’re Write. Except when you’re rong. *http://elenasolodow.blogspot.com
I’m on Twitter @elenasolodow
And make sure to check out the free excerpt for The Whip-Slip on Amazon.com. Just type the title or my name into the main search box and it will come up. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download a free reading app.
And thanks for having me!
***Are you an aspiring author willing to do an interview for my little blog? If so, click here.***
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