In today’s new episode, we have Holly Black, the author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Some of the popular books that many of you recognize her from are the The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Modern Faerie Tale series. She’s also hugely popular for The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and the Magisterium series. Holly’s been a finalist for an Eisner Award, and the recipient of the Andre Norton Award, the Mythopoeic Award and a Newbery Honor.
In the episode, we talk about the importance of understanding your character’s oppositions to move your plot forward, how to make the most out of critique groups and get the best constructive feedback for your story, the importance of being a part of a community that understands the ups and downs of the industry and ways you can find that community for yourself, and the characteristics you want to ideally find in your critique partner.
We also discuss how to overcome self-doubt as a writer and Holly shares a bunch of writing tools that help set writing goals. We dive into what it means to fast draft and how it pushes you past your critical eye to finish your first draft. For listeners especially focused on the craft of writing, you are going to freaking love today’s episode because Holly also shares how she starts a story with a character and a feeling, and how that navigates her to write the rest of the novel with an image in mind that evokes that specific feeling. Holly unpacks why it’s crucial to describe the fantastical elements at the same level of reality when writing contemporary fantasy, and how to craft narrative voices that resonate with your intended audience by thinking about what you cared about during that age.
Heads up: This episode is so good.
Books & Resources Mentioned in Holly’s Episode:
The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Meet the Austins by Madeleine L’Engle
The Elric series by Michael Moorcock
Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee
The Borderlands series by Terri Windling
SCBWI: Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
Strangers Things Happen by Kelly Link
Scrivener
Alpha Smart or Freewrite
Faxburner
Cudasign
The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by Walter Evans-Wentz
The Middle Kingdom by Dermot MacManus
The White Cat by Marie-Catherine D’Aulnoy
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Say ‘Hi!’ to Holly
“A lot of times we are doing things that have nothing to do with our writing until someday it does.”
-Holly Black
“Write for your reader-self, not your writer-self.”
-Holly Black
“The more real that you can make the real world, the more real the fantasy is going to feel.”
-Holly Black
What You’ll Learn From This Episode:
- How Holly discovered her love for fantasy and folklore
- How writing a manuscript also serves as a journey of self-discovery
- The importance of understanding your character’s oppositions to move your plot forward
- How to make the most out of critique groups and get the best constructive feedback for your story
- The importance of being a part of a community that understands the ups and downs of the industry and ways you can find that community for yourself
- The characteristics you want to ideally find in your critique partner
- How to overcome self-doubt as a writer
- Holly shares writing tools that help set writing goals
- Holly walks us through the technique of fast drafting and how it pushes you past your critical eye to finish your first draft
- Starting the story with a character and a feeling and writing the rest of the novel with an image in mind that evokes that specific feeling
- Why it’s crucial to describe the fantastical elements at the same level of reality when writing contemporary fantasy
- How to craft narrative voices that resonate with your intended audience by thinking about what you cared about during that age
About The Cruel Prince
By #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue.
Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.
Learn More About Holly Black
Holly Black is the author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Some of her titles include The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), The Modern Faerie Tale series, the Curse Workers series, Doll Bones, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the Magisterium series (with Cassandra Clare) and The Darkest Part of the Forest. She has been a a finalist for an Eisner Award, and the recipient of the Andre Norton Award, the Mythopoeic Award and a Newbery Honor. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret door.
