Sunday, February 28, 2010

Teen Author Interview: Alexa Schnee


First of all, can you tell us about yourself, Alexa? What's the most interesting thing about you?

Well, I’m an eighteen year old high school/college student. (I graduated early so I could take some college classes.) I think I’m pretty normal…though my brother and sister might say differently. I like playing my guitar, watching movies, and reading. As far as interesting goes, I would say my love of writing is the most interesting thing about me, probably.

How does it feel to be a teenager and know that your novel Shakespeare's Lady will be published in 2011?

It hasn’t really hit me yet, even though I’ve known for several months. I still don’t think about it in the sense that my life has changed—even though it certainly has! I feel lucky to have found something I love so early in life and that people have given me a chance to do what I want.

Can you tell us about how your book became published?

I went to the Mount Hermon Writers’ Conference in California last year where I met some wonderful people. I pitched them the novel I had written and some of the editors from different publishing houses asked to see it. I sent it to Beth, whom is now my current editor, and Guideposts agreed to publish it.

How did you react when you found out the incredible news?

As with everything in the publishing world, negotiations were slow, so it wasn’t an instant moment where I knew it was going to be published. However, after I got the check in the mail I was pretty ecstatic. I think we had a mini-party that night with a few close friends and family. It is still a pretty surreal experience.

What sort of challenges have you faced from dealing with your career as an author and being a high school student?

This is a really good question. To say it hasn’t been a little challenging would not be true. Sometimes it’s hard to balance what is a higher priority. Both are important and trying to maintain grades and get your edits done in time can be a bit stressful, but it all works out in the end.

What's your favorite part about writing historical fiction?

Historical fiction is wonderful because it can transport you to another world. I love learning about how people lived during different time periods. How social norms differ from modern times just fascinates me, and yet, the people of the past felt the same emotions we do.

When did you first decide you wanted to be an author? What steps did you take to reach that goal?

I think everyone who wants to be an author has that desire from the moment they are born, so honestly, I can’t give you an exact moment when I decided that writing was what I wanted to do. For as long as I remember I have loved books. I was pretty young when I discovered I wanted to write them. I took a writing class when I was twelve and worked on my stories, but I never thought of writing a novel. It was only when my writing mentor, Tricia Goyer, said that she would help us publish our first book did I start on Shakespeare’s Lady at seventeen.

What are some ways you begin planning before writing a novel?

I use a timeline and character bios so I can feel like I have a good basis. For the book I’m working on right now, Burning Troy, I wrote a detailed synopsis. I usually plan things pretty well, but half-way through things start to take on a mind of their own. Sometimes it makes me wonder why I plan at all!

Out of all the characters you've created, who is your favorite, and why?

That’s a hard choice. I think in a way, every character has a part of the author in them, so it’s hard to choose just one. I would say I like all of them for different reasons.

Do you hope to still be writing novels ten years from now? If so, what other genres would you like to experience writing?

I do hope to continue writing as long as I live. I truly love it. I’m hoping that someday I can write contemporary fiction, non-fiction, and maybe someday a memoir as well. Anything to keep my fingers on the keyboard!

What advice would you like to give aspiring teenage authors?

I would say the main thing is to persevere. Writing is hard work and starting a novel with the idea that you have several hundred pages to put down even harder. It’s all worth it in the end, though! The accomplishment is well worth the effort.

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Thanks for interviewing with us, Alexa! Congratulations on your success. :)

Connect with Alexa Schnee by visiting her website, following her tweets on Twitter, Emailing her, reading her blog, or becoming her friend on Facebook. Don't forget to be on the lookout for her new novel,
Shakespeare's Lady, coming to bookstores fall 2011.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

How Do You Plan?


All authors are different. Some outline before writing their books, some write-as-they-go, use plot skeletons, etc. There are many fun ways authors have planned their books. Robin Jones Gunn (author of the Christy Miller series) says before she starts writing she cuts people out of magazines and ask them what they want. She glues their pictures in a certain binder and works with her characters that way. Eventually the storyline creates itself. What do you do? Do you have a special formula for creating the perfect story, or do you just let the story flow as you type?

Some other questions to answer: Do you create a playlist for your novel? Do you research scenery or symbols that relates to your story? How do you stay organized?

Comment below and read other's responses to get a few ideas. :)

Friday, February 19, 2010

Facing Your Writing Giants

Have any of you ever seen the movie Facing the Giants? The storyline is based off of David and Goliath, which happens to be my favorite Bible story. Facing the Giants illustrates how we must face our fears and failures, no matter how big they are, because with God all things are possible.

Have you ever sat down to write a novel, article, or poem but gave up after writing just three words? I have. Sometimes when you think about how difficult it is to get into a writing career you can't help but have doubts about your strength and your writing.

But God doesn't want us listening to Satan's attempts to make us quit. What if David quit when he saw how huge the giant was compared to his strength? He didn't even consider his strength, though. He knew that God was stronger than any giant.

This is how you need to think when you work on your writing. He gave you this desire for a reason. He's going to help you get through. Don't be afraid! Trust him.

"The key question in life is not 'How strong am I?' but rather 'How strong is God?'"
-Max Lucado


(*Watch -- Facing the Giants Trailer)





Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The Gift of Words




"By our words we can either build up lives or tear them down. It's your choice."

-Stormie Omartian

Have you ever thought about how much power words have? In the Bible God compares the tongue with a two-edged sword. What we say can either be a blessing or a curse, even if it's just written words. God has given writers the gift to use this power to minister. Through creating a simple fiction world, writing can touch and heal your readers! Think about it. The Bible was written and is communicated through words. God spoke the earth into being. Now, we have to use this powerful gift he has given us for his glory. Our ultimate goal shouldn't be having our book on the Best Seller list. Sure that would be a great advantage to being an author, but instead we should write with a clear purpose of showing God's love to others. Write carefully, because what you say now can be the exact words that mark the turning point in someone's life. And always thank God for this amazing gift of words!


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Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

"One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment."
- Hart Crane

"Readers, after all, are making the world with you. You give them the materials, but it's the readers who build that world in their own minds."
- Ursula Le Guin

"For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die."
- Anne Lamott


"The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium."
- Norbet Platt

"Ink on paper is as beautiful to me as flowers on the mountains; God composes, why shouldn't we?"
- Audra Foveo-Alba