24th June 2016 | for Creatives | characters, romance, writing, Romily Bernard, YA, women's fiction, genre |
"I'd written women's fiction, chick lit, and historical romance. Almost every agent I submitted to said, 'Wow, like your voice, but, um, the heroine is kind of ...grouch.' Then, in 2010, I decided to try writing YA. Suddenly, my heroines weren't grouch. They were spunky."
"[If I could do it again] I would have found YA sooner."
"I enjoy the challenge. Writing in a new genre is like dating someone new. It's exciting. It's fun. It's uncomfortable. It forces you to try new things, tests your limits, teaches you how to overcome obstacles, and is an opportunity for growth."
"When you're writing, you have to get really close to your subject and see the weird and unexpected 'colors' there. Even a character who's supposed to be incredibly sexy should have flaws. Even a tragic scene should have those weird moments of humor or joy. Those little details are the rich part of your writing, and the only thing language should be doing is translating what you 'see' as cleanly as possible to readers."
"When you place your characters onstage and let them improvise, magic can happen."
"You just have to say, 'This is who this [character] is. And I'm going to write it the way I see it and the way she feels it, and have faith that readers will follow."
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