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queensthiefTo reiterate, I tried to get the gist of the question and MWT's answer. She's more eloquent than I portray.
Other panelists were: Melissa Albert, Karen Blumenthal, Stuart Gibbs, and Caleb Roehig
Q: Can your protagonist be unlikeable?
MWT: The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. People like a character in a book that they would strangle in real life.
There was some panel discussion of the fact that "like" is a highly subjective term. A character needs to be compelling, regardless of "likeablity" though, or readers don't want to read the book.
[Ed note, since I can. I think MWT is right. A number of years ago I was in charge of the blog at the library I work for. In the interest of plugging the Queen's Thief series, I wanted to write a post about books featuring theives, so I read a number of other works of fiction and biographies. I enjoyed the characters in almost every novel I read, but not a single actual thief from the biographies.]
Q: Descibe how the inclusion of folklore work in your writing process?
MWT: I write the larger story first and put in a note that says, "Insert story here." Then I consider what I can create that will seem authentic and organic -- and also support the larger story arch. Then I wait for the clouds to part. And wait, and wait, and wait...
Q: Favorite flavor of ice cream?
MWT: dulce de leche
Q: Plug a book that's not your own.
MWT: Children of GreenKnow by L.M. Green
[ed: I didn't catch the actual plug. Sorry.]
Q: Favorite character of your own to write?
MWT: Sophos - he's someone you would not want to strangle in real life; you would want to have him as a friend.
[ed: So true.]
Q: Something that makes you smile?
MWT: Festivals.
Q: Do you have any pets?
MWT: No, we move too much.
Q: What made you write KoA from a different perspective?
MWT: E.M. Forester's Horatio Hornblower. I was fascinated by the difference between the perspective from inside vs. outside. The title character believes he's a complete failure and everything he does is a mess. The first few books are from his point of view. Then comes one from another character's point of view who's just in awe of him because he always makes the right decision and does the right thing and everything turns out just right for him.
Q: Do you prefer to write in 1st or 3rd person?
MWT: I like 3rd but the books keep coming out in 1st.
Q: Is there a scene you had to cut for the good of the story, but it killed you to cut it?
MWT: For RotK, there was more than one introduction, but I realized there were too many becuase by the time you got to the actual start of the story, it was "yawn." First I decided the lyric one would have to go. Then it would stay. But the decision meant cutting an entire character from the book.
Q: What do you want people to know about what you're working on now?
MWT: 1. You do not have to start with the 1st book in the series. But... 2. I really like to leave things for my readers to figure out. So, sometimes readers start with a later book in the series and think they'd understand more if they had read the earlier books in the series. That's not necessarily the case.
Other panelists were: Melissa Albert, Karen Blumenthal, Stuart Gibbs, and Caleb Roehig
Q: Can your protagonist be unlikeable?
MWT: The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. People like a character in a book that they would strangle in real life.
There was some panel discussion of the fact that "like" is a highly subjective term. A character needs to be compelling, regardless of "likeablity" though, or readers don't want to read the book.
[Ed note, since I can. I think MWT is right. A number of years ago I was in charge of the blog at the library I work for. In the interest of plugging the Queen's Thief series, I wanted to write a post about books featuring theives, so I read a number of other works of fiction and biographies. I enjoyed the characters in almost every novel I read, but not a single actual thief from the biographies.]
Q: Descibe how the inclusion of folklore work in your writing process?
MWT: I write the larger story first and put in a note that says, "Insert story here." Then I consider what I can create that will seem authentic and organic -- and also support the larger story arch. Then I wait for the clouds to part. And wait, and wait, and wait...
Q: Favorite flavor of ice cream?
MWT: dulce de leche
Q: Plug a book that's not your own.
MWT: Children of GreenKnow by L.M. Green
[ed: I didn't catch the actual plug. Sorry.]
Q: Favorite character of your own to write?
MWT: Sophos - he's someone you would not want to strangle in real life; you would want to have him as a friend.
[ed: So true.]
Q: Something that makes you smile?
MWT: Festivals.
Q: Do you have any pets?
MWT: No, we move too much.
Q: What made you write KoA from a different perspective?
MWT: E.M. Forester's Horatio Hornblower. I was fascinated by the difference between the perspective from inside vs. outside. The title character believes he's a complete failure and everything he does is a mess. The first few books are from his point of view. Then comes one from another character's point of view who's just in awe of him because he always makes the right decision and does the right thing and everything turns out just right for him.
Q: Do you prefer to write in 1st or 3rd person?
MWT: I like 3rd but the books keep coming out in 1st.
Q: Is there a scene you had to cut for the good of the story, but it killed you to cut it?
MWT: For RotK, there was more than one introduction, but I realized there were too many becuase by the time you got to the actual start of the story, it was "yawn." First I decided the lyric one would have to go. Then it would stay. But the decision meant cutting an entire character from the book.
Q: What do you want people to know about what you're working on now?
MWT: 1. You do not have to start with the 1st book in the series. But... 2. I really like to leave things for my readers to figure out. So, sometimes readers start with a later book in the series and think they'd understand more if they had read the earlier books in the series. That's not necessarily the case.
