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Thursday, January 27, 2011

More Author Insight: Superstitions of a Scribe

  Do you have any superstitions that correspond to different phases of the writing or submissions process?




"Strangely, no. I'm not a very superstitious person, even though I was born on the 13th and have a black cat." - Lauren Destefano, author of Wither. 


 "I rarely speak about a book until a first draft is done. I find that even the best ideas fall apart if you dissect them too soon. When I'm writing a draft, I don't read anything similar to what I'm writing.  So if I'm writing a comedy, I only read dreary, depressing novels.  And when I'm on submission, I find that it's best to start work on something else.  Anything else.  Otherwise, the waiting can drive you mad." - Shaun David Hutchinson, author of The Deathday Letter.



"No - I'm not superstitious." - Andrea Cremer, author of Nightshade



"Surprisingly, no. I'm the kind of girl who won't walk under ladders or step on cracks, so if i DID have any superstitions about writing, I'd probably never write more than a page, much less submit anything!" - Robin Benway, author of The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June




"No superstitions. But neuroses abound. :)" - Jackie Kessler, author of Rage
 

"One: I'm a big believer in positive visualization. I try not to let myself get consumed by the negative possibilities, but always, when I'm writing and when I'm submitting, I imagine that (and even expect, in some strange way) my endeavors will succeed. So far this has mostly worked for me. In any case, I don't spend a lot of time stressing about rejection." - Cynthia Hand, author of Unearthly.



"Nope." - Judith Graves, author of Under My Skin.



"Before sending anything to my agent, I spin around in my chair three times, cluck like a chicken, and kiss my poster of Colin Firth. Okay, all of that is a lie. Except the part about Colin." - Rae Carson, author of The Girl of Fire and Thorns.


"I’m not a superstitious person, so not really. But I generally avoid reading when I’m writing rough drafts, so that no one else’s writing style works its way into my writing when I’m not paying attention." - Veronica Roth, author of Divergent




"Cherry Twizzlers are revision necessities. And for whatever reason, I write a whole lot better if I have on a hoodie." - Myra McEntire, author of Hourglass.


 


"When I'm first starting a book, I have to get it its own notebook. I do all my plotting/world building/ angst ridden journaling in that notebook. For one thing, it helps me keep my thoughts straight. Secondly, it's nice at the end of the book to have a concrete record of what I went through writing it. As for submission, no superstitions other than the occasional coin in a fountain/prayer, haha!" - Rachel Hawkins, author of Demonglass

"Wow. Yes. I am terrified of jinxing myself, which means I stay mum about good news until it is 1000% official. If it were up to my neuroses? I probably wouldn’t tell anyone I’d written a book until it was on shelves at Barnes & Noble." - Michelle Hodkin, author of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.




"I pick out a different perfume for each new project I start. Then I only where that scent when I'm writing, editing, copyediting or doing anything related to that project. " - Sarah Darer Littman, author of Life, After.



 "I like writing fresh stuff in coffeehouses. The buzz and the caffeine are both stimulating." - Mitali Perkins, author of Bamboo People.




"I'm not superstitious. 'Que sera, sera' will be etched into my tombstone." - Dia Reeves, author of Slice of Cherry.

"Oddly enough, I’m not superstitious-- although my personality certainly lends itself to believing in things that don’t necessarily make logical sense.  I do pray a lot at every stage in the writing/submission process.  Some might consider that a superstition of sorts." - Emily Wing Smith, author of The Way He Lived.

"I’m incredibly superstitious about discussing what my book is about before it’s sold.  In fact, most of my friends didn’t even realize I was a writer until I announced that The Body Finder was going to be published.  Clearly, I have trust issues." - Kimberly Derting, author of Desires of the Dead.



"Not really." - Kristi Cook, author of Haven.



"I have my routines but nothing that I think really qualifies as a superstition.  I write better with a fountain Coke, but that's not a superstition, that's just a fact." - Holly Hoxter, author of The Snowball Effect.




Stop by Tuesday to find out if any of the authors have ever been caught conversing with a character!



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