Storytellers & Friends! We have Newbery Honor award winner RITA WILLIAMS-GARCIA with us today on Episode 2 of Season 2!
Rita is a #1 New York Times Bestselling author, Coretta Scott King Author Award winner, and a National Book Award Finalist. I’m constantly in awe of Rita’s expertise of weaving social awareness into her books, adding even more depth to her stories and characters.
Storyteller Tribe, you guys are in for a treat today. If you’re working on young adult novels or middle grade books, you’ll want to pay special attention to Rita’s incredibly actionable tips and advice!
“Let the story belong to the character.”
“I told my first lie and a star was born.”
“Once that book goes out in the world, it belongs to the world.”
“Here is the beautiful thing: A book will find her reader and it will open that reader up in ways that she had not been open.”
What You’ll Learn From This Episode:
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How to weave social awareness into your writing and still have your story connect with readers
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The road blocks Rita faced throughout the publishing process and how her experiences can help you navigate the publishing world successfully
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How important it is to work with publishers and agents that support youand your writing
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How to make your story come alive
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How to magnify the world you created in your story
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Rita’s advice and tips on reaching out to exceptional agents
Learn More About RITA WILLIAMS-GARCIA
Rita Williams-Garcia is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels for young adults and middle grade readers, and two picture books. Her most recent novel, Gone Crazy in Alabama ends the saga of the Gaither Sisters, who appear in One Crazy Summer and PS Be Eleven. All three novels in the series have won the Coretta Scott King Author Award. Her numerous awards and citations include having been named a National Book Award Finalist twice, a Newbery Honor Book, a Parents’ Choice Award, a Junior Library Guild, and the Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction. She is on faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children MFA Program and she resides in Queens, New York.
Storytellers & Friends! O-M-G we’re kicking off the very first episode of Season 2 of 88 CUPS OF TEA with the ever-so humble, talented, funny, and inspiringVICTORIA AVEYARD.
Victoria is the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of the RED QUEEN book series, which just celebrated its 21st week on the New York Times list! Movie rights for the series were sold to Universal Pictures with Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad) penning the film adaptation and Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect 2)in talks to direct. According to The Hollywood Reporter, RED QUEEN is similar to HUNGER GAMES, GAME OF THRONES, X-MEN, andCINDERELLA.
In today’s episode, we discuss story ideas and character development, how Victoria got her foot in the door with her literary agency, the ups and downs throughout her writing career, the publishing community, the importance of family, and a lot more incredibly inspiring stories and advice! You’ll learn so much from her episode and my hope is for you to feel just as refreshed, inspired, and motivated as I did after our interview!
“Finish. Finishing is the most important thing no matter what you have to do.”
-Victoria Aveyard (Click to tweet)
“I must be writing, in some way, shape, or form, to be happy.”
-Victoria Aveyard (Click to tweet)
What You’ll Learn From This Episode:
- Victoria’s journey of transitioning from screenwriting to crafting her first novel
- How Victoria built her RED QUEEN series off of a single image and how this technique can help you craft your next story
- How Victoria creates an outline for her novels and how her advice can help you find your perfect outline structure
- The importance of knowing where your character comes from to create their perfect personality
- How writing for the fanfiction world indirectly became a writing workshopfor Victoria
- Victoria shares writing techniques and tips used to grab readers’ attention at the beginning of a novel
Learn More About VICTORIA AVEYARD
Victoria Aveyard graduated from USC, where she majored in screenwriting. RED QUEEN is her first novel. She splits her time between Massachusetts and Los Angeles.
Victoria’s Recommended Books:
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
Say ‘Hi!’ to Victoria
Hi Dear Friends and Storytellers!
I hope you had a relaxing holiday filled with genuine laughter and heartfelt catch-ups. I’ve been traveling all around Asia for about 3 months now: Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, and Japan. It’s been a whirlwind of adventuring, learning, growing, reflection, and inspiration.
I’m so happy to be back. It’s been an amazing holiday hiatus for me, and I’m so thrilled to get back in the grind and get things rollin’ with you for a kick ass New Year!
I’ve spent some time reflecting over the past year and choose to remain focused on the following 5 things for 2016:
- Dedicate more quality time catching up with my family via FaceTime/phone (they live in NY) and face-to-face time with my nearest and dearest friends in LA. I’ve been so caught up in hustling with getting the podcast off the ground and being very comfortable in an exciting, amazing, and somewhat-new relationship. I’m guilty of allowing myself to get carried away and I am putting in full conscious energy and awareness in making dedicated time for the loved ones who’ve been with me for years, through thick and thin.
- Go hard or go HOME. Carry forth the beautiful madness that goes into creating and overseeing your “baby” (AKA this podcast), pouring even more fuel to the fire. And by “fuel”, I mean intensity, passion, and love.
- Healthier lifestyle. I’ve told myself time and time again over the past 3 years that “I will make a change to better my health”. Never stayed consistent. However, 2016 is already off to a great start. Have been more conscious about choosing gluten-free foods (Disclaimer: I'm NOT entirely giving up on gluten [yet]! But am aiming to eat more gluten-free) and going on regular hikes, and adding daily fun movement into my life overall.
- Read. R-E-A-D. Need to read WAY more books.
- Write. Like, sit-my-ass-down and write DILIGENTLY and PERSISTENTLY. I struggle with the “write-at-least-500-words-every-single-day” mentality, but I will dedicate myself to writing every day. No matter what I write about, I am at peace knowing that I will be writing one way or another, each day. I know this will allow me to feel more creatively fulfilled in terms of writing, rather than the guilt of not creatively expressing myself on the daily.
So that wraps up my New Year’s resolution for 2016. What are yours? Share them with me, I’d love to hear! (Hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram)
In today’s podcast episode, I give a sneak peek at which guest will be kicking off Episode 1 for Season 2 of the show!
Once you’ve had a chance to check out the episode, I’d love to know if there are any guests you hope to hear on the show this year. Are there any books or TV shows or films you’re REALLY into right now? (Or have been for the last 5 years?)
I’m SO DANG EXCITED to release brand new episodes again after the holidays. 2016 is going to be BOMB.COM for all of us!!
Wishing you the happiest, healthiest, and most productive New Year!
Love,
Yin