Ann Brashares is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series, which has sold over 8.7 million copies. Booklist hailed Ann’s newest book "The Whole Thing Together" as “quintessential Brashares”, it’s a story that explores fractured families, first love, and loss.
Click here to go directly to Ann's shownotes page where we list the resources mentioned in her episode.
In Ann’s episode, we jump right into the inspiration behind “The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants” and how she made the transition from the original "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" to "Sisterhood Everlasting". Ann also shares the inspiration behind her newest book and we discuss how she explores the emotional complexities of her characters.
We discover how reading became a refuge for Ann throughout her childhood and how she now finds time to write with a busy family schedule. We also get into the fundamentals of writing challenging and personal scenes in your stories and why it’s so important to surround yourself with trustworthy accountability partners. Ann shares tips about joining a book club and how to approach it in a way that specifically helps to improve your craft at writing.
For listeners working on query letters, Ann walks us through how being personal and specific in your query letter can attract literary agents.
Click here to say "Hi" to Ann!
Happy listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
PPS. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
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“In order to get going, I just need to write.” -Ann Brashares (Click to tweet!)
“You really just have to liberate yourself to try things, take risks, and write really badly sometimes if necessary.” -Ann Brashares (Click to tweet!)
“I was a reader certainly before I was a writer and I just loved getting involved in stories” -Ann Brashares (Click to tweet!)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
Click here to go directly to Ann's shownotes page where we list the resources mentioned in her episode.
Jack Cheng’s debut novel “See You in the Cosmos”. earned high praises from the likes of Entertainment Weekly and The Wall Street Journal, describing his book as “stellar” and “life-embracing”.
An Entertainment Weekly article describes Jack as an author with a knack for creating unique characters that stay with the reader long after the story has moved on. I’m thrilled to finally share Jack’s episode as we jump right into the nitty gritty about developing themes in your stories from the relationships and experiences in your own life.
Click here to go directly to Jack's shownotes page where we list the resources mentioned in his episode.
We discuss how a country-wide road trip led Jack to self-discovery, and how that eye-opening experience inspired the story idea for “See You in the Cosmos”. Further into our conversation, we explore why being understanding about the people around us helps to create the groundwork for our stories.
Before writing his traditionally published debut novel, Jack successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his self-published book called “These Days”. We go into detail about his Kickstarter journey and the community that showed up to support his writing dream. We also talk about his background as an entrepreneur and what the transition was like from self-publishing to traditional publishing.
We unpack the importance of following your passions first and making sense of it all later. For listeners working on query letters to send out to literary agents, Jack shares his take on writing a successful letter by being honest, kind, and gracious. He also shares his advice on making money as a writer, and how journaling helps you reach your writing goals the way it did for him.
Click here to say "Hi" to Jack!
Happy listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
PPS. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
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“I try to follow my passions and afterwards try to make sense of it and try to make meaning out of it.” -Jack Cheng (Click to tweet)
“One of the most important things is to have that writing practice, and I find that sometimes, when I haven’t written in awhile, how I’ll get going is I’ll just try to journal.” -Jack Cheng
“I turned to the novel as a way to reflect and in some cases just like vent about the things that were frustrating me about my day-to-day work.” -Jack Cheng
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea
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Content note: Hey listeners, as a heads up, this episode contains discussions about sexual violence. If you're not in the right head space for those kinds of conversations you can always come back to this episode later or skip it all together.
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Kami Garcia is a #1 New York Times-bestselling and Bram Stoker nominated author, and the co-author of the "Beautiful Creatures" and "Dangerous Creatures" novels. Her solo series, the "Legion", includes the instant New York Times bestseller "Unbreakable" and its sequel, "Unmarked". Click here to visit Kami's shownotes page where she lists a tremendous list of helpful resources!
In today’s episode proudly brought to you by Sun Basket, we learn what drew Kami to write in the YA and Romance genre and the inspiration behind her novel "The Lovely Reckless". We discuss the inner workings of writing for a fandom and all about Kami’s experience writing "The X-Files Origins" book. We also discuss Kami’s work as a teacher for 17 years and uncover the inequalities in the public school system and she shares advice that will help create change.
She talks about why we’re responsible for speaking up and stepping in to help one another, and how the YA community’s support of diversity creates new normals. We also touch on the underlying theme of fitting in and embracing your differences throughout all of her novels.
For our craft-focused writers, Kami walks us through writing POV characters with authenticity and why it’s crucial to understand your characters’ past when you’re crafting dynamic villains in your story. Kami shares powerful advice on creating solid query letters and how to effectively pitch your book to literary agents.
Say "Hi" to Kami on Twitter!
Happy listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
PPS. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
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If you'd love to support our show and rock your Limited Edition 88 Cups of Tea mug (signed by yours truly), click here for more info. Thank you so much in advance for showing your love and supporting our show!
If you're looking to feel right at home with a close-knit group of encouraging and supportive writers, join our private Facebook group by clicking here. We have weekly check-ins about our creative work, book recs, and live Facebook videos of unboxing book packages. We also share previews of upcoming episodes and you can submit listener-questions for upcoming interviews.
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“I think that the key is to write either what you know or you have access to.” -Kami Garcia (Click to tweet)
“Books give us the chance to be other people and go other places.” -Kami Garcia (Click to tweet)
“The willingness to stand up for other people and speak out when something is wrong is very prevalent in the YA community.” -Kami Garcia (Click to tweet)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM TODAY'S EPISODE:
LEARN MORE ABOUT KAMI GARCIA:
I’m delighted to have Irena Brignull on the show! Irena is a renowned screenwriter and novelist. She wrote the Oscar nominated movie, "The Boxtrolls", starring Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning and Simon Pegg. Irena was nominated for Best Screenplay for "The Boxtrolls" at the Annie Awards. Her adaptation of "The Little Prince" was directed by Mark Osborne and stars Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, and Marion Cotillard. Earlier in her career, Irena was a Script Executive at the BBC and then Head of Development at Dogstar Films where she was the script editor on hit films including "Shakespeare in Love" to name a few. She recently debuted "The Hawkweed Prophecy", a novel about identity, friendship, and romance.
Click here to go directly to Irena's shownotes page that lists all of his awesome recommended resources.
In today’s episode, we discuss Irena’s career as a screenwriter and her experiences writing and adapting The Boxtrolls and The Little Prince. We also discuss what it’s like to be a female screenwriter in a male-dominated industry, and Irena shares advice for women discovering their voice and authority in their own profession.
We unpack the inspiration behind "The Hawkweed Prophecy" and what it’s like to transition between screenwriting and novel writing. For our craft-focused writers, Irena walks us through how to find inspiration for character traits, how to overcome writing difficult scenes, how to validate and grow your story ideas, and how to build balanced characters to create authentic and genuine relationships in your story.
Say "Hi" to Irena on Twitter!
Happy listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
PPS. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
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“The more you write the more you find your voice.” -Irena Brignull (Click to tweet)
"It’s a great thing to be able to go back and have the chance to make it better." -Irena Brignull (Click to tweet)
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Click here to grab your Limited Edition & signed 88 Cups of Tea mug! Thank you in advance for your love and support for our show!
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM IRENA'S EPISODE: