Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!
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Vermont College of Fine Arts is a global community of artists continuously redefining what it means to be an arts college. They’re accredited by the New England Commission on Higher Education and offers the Master of Fine Arts degree in a variety of fields, including Writing, Writing for Children & Young Adults, and Writing & Publishing, along with an International MFA in Creative Writing & Literary Translation. With low-residency and fully residential options, VCFA has the graduate program to fit your needs. Be sure to learn more about VCFA by clicking here!
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This episode contains content and discussion about suicide. If this topic is triggering or upsetting for you, please skip this episode. Thank you.
Na is the author of "The Place Between Breaths", "The Fold", "Wait for Me", and "A Step from Heaven", which was a National Book Award Finalist and won the Michael L. Printz Award. Her honors include the International Reading Association Award and the Parents Choice Gold Award. Her books have been named as ALA Best Books for Young Adults and a New York Times Notable Book. And she also teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA.
In her episode, Na shares how she fell in love with storytelling, giving us a peek into her childhood, and the heartwarming impact that representation has in the world. We dive into her writing process for vignettes and how she builds upon emotions and feelings to craft her scenes. She shares her experience serving on the National Book Awards committee and what the selection process looks like behind the curtain. She tells her story of grief and heartbreak that inspired her novel "The Place Between Breaths", we discuss the harmful narratives created around mental illness, and she stresses the importance of mental health resources. We then continue to dig into her experience writing for TV, the steps you can take to break into TV writing, and the important role that community serves in your creative pursuits and how you can find that through an MFA experience.
Head over to Na's shownotes page at https://88cupsoftea.com/podcast/an-na/ to find all the resources and books mentioned in her episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation.
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If you enjoyed this episode and would love to support our show, Patreon is the best way! Patrons at certain tiers get early access to extended interviews with Rachel Hawkins and New Leaf literary agent JL Stermer this month along with a collection of fantastic extended interviews from previous podcast episodes! If you’re not yet a Patron and you’d love early access to these interviews in addition to other cool benefits (snailmail, Storyteller Welcome Box, livestream hangouts with bookhaul and mystery box giveaways, etc.) head on over to patreon.com/88cupsoftea to sign up!
Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!
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Did you know we have a Patreon page!? Right now all Super Storytellers signed up at our “Silkie Chickens with Balloons” or “Snails with Mail” tier over in our Patreon get early access to interviews with Rachel Hawkins and literary agent JL Stermer this month! So, if you’re not yet a Super Storyteller and you’d love early access to these interviews in addition to other cool benefits, head on over to patreon.com/88cupsoftea and become a Patron at the “Silkie Chickens with Balloons” tier or our “Snails with Mail” tier.
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Head over to foursigmatic.com/88cupsoftea to learn more and get 15% off your order. Thank you to our listeners for supporting a brand we love and a brand that believes in the work that we do here at 88 Cups of Tea. A special thank you to our sponsors and collaborators who help keep our show running!
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Sarah is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen novels for teens, which have received numerous awards and rave reviews. Her books have been published in over thirty countries and have sold millions of copies worldwide. She’s the recipient of the 2017 Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association for outstanding contribution to young adult literature for her novels like Keeping the Moon, Dreamland, This Lullaby, The Truth about Forever, Just Listen, Along for the Ride, What Happened to Goodbye, and more.
In our conversation, we dive into how Sarah fell in love with storytelling and how her writing has evolved throughout her career. We discuss what it’s like to write for yourself versus writing to please others, and how her mother-daughter relationships in her books are inspired by her relationship with her own mother and daughter. She shares how embracing both the good and bad parts of ourselves in our writing can help us begin to heal, and the importance of seeking help when we need it. She then talks all about her most recent novel, The Rest Of The Story, and shares a behind the scenes look into the writing and publishing process. And later in our conversation, she walks us through her experience of changing publishers, shares tips on crafting romantic arcs, talks balancing finances and your craft, and how to overcome writer’s block.
Say 'Hi' to Sarah Dessen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahdessen.
Head over to Sarah's shownotes page at https://88cupsoftea.com/podcast/sarah-dessen/ to find all the resources and books mentioned in her episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation.
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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!