Let’s listen in to NYT bestselling author, Marissa Meyer, as she gives us some tips for starting a new project.
Marissa Meyer is the New York Times-bestselling author of CINDER: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles. She’s a fan of most things geeky (Sailor Moon, Firefly, any occasion that encourages costumes), and has been in love with fairy tales since she was a kid. She may or may not be a cyborg.
Visit her web site & blog at http://www.marissameyer.com.
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CINDER by Marissa Meyer: Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
Such great advice! I’m starting a new project, so this was especially handy. Thank you!
Very useful advice, thanks! I’m gearing up to start a new project, so this will come in handy.
Perfect. Every time I finish a novel and look at the blank screen, ready to start something else, I have to ask myself, “How did I do that?” These were helpful tips!
These are awesome tips! I took notes
Love how you broke it all down! Thanks!
Ihave never been good with outlines, but listening to you, I’ve decided to start the next book with your tips. It makes so much sense to have a roadmap. Sure, driving around, exploring, can be fun, but there’s tghe problem of getting lost, backtracking and losing time you might not have. So I’ve got my notes, starting with 1) Write a one-sentence pitch. Thank you for the tips and the contest opportunity.
I find that having a notebook and having a brainstorm session is the best thing to do, or to let myself free write about the main character a bit. I’m finding that playing with the voice is a great way to let me know if I found the right story or not. Great breakdown and tips!
Thank you so much for the excellent advice and for the reminder to stay open to the process! I also connected with you suggestion to create a pitch sentence and back cover description of your story before you begin writing. I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer and freeze up at outlines, but think that this could easily work for me.
Awesome vlog, really helpful points too on starting a new project. Right now I am learning what works for me as a writer. Thanks!
Wow! That was very helpful. I like the idea of starting with the pitch sentence and working your way backward. I usually just start writing with a rough idea of my story and a broad outline. Then I see where the story takes me, which can be a lot of fun, but also frustrating too. I’m going to try your method with my next project.
Thanks for the awesome video and giveaway!
Great vlog, thanks to Marissa! I never thought of doing research beforehand, I usually do it when I get stuck at point where I’m like, okay, how does this work? Doing it beforehand would save a lot of trouble and give you some great plot and scene ideas.
And I LOVED Cinder!
Great info, thanks. I actually started doing research for a sci-fi novel I am thinking of tackling, and I am finding it not only interesting but great for scene ideas.
I’m outlining this time and find it extremely helpful. Thanks for all the suggestions.
I love the idea of starting with the kinds of things I usually end (and struggle) with. Thanks!
Wow, I’ve never thought of writing a query letter first. This takes me forever, and probably the hardest for me. But I think starting with it will actually help! Thanks Marissa!!!
I clicked thinking this was an article – SO pleasantly surprised that it was a video! Thanks so much for sharing your tips with us!
I definitely think this helps reiterate the importance of being a plotter, not a pantser
I used to think it wasn’t being “creative” if it was planned out, but now I can’t imagine how I ever thought that to be true! There’s still so much room for creativity when you know where you going – you get there quicker, but the scenery is just as beautiful.
I loved your tips on making it all work – I think this will definitely help me get the project that’s been floating around in my mind from upstairs to “on paper”, if you know what I mean!
Great tips. Thanks so very much.
Thank you so much for your video! You are absolutely right! It’s so important to stay open to the process. I also love the idea of writing a query letter first. I’m sure that can help me stay focused on what the core point of my book is about.
On a personal note… I love Cinder! It’s one of the top four books I recommend to friends when they ask me what to read next, so thank you so much for writing it!
Thank you for sharing your insights with us. I’ll try to put into practice some of the suggestions I’m not doing yet.
Love this! I’m terrible with new ideas because I have a tendency to not plan enough and I lose interest in the story fairly quickly. I have an new project idea that I’m planning/pre-writing now (I want to write the first draft for NaNoWriMo) so this definitely helped.
I love the idea of writing a one and three-sentence pitch to focus on the main thread of the story. Wonderful advice! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for the excellent advice and the reminder to stay open to the process!! I also connected with your suggestion to create a pitch sentence and back cover description of your story before you begin writing, I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-your -pants writer and absolutely freeze up at the thought of doing outlines… they suck all the creative juices out of me, but I think this might actually work.
Thanks for the awesome ideas. I’m typically not a plotter, but I do need to know certain things before I’m able to start a story. I never thought about creating a general query letter/book blurb first. I may try that next time.
Thanks for the great advice! I’m not usually an outliner, but you make a great argument for why it might be something to consider. I can’t wait to put these tips into practice when I finally have the opportunity to start something new! Thanks for your time!
I like your process and am definitely going to apply it to my writing
Thanks so much for sharing!
What great tips! It’s nice to hear what others do, you never know when something new sparks a new writing process!! Thanks!
Thanks for the tips!
Such excellent advice! Thank you
I am definitely going to try drafting a short and long pitch before I embark on my next project – putting them together after the fact has been a challenge! (one reason I hope I get selected for the query crit!)
This is the motivation I need–I’m about to start a new project. Thanks for the great suggestions.
My new MS will be my first time outlining and I’m eager to see how having a road trip will make a difference for the better or worse. Now if I could just convince my kids’ school to open ASAP, I could get these twitchy fingers to typing in peace:) Thanks for offering your time- great vlog!!
Planning, planning, planning. It’s great to write by the seat of your pants, but most times, it’s the plan that’ll get you to the end. Thanks for the super ideas here!
Marissa, this vlog has been informative, and has helped me to organize my thoughts as I create my stories. Many of the points can be used with PBs as well. I like the idea of keeping the goals and fears of my characters in mind as I develop them. Thanks for your time!!
Great info! I just finished a first draft of something brand-new, and these tips will help me as I revise. (I wish I’d done some of them before starting to write!)
Great tips! I took notes. Perfect timing too, I’m about to start a new writing project.
Thanks, Marissa. I watched it twice already!
Great tips! Thank you so much for sharing, Marissa.
Thank you for sharing your process. It’s actually really helpful to hear how other authors create their books.
Great tips! Thank you!
I like this site very much so much superb info.
Thanks for the post and the giveaway!
Great tips! I’m going to actually *gulp* attempt plotting before NaNoWriMo, so these are especially helpful to me.
I have heard absolutely fantastic things about Cinder. Definitely on my to-read list! Thanks, Marissa, for stopping by!
Thank you very much for the tips and for your time, Marissa!
fantastic tips!
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