• About Me
  • Writer’s Corner

Elizabeth Fais

~ Where awesome begins…

Elizabeth Fais

Category Archives: Meg Cabot

Encouragement & the Long Road to “The Princess Diaries”

31 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Inspiration, Meg Cabot, Writing

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Anne Hathaway, Elizabeth Fais, Encouragement, Gary Marshall, Inspiration, Julie Andrews, Laura Langlie, Meg Cabot, My First Sale, The Princess Diaries, Walt Disney Studios, When Lightning Strikes, Writing

hThe sweet strains of encouragement have been floating around the blogosphere of late. Encouragement on querying, handling rejection, and battling the insidious self-doubt.

I listed a few of these inspirational posts below, in case you missed them. They might be just the thing you need to pull out of the Pit of Despair, or plow through rejections to land an Uber Agent and sign a Shiny Book Deal. You never know. Stranger things have happened.

~ o0o ~

Today I’d like to share a true story that has encouraged me to stay the course on my writing journey and keep on keeping on…

The Long Road to “The Princess Diaries”

ThePrincessDiariesCover_Whenever we hear about an author that’s become a huge success, it’s easy to be fooled into believing that “it happened overnight”. Like that author drank some kind of secret instant-success formula and never had to work diligently on craft, or suffer the rejections of submission roulette. 99.99% of the time this is so not the case. And certainly wasn’t for  Meg Cabot of Princess Diaries fame (and beyond).

I found out just how hard Meg Cabot worked to become a published author, in the article she wrote  titled My First Sale. Believe it or not, she slugged through more than her share of rejections on the road to publication (never mind the getting famous part).

In her article, Meg honestly admits that it took her several years (yes, years!) of rigorous submissions, followed by subsequent rejections, before landing her agent, Laura Langlie, who she is still with today. Through it all, Meg saved every rejection letter (before email submissions were the norm) in a US postal mail bag that she kept under her bed. The rejection mail bag ended up becoming so full (with rejections from editors and agents) that it’s now  too heavy for Meg to lift.

To this day Meg Cabot admits that she doesn’t know why she didn’t quit. But she didn’t! Much to the delight of her many readers world-wide.

After signing with her agent, Laura Langlie went on to sell one of Meg’s Victorian romances (Where Roses Grow Wild), written under the name Patricia Cabot. But to this day Meg considers landing her agent as her first sale. Other book deals followed, but three years later (at the age of thirty) Meg was still working her day-job and writing when she could make the time.

ThePrincessDiariesMovieIt was about the time that Meg began writing a book about a 14 year-old girl who discovers she’s a princess. When Meg told her agent about the story, Laura remarked that she thought it would make a great movie. Meg scoffed, but Laura went ahead and pursued Hollywood connections anyway.

Others soon saw the potential for Meg’s princess story too, like the assistant editor at Harper Collins Children’s Books who snapped up the manuscript. Not long after, a call came from Hollywood informing Meg that Gary Marshall wanted to direct the film version of her story and that Julie Andrews signed on to star as the grandmother. Level-headed Meg still wouldn’t believe the hype. That is, not until a check with an awful lot of zeros showed up in her mail box.

Encouragement_MegCabotAutographYou know the rest… Walt Disney Studios produced two Princess Diaries movies, both directed by Gary Marshall and starring Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway. And lets not forget the nine bestselling sequels that followed in the Princess Diaries series, or the too-numerous-to-mention other bestsellers Meg Cabot has published since.

All because she didn’t give up!

What impresses me about Meg Cabot is that even after all the success, she hasn’t forgotten what it took for her to get there. I attended a San Francisco book signing of hers a year or so ago, and this is what she wrote in the book that (I told her) helped me find my writing voice. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Need Encouragement? These Posts Rock It!

  • How Do We Handle Rejection and Keep on Pressing? — Kristen Lamb’s Blog
  • Triumph & Perseverance — Thinking to Inking

What has encouraged you on your writing journey?

If you know of an encouraging blog post that’s not listed above, please add the link in the comments. I’m sure we’ll all benefit from it!


Inspiration or Envy? We Have a Choice

28 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Ally Carter, Inspiration, Meg Cabot, Writing

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Ally Carter, Elizabeth Fais, Envy, Expectations, Goals, Inspiration, Meg Cabot, Writing

It’s conference time again, folks. And for me this is a benchmark-time-of-year. It’s when I assess the goals I made last year, and set new ones. You know…

  • Land “the” uber-agent
  • Lasso a ten-figure book deal
  • Out sell the Harry Potter series, by A LOT
  • Win the Pulitzer
  • Dance with the Stars (Hugh Jackman or Keanu Reeves, of course)

OK, I’m being a tad facetious. But that’s because this topic is usually charged with emotion. Whether we admit it or not, deep down we all want to succeed.

“Hitch your wagon to a star.” That’s what my dad always said. And he was right. If you don’t dare to dream big, you’ll never reach those heights.

Setting goals is good. But what happens when we got to a conference and meet up with writers we haven’t seen since the previous year’s conference, and they’ve landed “the” uber-agent, lassoed an umpteen-figure book deal, and are sharing the stage with J. K. Rowling on Friday night?

As I see it, we have two choices…

  1. Succumb to the Ogre of Envy and plummet into the Dungeon of Despair.
  2. Be inspired, recognizing their success as proof that our goals are attainable.

Hear me out…

Door #1: Follow the Ogre of Envy

Sure. It’s tempting to take the easy route and throw ourselves a Personal Pity Party. But before plunging to our doom, let’s look at what this option robs us of. Hanging out with the Ogre of Envy is the quickest way NOT to accomplish our goals. Nothing stunts motivation and creativity more than buying into negativity. What’s behind this door can only hold us back. Not to mention that if we stay in the dungeon long enough, we’ll end up looking like the ogre.

Not a good look on anyone. Just sayin’.

Door #2: Be Inspired

This choice may seem hard at first, but using the accomplishments of others as proof that our goals are possible is the only real way to win. The down low on this must do is … it’s the quickest way to be successful AND be happy along the way.

It’s no secret that inspiration opens the doors of possibility and potential. It helps too, if we to take “time” out of the (success) equation. How fast we get to the next milestone isn’t as important as accomplishing the goal to the best of our ability. Always remember: Measuring our progress against others stifles inspiration, and is a sure-fire shortcut to a permanent stay in the ogre’s dungeon. Don’t do it!

Staying Inspired

Being inspired for a few days or weeks is one thing. Staying inspired over the long haul can take serious determination. But it’s always worth the effort. In fact, it’s the best investment you can make in your writing.

One thing that’s worked for me is following authors whose work I admire on Twitter and reading their blogs. Invariably I learn the story behind their journey to publication, and see the truth in the saying: “There is no such thing as an overnight success.”

Ally Carter, author of the Gallagher Girl series, posted a wonderful letter on her blog recently, a letter to herself as a “baby author” circa 2004. It’s a wonderful piece filled with wisdom and inspiration for any writer, no matter where you are on your journey.

Meg Cabot, author of the Princess Diaries series, is another inspiration for me. Her web site has a page of frequently asked questions. There, she states that she queried agents for three years straight before landing her agent, and it was another year before she signed her first book contract. On a live Goodreads interview, Meg said she worked at a day-job for ten years before quitting to write full-time. Watch the interview by clicking these links:

  • Goodreads Live Interview with Meg Cabot — Part 1
  • Goodreads Live Interview with Meg Cabot — Part 2

When all else fails …

I read a quote from our 16th President that I have pasted on my wall:

Always bear in mind that your resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing. –Abraham Lincoln

What do you do to stay inspired in your writing?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Building a Better Character…

08 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Characters, Meg Cabot, SCBWI

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Character traits, Characters, Craft, Elizabeth Fais, Meg Cabot, SCBWI, Writing

…From the inside out

I attended a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) writers retreat this past weekend in Southern California. It was a working retreat, where aside from critiques and talking with editors one-on-one, the Young Adult (YA) and Middle Grade (MG) authors participated in hands-on workshops for developing richly layered characters. Something I need to work on, and I learned A LOT!

In the initial stages of defining a character, if you’re like me, you focus on the character’s strengths. What their good at, why people like them, how they affect the people around them in a positive way. That’s all good. But for a character to be fully developed and believable, you can’t gloss over their flaws. That’s because it’s the flaws that make a character likeable. Their faults are what we relate to, why we fall in love with the character. Take Mia Thermopolis‘ klutziness in the Princess Diaries, for example. Her dorkiness is what endears her to us, because we’ve ALL been there. At one time or another. One reason I love Meg Cabot’s books, is that she is a master at developing quirky, well-rounded characters.

But of course, to draw us in so we care about a character we can’t insert a bulleted list of good and bad traits. We have to layer in them so the traits are discovered through actions and reactions to other characters. Just like us, characters won’t interact with everyone in the same way. What a parent says will piss them off.

However, a friend can say the same thing and the character takes the advice to heart, or laughs it off. Defining a character through their interactions with the people around them — their circle of influence (COI) — is what makes them believable.

Another tool for building a character with greater emotional impact is to use traits that go against type.  For example, in one workshop at the retreat we wrote a scene with two characters that showed their flaws. I chose a paranoid, arrogant, and tad superstitious Jiminy Cricket pitted against a perfectionist Pinocchio who was theatrical and self-righteous. So not the Disney classics, but that’s the point.

Dare to be different. Breathe freshness and fun into your characters with unusual or conflicting traits. And it’s important to remember that in many cases …

…characters speak to conceal rather than to reveal.

That’s subtext … and a whole other topic … for another blog.

Implements of Construction

Here are some useful resources for building emotional impact into your characters:

  • Emotion thesaurus
  • Character flaws list
  • Writing for Emotional Impact, by Karl Iglesias

What character is most memorable for you (film or fiction) and why?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Calendar

January 2021
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« May    

Enter your email address to have new posts sent directly to your inbox.

Join 232 other followers

It's really me!

  • Elizabeth Fais

Life is Tweet

Follow @elizabethfais

Recent Posts

  • MG Review ~ HOW I BECAME A SPY
  • The “Creative High” is real!
  • MG Review: Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
  • Weird things I wonder about: WHY butt pockets?!!
  • MG Review: FRONT DESK by Kelly Yang
  • MG Review: WISH by Barbara O’connor
  • Television IS writing research!

Past Posts

Officially SCBWI


Member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

Reading Fun

Advice for Writers

I Write for Apples

Author Photos


Categories

Adventure Amazing but true! Animals Animation Blake Snyder Book Reviews Books Cats Character Dancing Disneyland Elizabeth Fais Fiction Fun Facts Funny Videos Giveaway Giving Back Holiday Humor Inspiration Middle Grade Movies Music Mystery Nonfiction Paranormal Reading Romance SCBWI Shakespeare Story Supernatural Thriller Winner! Writing YA YAppiest Young Adult Zombies

Keeping It Real

wordpress analytics

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel