The Writing process of Sarah J. Maas

http://bookandlatte.com/2012/11/sarah-j-maas-how-i-write.html

When thinking about an author that I truly love, I realized that I would have to find one that was still living. Over the past year I have dove into classic novels but something that I have still been interested in is YA fantasy novels. Throughout high school I had jumped between different authors like Cassandra Clare, Kerri Maniscallo, and Sarah J. Maas. These authors have truly been role models for me as a writer and I wanted to learn from them. Little did I know that all of their writing processes were hard to find. While I couldn’t find a video, I found an article that had interviewed Sarah J. Maas. She has written

multiple book series and the one that I have fallen in love with is her series, Throne of Glass.

In the article ‘How I Write’, written by Jen On, on the A Book and a Latte, Maas describes the process of writing that she has and advice for young writers. Starting off, Maas discusses how before she writes, framing the story that she wants to write in her mind. But while she has a frame in her mind she says that she ‘pants’ it, meaning that there are times when she writes details in the spur of the moment. When Writing on a schedule, she tries to write 1,000 words a day but designates writing breaks from time to time to let the story soak and inspire. A detail that I think is interesting is that she describes writing as if you’re exercising a muscle. Where you have to keep at it or else you are out of shape.

Another interesting feature about her writing process is the use of a mirror at her desk in which she keeps so she can act out her scenes or even make faces so she can accurately write and make it realistic. Surrounding herself with a comfort zone of fandom decor, she is able to get into her zone of writing and inspiration. At the end of the interview, she describes advice that she has heard which she wants to pass on including ‘allow yourself to write pure crap’ and ‘you can’t fix a blank page’. Both of these pieces of advice have allowed her to write freely and not put pressure on herself.

After reading this article, I am fascinated with the idea that she puts so much of herself into her writing and it comes out beautifully. When comparing her writing to mine, I too like to structure my writing before I put anything down. For any of my papers, I could go days without writing anything because I’m still letting it churn in my mind and when I feel something solid, that is when I go with it. What I want to take from her process is definitely the idea of writing a chunk each day. Writing fiction has always been something that I’ve wanted to do but I always hated whatever came out. Using her approach of writing consistently will help work my brain. I also like the idea of writing with a mirror so I can look at myself for inspiration with my characters and how I want them to act. Her advice at the end about not being afraid to write crap is something that I need to keep in mind so then I understand that the first thing that is written doesn’t have to be the last.

Overall, Sarah was able to make me feel more comfortable as a writer and connect with her books better now that I understand how she put them together so carefully. Using this article, I want to get started on my own story once I find the inspiration that I’m looking for.