The Happy Writer with Marissa Meyer Marissa Meyer

Marissa chats again with Jessica Brody, author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel about her popular craft books and how she adapted the original Save the Cat screenplay book’s components for novel-writing. Also discussed in this craft-focused episode: how even pantsers can benefit from outlining tips, how having an outline doesn’t mean the story is set in stone, how having an outline can shine a light on problems before a draft makes it harder to fix ...

Marissa chats with Isabel Greenberg about her new Arthurian fantasy graphic novel, YOUNG HAG AND THE WITCHES’ QUEST. Also discussed in this episode: the freedom of creating a first project without the expectation that it will be read, the challenges and allure of retellings and Arthurian legends, the process of creating and revising a graphic novel, how the reading experience of graphic novels is different than for prose, tips for maintaining the writing/life balance, having a pile of comfort...

Marissa chats with Kekla Magoon about her new middle grade time travel fantasy, THE SECRET LIBRARY. Also discussed in this episode: How secrets can take many forms (goats!), writing stories non-linearly, how creating a timeline can help catch inconsistencies and track continuity, how sometimes you need to write the whole book to feel confident enough to try to sell it, mining old files for potential new projects, and so much more!The Happy Writer at Bookshop.orgPurchasing your books through o...

Marissa shares her top 10 tips for improving your work-life balance. From starting with a focused to-do list, to reframing goal time frames, to the best way to approach multitasking, and so much more, you’re sure to find something helpful in this practical episode. Note: For more writing-specific productivity tips, you can also check out episode 141 where Marissa and Joanne share their favorite productivity hacks. https://www.buzzsprout.com/950767/12094972168 Hours: You Have More Time Th...

Marissa chats with Ana Ellickson about her debut YA urban fantasy, THE VANISHING STATION. Also discussed: having the courage to leave an agent even before selling a book, developing complex magic systems and how helpful editors can be for ensuring they work, using locations—known and unknown—as settings for urban fantasy, creating three-dimensional but lovable flawed characters, using Save the Cat beat sheets, the importance of opening chapters, and so much more!Picture This app: https://www....

Marissa chats with Makiia Lucier about her new romantic YA fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology, DRAGONFRUIT. Also discussed in this episode: writing by hand in notebooks, what it’s like to revise and resubmit to an agent, the advantage of keeping early writing a secret, the joy of research and using it to build lush worlds and believable fantastical creatures, how characters can surprise even the writer, the huge evolution in story and characters from first to final draft, writing st...