Hi Ms. Samson! I'm so glad to have you here at Today's Teen Writer this month! Scotty in the Hollywood Nobody series has an unusual life. What was the inspiration behind that?I've always wanted to do the RV thing, travel around for a year or so, see the country, and write about it. And . . . I've always had this love/hate fascination with Hollywood. Both of those elements came together in Scotty's life. Traveling around on an RV to movie sets? Sounds like a dream!
What does your writing routine look like?
It changes. But right now I get up around 6 a.m., make a cup of tea, put on my headphones (right now Pin Ball Wizard is playing) and write. I try not to let myself pull up Firefox or I'll get distracted. I have to get my writing done early, because I'm homeschooling my son Jake, 15, (yeah, he's cute, ha!) and my daughter Gwynnie, 12, (yeah, she's crazy!) this year, so I won't find another good chance to write if I don't do it then and the rest of the day I'm completely stressed out. I write Saturdays as well. I don't know why I feel compelled to work six days a week, but for some reason, I do. And really, I only work for about two hours at a stint, so that extra day is needed. At eight, a neighbor and I have morning prayer together, then I wake the kids up at 8:30 and we hit the ground running.
When writing a book series, how do you keep the story lines fresh and exciting?
I just let my imagination run! I don't really sit down and ask myself what's exciting. What I do is create one fresh storyline for each book that will have the reader turning pages to find out what happened, and one overarching storyline for the series to keep the reader going from one book to the next. In this case there were two: 1) What happened to Scotty's family long ago and 2) Will Scotty and Seth get together? An editor once told me, "You have to have at least one overarching question."
What is the biggest challenge for you when writing a series?
"How am I going to make this character and this setting last for eight hundred pages?!" It makes me want to bite my nails right now just thinking about it! But like most things in life, ideas and inspiration layers itself in as I go.
What do you love about writing for teens?
They want a good story! When I'm writing for adults, honestly, I get all worried about whether or not my writing is literary and profound and will it change a reader's life for the better. With teens, I can just be me, reveal my crazy side, my sarcastic side, my hopeful side, my romantic side and not apologize for it! My teenage friends are right there with me, that little part of Lisa Samson that still wishes she could drive with the top down and scream out what's on the radio. (Oh, wait! I still do that! I'd better find another example. How about eat all the fries I want without gaining a pound?!)
Here's the thing. I just like to talk to teens. You all are interesting people, people. So to think you're reading my book makes me happy.
Which one of the books in Hollywood Nobody series is your favorite and why?
That's kind of hard because I have different reasons for liking each book. The second one, Finding Hollywood Nobody, which takes place in Marshall Texas is probably my favorite, only because Gwynnie and I took a research trip there and had a blast! I like the spiritual journey of Scotty in that book and how her faith begins to develop into something deep and meaningful while giving her the courage to reach out. Those are themes that resonate in my own life.
This month, we've featured an article about getting that first writing gig. What was your first writing publication and how did you land it?
It was a historical romance called The Highlander and His Lady. (Don't read it. It's pretty horrible. ha!) I just wrote the thing, and sent it in to two different publishers. One of them, after a lot of work on the manuscript by myself and my editor, accepted it for publication. That type of thing rarely happens. I hate to tell the story, to be honest, because I don't want people to get false hopes!
How do you handle the inner critic that tells you your writing is no good?
Okay, I have that inner critic with my artwork, but not with my writing. I haven't figured out how to shut up the art critic and, therefore, I hardly ever do my artwork. So for those people who have that critic with their writing, I'm so sorry for you! Ack! I don't know what I would do. I mean, every so often, when I'm reading a really great piece of literature, I get that, "I'll never write like this" feeling. But then I have to ask myself, "Why do you want to?" My favorite authors are being true to who they are, I need to be true to who I am. I may never write like them, no, but I can write like me, and be the best me I can be. I would tell teen writers not to worry so much about what others are writing, but to simply keep plugging away at their own stories using their own voice. And be the best you can be at it. Work hard and realize that sometimes that voice is right. Utilize it for the smaller things, a bad sentence, a storyline that's not going anywhere. Tame it into working for you, not against you.
What is it you hope teen writers take away from the series?
I feel like an after school special saying this, but it's pretty simple. God loves you and made you uniquely suited to share his love. So be the "you-est" you, the person God's designed you to be. And then, always love others, so they can be their own "you-est you," and then, love others, and then . . . See how it works? I'm just sayin'!
What advice do you have to offer teen writers who'd like to become published?
- Write every day even if it's just a sentence.
- Find what it is you love and then you'll find what you should write about.
- Finish whatever it is you want published.
- Polish whatever it is you want published.
- Then polish it again!
- Read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read. Read the best writing in whatever genre you've chosen to write. (Part of a writer's job is to read! Yay! Isn't that good news?!)
- If you have friends who love to write, get together and talk shop!
- Did I mention reading? Oh yeah. Do that some more.
Where can teens learn more about you and your books?
You can find me at my website.
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