The Happy Writer with Marissa Meyer

In this week’s episode, Marissa and Joanne take a fun trip down memory lane, celebrating their favorite moments from the past 3 years and 149 episodes! Also, they announce an exciting giveaway, but you’ll have to listen to find out what it is. Join them as they discuss their most memorable writing craft takeaways – some that have influenced their own writing – as well as some light bulb moments, l...

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Zeba Shahnaz about her debut YA fantasy, MIDNIGHT STRIKES, as well as struggling to finish projects and how to keep from getting distracted, doing several rounds of edits even before querying, complicated magic systems and worldbuilding in a time-loop, being able to trust yourself, putting in the work, keeping the joy in the writing, and so much more.  Th...

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Daniel Nayeri about his new book, THE MANY ASSASSINATIONS OF SAMIR THE SELLER OF DREAMS and his twisty road to becoming a published author that included working in publishing, considering being a spy, skydiving, and actually becoming a pastry chef.   Topics also discussed: explaining unfamiliar terms to the reader without breaking character, bringing sett...

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Brittney Morris about her latest action adventure YA novel, THE JUMP, as well as how setting can be its own character, using Google Street View to get details correct when you can’t physically be there to do research, writing scavenger hunt puzzles, tackling multiple first person points of view, using sensitivity readers, addressing big questions through...

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Lyssa Mia Smith about her debut, the Moulin Rouge-inspired YA romantic historical fantasy, REVELLE, as well some of the research behind the pursuit of happiness and enjoying the writing process, deliberate practice, worldbuilding, prioritizing writing and dealing with guilt, and much more! Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson...

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Dan Santat about his newest graphic memoir, A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING, which releases tomorrow, as well as: dealing with impostor syndrome after winning a big award, sharing your books with your kids, how traveling can open your heart to the world, give you perspective, and make you appreciate your privilege, continuing to be able to relate to new, youn...

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Lakita Wilson about her debut YA novel, LAST CHANCE DANCE, as well as promoting books on social media, deepening the emotions of characters and making them nuanced, the secret to writing teen dialogue, managing expectations in publishing, the perfect date, and more! The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.or...

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with M. K. Lobb about her debut YA fantasy murder mystery, SEVEN FACELESS SAINTS, along with second book syndrome, the pressure of reader expectations, cover design, how politics and systems can influence a story and characters, tips for creating atmospheric settings, and so much more!  The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org Purchasing your books through our webstor...

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Jenna Miller about her debut, OUT OF CHARACTER, as well as how a background in psychology can help with writing characters, on giving yourself grace in the revision process, creating dynamic and interesting relationships between characters, when characters go rogue, and more. The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org Purchasing your books through our webstore at B...

In this week’s bonus episode, Marissa and Joanne (the Happy Writer Social Media Captain and writer of several middle grade books) chat about the topic they most frequently get asked about from authors and aspiring authors: how to be more productive. In this conversation Marissa and Joanne share their best tips on how to be a productive writer, maximize time management, maintain joy in the process,...

In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Ellen O'Clover about her debut SEVEN PERCENT OF RO DEVEREUX - as well as her long and twisty journey to publication; how you’ll publish the book you’re meant to publish; researching technology to get inside a character’s head and create believable details that might be outside your own knowledge; about the question of would you want to know the futur...

Marissa chats with Adrienne Young and Isabel Ibañez about their new co-authored writing resource - THE STORYTELLER’S WORKBOOK: AN INSPIRATIONAL, INTERACTIVE GUIDE TO THE CRAFT OF NOVEL WRITING  - as well as a shared nostalgia for school librarians and journalism classes; the reality of how much of our careers we really have control over, and where we should be putting most of our focus and energy;...

Marissa chats with Tziporah Cohen and Steven Salerno about their new picture book - ON THE CORNER OF CHOCOLATE AVENUE: HOW MILTON HERSHEY BROUGHT MILK CHOCOLATE TO AMERICA - as well as the process and timeline of a picture book, from manuscript and revisions to artist selection, preliminary sketches, and beyond; the vast amounts of research that go into the creation of a nonfiction picture book, f...

Marissa chats with Mary E. Pearson about her expanded and illustrated edition of MORRIGHAN: THE BEGINNINGS OF THE REMNANT UNIVERSE - as well as how our writing processes tend to change as each new book presents its own unique challenges; the pros and cons of writing a multi-book series; thinking of your romance storyline as a game the characters are playing, in order to imbue the relationship with...

Marissa chats with Lynn Ng Quezon about her debut historical fiction YA - MATTIE AND THE MACHINE - as well as the similarities between writing historical, retellings, and fanfiction; drawing on primary resources and documents to spin your historical tale, and how small details can spark new ideas in your plot and backstory; deciding when to stay true to history and when to massage the facts, dialo...

Marissa chats with Susan Dennard about her new urban fantasy - THE LUMINARIES - as well as enlisting the power of word-of-mouth to build hype around your novel, and create an amazing community in the process; using science and evolution to develop realistically horrific fantasy monsters; how "The Luminaries" began life as a reader-directed story on Twitter, and the challenges that come w...

In this bonus episode, I get to answer our listener-submitted questions about Gilded, Cursed, and more! Topics include: the inspiration behind this duology; when characters and their fates surprise me; my method for adapting fairy tales into novels; tips for writing believable romance; who were my biggest cheerleaders when I was an aspiring writer; and possible continuations for Renegades and Hear...

Marissa chats with Caris Avendaño Cruz about her debut middle grade fantasy - MARIKIT AND THE OCEAN OF STARS - as well as how to develop a more poetic writing voice; drawing on both folklore and real-life settings when it comes to building your fantasy world; tapping into big emotions, especially for younger characters (plus: a practical use for all your old journals!); how including non-English w...

Marissa chats with Betsy Cornwell about her YA historical Jane Eyre sequel - READER, I MURDERED HIM - as well as recognizing that you can't be at your peek creativity and productivity all the time, and how to lower your standards for yourself when you need to; why some books change with age, experience, and perspective; practical steps for developing a sequel or spin-off from an existing stor...

Marissa chats with Nick Brooks about his debut middle grade novel - NOTHING INTERESTING EVER HAPPENS TO ETHAN FAIRMONT - as well as keeping things interesting for yourself by exploring new genres and mediums, knowing that every type of writing you experiment with - from film to music to books - can make you a better storyteller; one great takeaway from film school - "the plant and the payoff&...

Marissa chats with Kacen Callender about their new contemporary YA - LARK AND KASIM START A REVOLUTION - as well as the challenge of falling in love with your original work after getting your start writing fanfiction; figuring out which ideas you're genuinely excited about by listening to your emotions, following your joy, and not always trying to meet the expectations of others; a few differ...

Marissa chats with Jennifer Lynn Barnes about the conclusion to The Inheritance Games Trilogy - THE FINAL GAMBIT - as well as being flexible with your creative process in order to strike a life-work balance that can change and adapt throughout the various phases of your life; prewriting your scenes in stages when you don't have the mental bandwidth to write them in their entirety; using the s...

Marissa chats with Lyndall Clipstone about her gothic romance duology - LAKESEDGE and FORESTFALL - as well as how the desire to prove oneself can be an excellent motivator; using special rituals in order to separate yourself from the "real world" and immerse yourself in the setting and feel of your novel; reconceptualizing a stand-alone book into a duology by expanding on existing plotli...

Marissa chats with Isaac Blum about his debut novel - THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF HOODIE ROSEN - as well as longlisting for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature (congrats!); pushing forward with your writing despite years of doubt; some tips for how to protect yourself emotionally when facing rejection; how the ability to curate, revise, and edit your jokes is a huge advantage whe...

Marissa chats with Karen M. McManus about her new YA mystery - NOTHING MORE TO TELL - as well as developing characters that are complex and relatable by first interviewing them and creating in-depth profiles; outlining your mystery in order to "stress test" the idea, while leaving room for intuition and exploration; how to maintain a close point of view with unreliable narrators while st...