Aspiring Author 101 Latest News, Photos, and Videos

Do you have dreams of becoming a novelist? Aspiring Author 101 is a new feature on JustJaredJr.com where we dive into the nitty gritty of writing a novel with some of our favorite, successful YA authors.

Our next writer is the super talented Jenny Han, who recently released her highly-anticipated book Always and Forever, Lara Jean. (Get it now!)

It’s the third book in the popular To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series.

You may also recognize Jenny for her The Summer I Turned Pretty and Burn for Burn trilogies too.

We sat down with her to get the goods on her writing process, her advice for aspiring authors, and more.

JJJ Aspiring Author 101 – Jenny Han

Hardcover, paperback or digital copies? I read books on my iPad when it’s not something I necessarily want to keep on my shelf. I like to buy hardcover, but I actually do like having a paperback version of it. If it’s something I love, I really like to have something I can carry around with me.

Favorite place to write? My favorite place to write is usually on a writing retreat. A couple times a year, friends of mine and I will rent a house somewhere beautiful, and write. We always pick a house that has a hot tub (laughs). It’s always nice to take a break and chat. It’s almost in that college mode. It can be a lot of fun. It’s also just that solitary pursuit.

Music or no music? For It’s Not Summer Without You, I was listening a lot to Taylor Swift‘s album…I think it may have been Fearless. There were a couple songs that really tapped into the pain of the story. You know that song ["The Way I Loved You"], I thought a lot about that song with Jeremiah and Belly. For me, it will help me to quickly get to an emotional place that I need to be in with certain songs. I always have playlists for whatever I’m working on.

Endings – happy, sad, or ambiguous? I like endings that leave the door open to other possibilities.

Best advice for someone who wants to write a novel someday? I always have a diary. Getting in the habit of writing in a very honest, truthful way where you don’t hold anything back, it helps you find your voice. That’s really the key thing for any writer. There are only so many stories in the world that exist. All stories are derivative of something else, but only you have had your experiences. Only you can bring that story out from your point of view. So I think it’s honing that.

More Here! »

Do you have dreams of becoming a novelist? Aspiring Author 101 is a new feature on JustJaredJr.com where we dive into the nitty gritty of writing a novel with some of our favorite, successful YA authors.

Our next writer is the super talented Lauren Miller, best known for her succeessful novels Free to Fall and Parallel.

She has a new book titled All Things New, which is “a love story about perception and truth, physical and emotional pain, and the messy, complicated people we are behind the masks we put on for the world.”

We sat down with Lauren to get some advice on what to write, where to write, and basically just pick her brain about all things writing.

All Things New hits shelves on August 1. Pre-order it now!

JJJ Aspiring Author 101 – Lauren Miller

On book everyone should read at some point? “Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. It’s a collection of essays on writing by one of my favorite living writers. If you don’t know Anne Lamott, you should. Her voice is truly incomparable, and Bird by Bird is one of her best. It’s full of practical tips but the writing advice sort of isn’t the point. Bird by Bird is a meditation on what it means to be a writer. A kind of how-to guide for those of us who feel called to live the writing life.”

One book you’ll never get tired of reading? “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks. Or any book by Oliver Sacks, honestly. For those who aren’t familiar with him, he was a neurologist and writer who wrote about his most unusual patients. Each chapter is a case study about a particular person with some crazy neurological aberration. The subject matter itself is fascinating to me, but Sacks‘ voice is what draws me back to his books again and again. There is so much intellect but also so much humility and humanity in his writing.”

Hardcover, paperback or digital copies? “Paperback, no question. There is something about the bendy quality of a paperback book, how it fits into your hands and into your bag and into your life. I’m definitely not precious with the books I own � they get coffee dripped on them and bath water splashed on them and cookie crumbs jammed in their page cracks. Plus, of course, paperbacks are lighter for carrying, and since I always, always have my laptop with me, weight is always an issue! E-books are great for space saving, but I find the reading experience sort of disorienting because I don’t know where I am in the story. You can see what percentage you’ve read, but that’s not the same as feeling the already-read pages in your hand.”

Click inside to read the rest of our Q&A with Lauren Miller… More Here! »

Do you have dreams of becoming a novelist? Aspiring Author 101 is a new feature on JustJaredJr.com where we dive into the nitty gritty of writing a novel with some of our favorite, successful YA authors.

First up is author Rebecca Serle – the brains behind the popular Famous in Love series – who also happens to write for the Freeform television adaptation of her book.

We talked with Rebecca about everything from where she writes, what books she recommends, and what advice she has for aspiring young novelists like you!

Be sure to pick up your copy of Famous in Love.

JJJ Aspiring Author 101 – Rebecca Serle

What’s one book everyone should read at some point? Stephen King‘s On Writing. It’s the best book on process that I’ve ever encountered. It’s the No. 1 piece of advice I give to someone who asks me for advice about writing. I also think it’s just a great life book. And because it’s Stephen King, it’s a page-turner.

One book you’ll never get tired of reading? Harry Potter. God knows how many times I’ve read Harry Potter (laughs).

Hardcover, paperback or digital copies? It’s different for different things. I’m a big memoir person and I love to read memoir. So Patti Smith’s memoir, Diane Keaton‘s memoir, I have all of those in hard cover. And most of them are signed, which is pretty cool. That’s the fun thing about living in New York. They all come to the Barnes and Noble in Union Square, so I get to go. Books like that I have in hard cover. I prefer to read in the flesh, but because I travel so much – I’m back and forth between New York and L.A. constantly – I do use my iPad a lot. I use everything. I get a lot of paperbacks [too].

Click inside to read the rest of our Q&A with Rebecca Serle… More Here! »