Ask the Author: Gail Carson Levine
Answered Questions (403)
Gail Carson Levine
I didn't pursue a writing career. I wrote stories for children and tried to get them published, which took me nine years. Meanwhile, I worked in New York State government. Nowadays, my pension supplements what I earn from writing. It's very hard to earn a living as a writer of fiction or nonfiction. There are other writing jobs, though, like in public relations or advertising, that pay well or well enough. Or you can go into health care and write in your spare time and get published and see if your income can support you once you get established as a writer.
Gail Carson Levine
I don't know. I haven't thought of an idea that I can dive into, but I'm not ruling it out.
Gail Carson Levine
If you save your drafts so that you can go back to them, then you don't have to stick with a direction that you don't feel is the right one. All you may lose is time, and you won't really lose that either because you'll be learning all the way. I think you may know that I love to revise. You can certainly scream--where's the harm?--but I hope you'll also have fun.
Gail Carson Levine
I don't often do that, but when I do, generally for some other writing project, I find little things I want to fix. On the whole, though, I'm happy with them.
Gail Carson Levine
I write to tell myself a story. Since I'm a curious person and a reader, I hope that what interests me will interest others. Sometimes I also have someone I know in mind who, I'm sure, will like my story. That person might be my editor or a friend.
Gail Carson Levine
In high school my creative writing teacher wrote something very mean about both me and a story I'd turned in. As a result, I believed I didn't have the creativity to be a writer. Many years later, though, when I started trying, I knew I was meant to be a writer. But it took a long time for me to find out that I was also meant to be a PUBLISHED writer!
Gail Carson Levine
Maybe. I love "Aladdin"!
Gail Carson Levine
I'm not sure what I'll write next, but I would like to do more retellings.
Gail Carson Levine
Not soon. I'm almost finished with the first draft of my historical murder mystery, but then I have a lot of revising to do before I submit it to my editor. Once she has it, it's usually two years before it comes out. Please be patient!
Gail Carson Levine
Vollys, because she's so complicated and because she really loves Addie.
Gail Carson Levine
Two picks: Addie in TWO PRINCESSES because she got to know a dragon and became fearless, and, at the end is about to change her kingdom for the better. And Loma in A CEILING MADE OF EGGSHELLS, because she lives in 15th century Spain, and being her would be time travel.
Gail Carson Levine
None of my worlds is a democracy, so I guess I'd pick Kyrria, where the monarchs are benign.
Gail Carson Levine
I chose it because it's one of the best-known fairy tales of them all.
Gail Carson Levine
Thank you! Yes, ELLA ENCHANTED is my own take on "Cinderella."
Gail Carson Levine
Hi! I don't have a good answer for you, but I'm glad to get the question. People in FAIREST are as chatty as they are anywhere else, and I knew when I wrote it that I was contradicting ELLA ENCHANTED. But I had no idea how to write a book about people who hardly ever speak. I had to let it go.
Gail Carson Levine
Hi, Julie! Thank you! I advise patience and not being hard on yourself in the self-criticism department. Best wishes for your writing!
Gail Carson Levine
When I was 39! I wrote an art appreciation book for kids, which was never published. THEN I started learning!
Gail Carson Levine
Gee, I don't remember, and I'm not sure. I think it was something about Ella's obedience. Sorry!
Gail Carson Levine
I'm delighted you loved it! Maybe. I haven't thought of another story I want to tell, but if I do, I will write it.
Gail Carson Levine
Thank you! Lately, I've been thinking a lot about "Beauty and the Beast" and "Rumpelstiltskin."
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more