Tiffany Goldman
asked
Laini Taylor:
Hey Laini! I've been wondering; how do you develop your characters? Which comes first, the characters or the world? Also, how do you come up with such unique names for your characters? Lastly, what type of notebooks do you recommend for a writer to use when developing/outlining their stories? Thanks so much!
Laini Taylor
Hi Tiffany! The characters are definitely primary--the characters and their situation. I love world building, but the world has to fit the characters and grow out of the narrative, and along with it. I don't do all the world building up front, but just what I need to get started. I discover so much along the way that shapes the rest.
As for naming, I love coming up with names. One of the first things I do for a project is start a notebook of it and start a list of names in the back--not with anything specific in mind, but just a big list of cool-sounding names from a bunch of different sources, that I can add to and draw from throughout the writing. I'll look at lots of things: plant names in other languages, cool "dead" languages, maps of exotic countries for village names no one will ever have heard of, astronomy, lesser known mythology, names from other linguistic traditions, fantasy name generators, a million different places. I'll circle the best ones, try to nail down names that I need to get started, and come back to them throughout the writing.
Notebooks!!! I only use hardcover Clairefontaine journals. They're from France and are good quality without being fancy, if you know what I mean. Perfect paper weight and lines (which I need), but it's not like handmade paper you'd be afraid to write on, etc. This is them:
https://www.amazon.com/Clairefontaine...
Cheers!
As for naming, I love coming up with names. One of the first things I do for a project is start a notebook of it and start a list of names in the back--not with anything specific in mind, but just a big list of cool-sounding names from a bunch of different sources, that I can add to and draw from throughout the writing. I'll look at lots of things: plant names in other languages, cool "dead" languages, maps of exotic countries for village names no one will ever have heard of, astronomy, lesser known mythology, names from other linguistic traditions, fantasy name generators, a million different places. I'll circle the best ones, try to nail down names that I need to get started, and come back to them throughout the writing.
Notebooks!!! I only use hardcover Clairefontaine journals. They're from France and are good quality without being fancy, if you know what I mean. Perfect paper weight and lines (which I need), but it's not like handmade paper you'd be afraid to write on, etc. This is them:
https://www.amazon.com/Clairefontaine...
Cheers!
More Answered Questions
Mikayla
asked
Laini Taylor:
Your writing is so incredibly beautiful and wickedly haunting-- the images that you come up with are some of the strangest and most enchanting I've ever had the pleasure to read. As a writer, do you see these things in your mind's eye ahead of time and write them down or do they come to life on the page? What is your process for writing not the story, but all the pieces you fill in that make the story what it is?
Cristina Guarino
asked
Laini Taylor:
As an aspiring author, I'm curious: how much writing, or how many years of writing, do you think it took for you to produce something you were truly proud of? I have a hard time with writing because I'm too hard on myself and often avoid it as a result. I'm reading Strange the Dreamer now and only 30 pages in, I already love it. I adored DOSAB. You're a fantastic writer and a huge inspiration, so thank you!
Emma Farris
asked
Laini Taylor:
Did you always know how Akiva and Karou's relationship would end, or did it change during your writing process? I'm writing a paper on how authors use chemistry between characters and need an example. Ever since I picked up Daughter of Smoke and Bone Akiva and Karou have always been one of my favorites. P.S. Currently reading Dreams of Gods and Monsters...LOVE IT<3
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Apr 20, 2017 02:23PM