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Now, onto Gabrielle Zevin…
I know what you're thinking. This is another one of those clickbait articles that turns out to be scammy or have some sales grab at the end.
The good news is this post contains none of those things.
A few weeks ago I had the fortune of attending a Gabrielle Zevin Author Talk in Atlanta. Before this Author talk, I had no idea who Gabrielle Zevin was.
I wasn’t familiar with her works or that she was a New York Times bestselling author.
So how did I snag a spot at the hottest Author Talk of the year? Well. Up until that night, she was the talk around town.
Standing in coffee shops and browsing through bookstores I would hear her name mentioned in excited whispers.
“Are you headed to the talk? The Gabrielle Zevin talk?”
-a random person
“Friends and I made reservations at the Four Seasons, and afterward, we’re going to see Zevin!”
Okay, that last one maybe exaggerated but you get the gist. My FOMO was working overtime so determined not to miss out I grabbed a seat with glee!
I was going to see Gabrielle Zevin BABY!
That night of the talk I packed in with hundreds of Gabrielle Zevin fans, and let me tell you the SWIFTIE energy was real. All around me, people buzzed with excitement. It felt like I was at a rock concert.
But as I looked around the room I immediately fell with imposter syndrome. Sitting among her loyal fans I questioned my being there.
I almost booked it out of the room but then the lights dimmed and the host walked on stage. There was no turning back, I was in for it now.
The room went hush as Gabrielle Zevin took center stage. At her appearance, the crowd went wild. I too clapped…for fear of being hit.
Now, I’ve been to many author talks and lectures. None of them came close to Gabrielle Zevin’s. She was warm and affectionate, and her energy immediately lit up the room.
As the talk began, I knew I was in for a treat.
The Talk…
The talk began as most do. Gabrielle was asked what inspired Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and such. She alluded to her early writing and publishing days, and run-ins with atrocious comments and reviews.
When gloriously praised for her works she was upfront about her writing process, truthfully expressing that she went against the grain of ‘traditional” writing advice to produce her book. This is where it got interesting.
“See,” Gabrielle began, “I think most advice for writers can be bad.” How so?
“Like Write What You Know”
Now before the boxing gloves come on I want to provide some context.
For first-time writers, ‘write what you know’ is a common piece of advice. I have recommended this advice to novice writers and have followed it myself. However, I know that following this advice to a literal tee could stifle your workflow.
In Gabrielle Zevin’s case (save GameCube and Mario Kart) she didn't know much about the gaming world before writing Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. She researched the topic extensively and used her desire to explore platonic relationships to pursue writing the book.
When I first began writing sticking solely to what I knew made me feel other stories I desired to tell were unattainable.
Now I combine my lived experiences and research to fill in the pieces I don’t know.
So why Gabrielle Zevin didn’t know much about game design she did know about being an outsider.
I did know about being othered. I knew about being half Korean and Jewish and all that comes with that.”
-Gabrielle Zevin
For her characters, being othered is the heartbeat of the novel.
I believe we can mirror much the same in our writing. Use your experiences as a starting point, as the heartbeat, and discover what else you don’t know.
As Gabrielle Zevin continued she mentioned another piece of writing advice she also finds troubling.
“The Whole Kill Your Darlings…”
In today’s, forcing intimate relationships is the norm but the commitment to the platonic relationship makes for such a refreshing read and devastating heartbreak.
Killing off beloved characters is such a go-to now that it’s lost its execution on the reader (pun intended).
I’ve discovered that playing tug and pull with my character’s secret wants and desires creates more friction and emotional trauma. Despite popular media portrayals, there are more artful ways to evoke emotion and conflict, to blow up a character’s world, and to shatter their aspirations.
That’s just capturing real life, and Gabrielle Zevin does it well.
As the talk came to a close the last gem she dropped might have been my favorite.
Write What Scares You
When we first begin writing we emulate or imitate a writing style near and dear to us. While that’s fine initially, it can result in us chasing tropes. It takes guts to write the thing that scares you. To write a work with the sole focus of telling the story you want to and not worrying about it being a commercial success.
For Gabrielle Zevin writing what scared her is what gave her the ability to produce a powerful work of her own and encouraged me to do the same.
After we were dismissed from the auditorium I purchased the book and waited to meet her. I had to know if she was just gracious and wonderful in person.
SHE IS.
As I walked away from the talk I left with much more than I bargained for. For the first time, my hope was renewed that writing can be an enjoyable and attainable career.
Rather you take this advice or not, I do hope you’ve walked away with the same belief that you have the power to tell your own stories, one word at a time.
Stay cool and happy writing!