Theodora Goss: I loved writing something people usually have

Accept criticism. If you do not offer your work for criticism and accept that criticism, meaning give it serious thought and attention, then you will never improve.

Theodora Goss

criticism attention giving

Perhaps it’s when you come to the realization that the point of life isn’t to be rich, or secure, or even to be loved - to be any of the things that people usually think is the point. The point of life is to live as deeply as possible, to experience fully. And that can be done in so many ways.

Theodora Goss

done people thinking

Write all the time. I believe in writing every day, at least a thousand words a day. We have a strange idea about writing: that it can be done, and done well, without a great deal of effort. Dancers practice every day, musicians practice every day, even when they are at the peak of their careers – especially then. Somehow, we don’t take writing as seriously. But writing – writing wonderfully – takes just as much dedication.

Theodora Goss

dance writing believe

If readers like The Thorn and the Blossom, which I would call literary fantasy, I think they would like books such as Elizabeth Hand's Mortal Love, Catherynne Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, and Kelly Link's Stranger Things Happen.

Theodora Goss

girl book thinking

Learn as much as you can. Take every opportunity to learn about writing, whether it’s through classes, workshops, whatever is available to you. This may be difficult, because things like classes, workshops, writing programs, require time and money. But I say this honestly and somewhat harshly – if you’re not willing to prioritize your writing, perhaps you should do something else?

Theodora Goss

writing class opportunity

I think part of my purpose in this life is to talk about magic, and to make it.

Theodora Goss

magic purpose thinking

If you’re a writer, your first duty, a duty you owe to yourself and your readers, and to your writing itself, is to become wonderful. To become the best writer you can possibly be.

Theodora Goss

writing wonderful firsts

In the Forest of Forgetting do you remember any romances? All the relationships in those stories are dark and twisted - people fall in love, but they really shouldn't have. There's even a story about a marriage, but it focuses on a woman who marries a bear!

Theodora Goss

falling-in-love dark people

The only thing worth thinking about, when I write a story, is whether I like it, whether I want to write it, whether it excites me.

Theodora Goss

stories writing thinking

Read a lot. But read as a writer, to see how other writers are doing it. And make your knowledge of literature in English as deep and broad as you can. In workshops, writers are often told to read what is being written now, but if that is all you read, you are limiting yourself. You need to get a good overall sense of English literary history, so you can write out of that knowledge.

Theodora Goss

literature writing needs

I'm used to writing fairy tales that can be somewhat dark, and the truth is that in fairy tales, romances are always problematic. They may end happily ever after, but someone's getting pushed into an oven or has blood in her shoe.

Theodora Goss

shoes dark writing

I loved writing something I'd never written before, and I wanted to write not just about "true love" but also a human relationship.

Theodora Goss

humans wanted writing

I actually pushed the boundaries on how long a book like this [The Thorn and the Blossom] can be. The original plan called for two 7,500 word stories, and I turned in two 10,000 word stories.

Theodora Goss

two long book

I've heard some readers saying they wished the story was longer, and I completely understand that desire - we all like to sink into a nice, long novel.

Theodora Goss

nice desire long

I see so many talented writers who have difficulties with that. And if you don't believe it's important, you won't put in the work you need to.

Theodora Goss

important believe needs

It's appropriate to have magic in a love story, because magic is a sort of metaphor for what love feels like? When we fall in love, the world feels magical to us. It becomes an enchanted place.

Theodora Goss

magic falling-in-love stories

I'm writinng my first full-length novel, which is based on a novella I wrote called "The Mad Scientist's Daughter." I'm having a wonderful time with it, but of course it's presenting challenges as well. Stories always do, no matter what they are.

Theodora Goss

mad daughter challenges

The appeal of writing a romance was that I'd never written one before the The Thorn and The Blossom.

Theodora Goss

appeals romance writing

What writers do - everything comes from inside, from experiences of the world that we have digested. And then we turn it into silk, or stories.

Theodora Goss

turns stories world

That sort of effort has to come not only from the writer but also from a really innovative publisher like Quirk.

Theodora Goss

quirks innovative effort

I loved writing something people usually have - miscommunication, for example. Now that I've written a romance, I'm sure I'll write more: it's fascinating to put people together and see what happens, how they fall in love and what that means in their lives.