About Melanie Tays:
Melanie Tays is the author of the young adult, dystopian, Wall of Fire Series. She lives in Arizona with her husband and two daughters. She loves telling fast-paced stories with exciting twists you didn't see coming. She has a background as a registered nurse, game designer, and entrepreneur. You never know what she might be up to next.
What inspires you to write?
Honestly, I've been writing since I was young. I still come across chapters of books I started years ago and forgot all about. Almost anything can inspire my stories–a strange premise, a line from a song, something someone says to me. There's always a story there.
Tell us about your writing process.
I've never been great at outlines. Even in school when we had to turn in an outline before the final paper, I would write the paper early and make an outline from that to turn in. I've gotten better at it with practice, and it definitely helps speed up the process.
My current method for outlining is to write down all of the details that I know (or think) I want in the book on individual post-it notes. Then I work to get them all in order, finding the connections that are missing along the way.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don't talk to my characters, but when I'm writing, I do find that they tend to take on a life of their own and make my fingers type things I didn't necessarily expect or see coming. That's when writing is really fun.
What advice would you give other writers?
If you love to write, then do it. Don't wait. Write. To tell a great story, learn the fundamentals of story telling (these aren't as obvious or intuitive as we sometimes think). I strongly recommend the book Wired For Story by Lisa Cron.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I self-published my books because I wanted to see the whole process and have more control over my work. I also didn't want to wait years for my books to go through the traditional publishing process. In the future, I do plan to publish at least one book with a traditional publisher just because I want to experience that process as well.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
It's definitely changing. Self-publishing and high quality print-on-demand have changed the game. You're going to see more and more really fantastic books coming from self-published authors. But the larger publisher will also be around for a long time to come.
What genres do you write?: young adult dystopian
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Melanie Tays Home Page Link
Link To Melanie Tays Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
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