This interview was conducted by Scholastic editor, Erin Black. Erin is Victoria Scott's editor and partner on the FIRE & FLOOD series, and just so happens to be a great interviewer. Enjoy!
EB: I'm curious - what was the genesis of the story for Fire & Flood? Was it the setting, the race, Tella's voice, or something else that came first for you? Is that usually the case, or has it been different for other books
VS: The idea first came in the form of the Pandoras. I desperately wanted to write a story that featured animals like the incredible daemons in Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. I also knew, after reading a beloved YA thriller, that I wanted it to contain plenty of action. Not all my stories start this way. My other series, Dante Walker, started with a character; namely, Dante.
EB: What surprised you most about the story while you were writing?
VS: How much I had to stop and research. The ecosystems felt like characters that had to be made flesh and blood. In order to do that, I had to understand them.
EB: The question every author has to answer: outline, or seat of your pants?
VS: Outline! Only roughly, but I definitely need things like the main character's objective and major hurdles laid out. I also divide the outline into three parts so I can gauge how I'm doing word count wise as I draft.
EB: What's your writing routine like? I edit best with my dog sleeping on my foot or next to me on the couch - do you have any writing (or procrastination) rituals?
VS: I keep a pretty strict routine when it comes to writing. I write Monday through Friday, 2,000 words a day, 10,000 words a week. If I need a day off for research or to recharge, I take it. But I try to limit those non-drafting days as much as possible. Because I write quickly, I often take a two week break or more between drafting books.
EB: There's a lot more than just writing that authors do (like research, and social media, and spending time thinking about stories and characters before they can appear on the page, and appearances) - how do you allocate your time?
VS: I typically spend 3-4 hours a day drafting, 30 minutes editing, 1 hour on email / social media / marketing, and an hour and a half for reading (mostly in my genre). Sprinkled in there is time spent on character studies, etc. Appearances take up several free weekends, but I can't think of many other ways I'd rather spend a weekend than with fellow authors and readers.
EB: Who reads your work before you hand it off to your editor? Do you have a writing group, or trusted beta readers?
VS: I have a couple of trusted beta readers. We read for each other and mostly offer encouragement. But if something feels largely off in the manuscripts we're beta reading, we'll point that out. It's good to have betas for when I get those fun editorial letters, because then I have a couple of people to call and work through it with. Usually, my betas agree with most of what's in the editorial letter, but if both people disagree, and I also feel unsure about the suggested change, then I know it's time to pick up the phone and call Erin Black.
EB: Music! I love it, but have to have silence when I'm editing or reading a manuscript. Do you listen when you write or revise? Is there a most-played-while-writing Fire & Flood song?
VS: I only listen to music during pivotal, high-tension moments in the book. So when Tella races toward base camp in the jungle, and during that stressful scene on the cliff. Those. I can't recall a certain song I played while writing Fire & Flood. They're all just loud and angry.
EB: Your other series, The Collector, is told by a teen (sort of) boy - what was it like to switch between male and female pov characters while you were writing both series?
VS: It wasn't too bad, and honestly, it kept things interesting. If it had been two females, or two males, their voices may have blended together. But there's no confusing Dante Walker with Tella Holloway. At least I hope not.
EB: So when you're not writing, or coming up with amazing new ideas, or sparking great discussions on female characters saving the world in glitter nail polish, what do you do to take a break and relax?
VS: I love interior design, so I spend a lot of time shopping for the perfect antler candle sticks or a great orange and silver damask wall paper. I'm also getting into gardening, and you know what? I totally want a couple of chickens...even though I live in the heart of the city. I can make it work, I think.
EB: How did you find your agent? What's surprised you about finding an agent and going through the process of publishing novels?
VS: One of my agent's existing clients, Jenny Martin, made the introduction over email. Then I followed that introduction by submitting a few pages of a book I was working on. My agent, Sara Crowe, emailed right away and asked if we could speak on the phone. Then I did the Anxiety Dance until that phone call took place. Finding an agent was probably the hardest part of the publishing process, because you realize how far away you are from your goal of seeing your book in bookstores. At least after you have an agent, you can always say, "You know what? I got really, really close." For anyone still searching, keep querying, and keep writing!
EB: What was your favorite book when you were little? What's your comfort-reading these days?
VS: I loved anything by RL Stine and Christopher Pike when I was young. Today, I devour YA thrillers and horror. Anna Dressed in Blood, The Hunger Games series, I Hunt Killers-those are my jams!
YOU ARE READING
FIRE & FLOOD Extras
Teen FictionFIRE & FLOOD was published by Scholastic, February 2014. A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own. Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother...
