This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Meredith Wild, author of Hardwired, joins us now to talk about how she went from being the CEO of a technology company to a bestselling author.
Tell us about your latest book.
My latest book is Hard Love, which is the fifth and final book in the Hacker Series. It will be releasing on September 15th in the US and September 24th in the UK.
Where do you find inspiration for your books?
Life. Travel. People. Everything.
Once I started writing seriously, I would find inspiration in the strangest places. Standing in line at the grocery story while a family bickered in front of me. Instead of being irritated that they were holding up the line, I found myself fascinated by their exchanges and how the people around them reacted. Inspiration is everywhere. Sometimes it just takes a little perspective change to notice it.
Travel is all about changing perspective, which is why it’s possibly the most powerful inspiration for me. Movement from place to place, a unique and non-media-filled expanse of time, and then allowing myself to truly take in all the sensations of a new place… priceless!
Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?
My average writing day usually consists of me trying to get motivated to write until about 6 o’clock at night, at which point I actually begin writing. Up until then, I’m checking emails, taking calls, stealing away with my husband for lunch (because cooking is hard), and spending time with my kids before bedtime. I attribute this to being a night owl, but I think it has more to do with the online and in-person chatter quieting down around that time, allowing me to finally think and listen to my characters for a decent amount of time. I will typically write until midnight or later if I’m powered up enough to go longer.
When you are writing, do you use any famous people or people you know as inspiration?
I don’t usually use celebrities for inspiration, however I do dreamcast my characters from time to time, usually after the story has been written.
Once I have a general idea of how a character looks, my imagination fills in the little details, from their physique to what they wear. I am more likely to draw physical inspiration from people I know or strangers I meet.What female writer has inspired you?
I worship the ground that Tina Fey walks upon. I have so much respect for her as a creative and all-around amazing person. I love that she is pushing forward a really positive feminist message and doing it with humor.
Can you give us three book recommendations?
The Passion, by Jeanette Winterson. This is a book that I will always have on my shelf, no matter how many times I give copies away. I was introduced to her work in college and since then have fallen in love with her voice and poetic style.
Captive in the Dark, by CJ Roberts. This series is extremely well written, super dark, and disturbing enough to make you question your sanity and desires. I love everything about it.
Try, by Ella Frank. This is the first book in the Temptation series. Ella’s writing and her characters, Tate and Logan, have completely converted me to a full-fledged m/m fanatic.
What is your writing process? Do you plan first or dive in? How many drafts do you do?
Usually the main idea for a book hits me when I’m least expecting it. I jot scene ideas down in a notebook as they come to me, and from this, a general storyline begins to take shape. Once I have this rough idea of who my characters are, what challenges they’ll face, and what their relationship will be like, I start composing the book on my computer. I tend to work and rework and polish the first five chapters until I’m completely positive that the tracks I’ve laid are solid for writing the rest of the story. After that I sprint through the rest, taking breaks to go back and polish up as I go. I don’t consider what I write a first draft, because by the time I finish the last chapter, I’ve tightened a lot of it up already and am ready to send it to my editor. After I collect feedback my editor and beta readers, I do another round of edits and send it off to be proofed.
What was your journey to being a published author?
I was running my own tech company for about a decade when I decided to pursue a lifelong dream of writing. I got the idea for Hardwired one day, started writing, and in September of 2013 self-published what would become the first in a five-book series. As the series grew in popularity and I released more books, I was able to get them stocked in major retailers and began hitting the bestseller lists regularly. This caught the attention of more mainstream publishers. Even though I was happy self-publishing and doing well on my own, I eventually decided to partner with Grand Central Publishing, who I felt would be a great fit for introducing the books to a broader audience.
What do you think is the biggest myth about being a novelist?
I think people have really romanticized ideas of what being a writer is like – that writers are these stoic, intellectual, and anti-social creatures. Okay, well, maybe that part is true. But the writing process doesn’t feel romantic or glamorous at all to me. Most of the time it feels like being on a seriously emotional roller-coaster ride, vacillating between self-doubting torture and caffeine-fueled thrills of making progress. Knowing I’ve written and completed books after the fact is the only glamorous part of the process for me.
What advice can you give to our readers who want to write a novel of their own?
Whatever you do, make sure you finish the book! Once you do, hire an editor. Never take no for an answer, and never ever give up. When in doubt, keep writing books. Writing is always the answer.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently working on bonus content for Hard Love and trying to decide which book I want to write next. I have nine plotted. Decisions, decisions…
Thanks, Meredith!