~Juliet Marillier Website~
Frequently asked questions: General
Where do you get your ideas from?
Writers get asked this a lot, especially fantasy writers, I suspect. There's no easy answer. I think my ideas come from life, from things I observe people doing and ways I see them reacting and interacting: human behaviour, I guess. That doesn't mean I put real people into my books as characters, but I do use all sorts of ideas my experience suggests to me. I'm influenced by traditional material - I've loved fairy tales and folklore, myths and legends since I was little. I read a lot of history books, and I travel to places I'm interested in - that's a luxury I've only been able to afford since I became a published author! There was a really long period in my life when I didn't write at all - about 20 years. During that time I made a lot of mistakes and found out a lot about real life. Because of what I learned during that time, I write very differently now. I hope I'm wiser.
Do you do a lot of research?
Heaps. Because my books are set in an exact historical period I need to research the details and get everything at least reasonably correct. It's a little easier because the periods and places in which my adult books are set have few contemporary written records (that's 9th century Ireland for the Sevenwaters Trilogy, 8th century Orkney for Saga of the Light Isles and 6th century Scotland - before it was called Scotland - for The Bridei Chronicles. ) That means there's room for some imagination. My books are fantasy, not history, so readers shouldn't expect perfect historical accuracy. Usually when I get things 'wrong' it's done on purpose - usually it's in order to tell the story better.
My research has taken me to some interesting parts of the world recently: Transylvania for Wildwood Dancing and Turkey for the forthcoming Cybele's Secret. And, of course, I made a trip to the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, complete with helicopter rides, when writing Foxmask.
I also research background material such as plants, animals and geography (for instance, at the time of the Sevenwaters books there really was a big tract of forest at the Ring of Gullion in County Armagh, but there's not much of it left now). And I have to read a lot of mythology and folklore.
What kind of books do you enjoy reading?
Usually I'm too busy to do much recreational reading these days, so it's mostly research-related. When reading for pleasure I enjoy literary fiction and historical fiction, and I read quite a lot of books on pagan spirituality. One of my favourite authors is the celebrated Portuguese novelist, Jose Saramago. I read a very small amount of fantasy - I enjoy Neil Gaiman, Jacqueline Carey, Terry Pratchett and Guy Gavriel Kay.
What are the main influences on your writing?
Definitely traditional folklore and fairy tales, which I've never stopped reading. I'm sure that's why there are folk motifs woven all through my writing. My interest in pagan spirituality has a strong influence on my approach to story telling as well. Apart from that, I think I've been influenced by memorable people in my life, especially women of strong character and courage. Daughter of the Forest is dedicated to my mother, sister, and daughters. You'll find women as protagonists in all my books, with the stories often structured around their journey to maturity or self-knowledge.
I can't say any particular writers have influenced me although I do have a number of books which are special favourites, the ones you read over and over. These include the Lymond Chronicles (Dorothy Dunnett), John Crowley's Little, Big, a young adult book called The Catalogue of the Universe by Margaret Mahy, and Women who run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, which examines the power of story in terms of women's psychology. And Tove Jansson's Moomintroll books!
I want to be a writer. How do I get started?
You need to be writing because you love doing it and because you have a story, poem or whatever just bursting to get out. You need the passion for it first, then you develop the techniques and the stamina to keep going.
Then, just write, write, write. I started when I was a little kid and didn't get a novel published until I was middle aged. Read a lot, and read widely. Experience life, because that's your raw material. Grab any opportunity you can to get your material into print. There's nothing wrong with the school magazine, the college newspaper, or the community gazette. Enter competitions. Try stuff out on your friends and family but don't take their opinions too seriously.
Some people say you should practise your craft by writing short stories first. Certainly, you need a lot of self-confidence (or insanity) to start penning a 200,000 word blockbuster with no guarantee of ever seeing it in print. Still, I can't tell you not to do that, because it's exactly what I did with Daughter of the Forest. Some people have the gift for short stories and some haven't. They are good discipline - you need to prune down to the best words and the tightest structure. The same thing applies with poetry, only even more so.
If you want to submit something to a publisher, make sure you comply with their rules (most publishers have a web site showing their submission guidelines.) There's no point in sending your bug-whomper fantasy novel to a publisher who only publishes gardening and craft books. And you must get the basics right: spelling, punctuation and grammar need to be OK, and the presentation should be professional. Some publishers won't even look at unsolicited manuscripts. The sad truth is, they get vast quantities of stuff every single day and most of it gets rejected.
If your manuscript is really good you may be able to get a literary agent to represent you. An agent will take a percentage of what you earn, but they are able to get a publisher to read your work, and if they believe in you they will lobby on your behalf. An agent should not ask for payment to represent you. As an alternative, you can pay for an assessment of your manuscript by a manuscript assessment service. With a positive assessment attached, your work is more likely to be read by an editor.
Don't be too discouraged if you get rejection slips. Everyone does. Keep trying, but seek advice as well, from teachers or other writers. Take creative writing classes if you think it will help, at least it's a forum to have your work critiqued. Have faith in your own ability; without that you will get nowhere.
If it stops being fun, give yourself a rest. Even writers have to get a life sometimes.