SIX MINUTES WITH LUCY SILAG:

Say hello to Lucy Silag, today’s star of LitPick’s Six Minutes with an Author! Lucy wrote a trilogy of young adult romances called the Beautiful Americans novels, which were published by Razorbill/Penguin. She loves to write personal essays and blog posts for the Book Country blog (blog.bookcountry.com). Right now, she is working on two different novels, both in the first draft stage (her least favorite part!). Lucy’s dream is to one day publish a funny travel/food memoir and an adult novel.

How did you get started writing?

In the pre-blogging era, I used to write essays for fun, and sometimes show them to my mom or my friends. As I was deciding to move to New York to go work in publishing, my mom encouraged me to submit one essay in particular to a magazine. It ended up getting published, and it was such a great feeling that I was hooked.

Who influenced you?

Tons of people! I didn’t take many writing classes growing up, so reading novels, memoirs, and magazines was how I learned how writing works. I used to read Danielle Steel sagas until all hours of the morning. I’ll never forget the first time I read Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris when I was eighteen—a book had never made me laugh out loud like that. I like simple language and quick pacing, but I also love complex characters and plots, so any author that does those things well is someone I am trying to emulate.

Do you have a favorite book/subject/character/setting?

I’ve always loved historical fiction, starting with the American Girl books when I was little. I particularly love fiction and memoirs that take place during or right before World War II. I tend to read books with female protagonists. And because I live in New York, I love to read books about the city that never sleeps.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to be an author?

Write often, of course. Also, read as much as you can, especially contemporary books. It’s great to have read all the classics, but authors need to be aware of trends if they want to write a book that has the potential to sell. Being a part of a writing community, whether online, offline, or both, is almost always essential to a writer taking their work to the next level. Supporting other writers will ensure that there are writers there when you need support for your writing.

Where is your favorite place to write?

I once heard Isabel Allende say (I’m paraphrasing) that you know you’re a writer if it feels like a love affair—you don’t care where, when, or how it happens, you just have to write. I rarely feel like this (a big part of being a writer is learning that you have to do it even when you don’t feel inspired), but when I do get a burst of inspiration, it’s really fun to sneak away from whatever I am doing to take a quick writing break. For whatever reason, this seems to happen to me a lot when I am traveling. I love sitting down at a museum or a monument to type out some dialogue or notes on my phone, then email them to myself to use later.

What else would you like to tell us?

Thanks for having me!

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Thank YOU for spending six minutes with us, Lucy! It’s wonderful that you are so passionate about writing. Make sure to pick up her amazing series, Beautiful Americans!