Charming, but single

Last week Charming, but Single readers posted questions for Meg Cabot, whose writing creddits include “Queen of Babble” and “The Princess Diaries.” As an added bonus, one reader was selected to receive a copy of “Queen of Babble” for her question. Our winner is Laura, who asked the first question below and will be getting an e-mail from me to make arrangements for her book. (And can I say that I cracked up laughing when I read Meg’s answer? Because I did.)

I wanted to say thanks to Meg Cabot for taking some time out of her busy fabulous author life to answer a few questions. You can read Meg’s blog here and purchase “Queen of Babble” here.

I also wanted to thank Neil from Citizen of the Month who helped pick the winner even though he is having a really rough go at things right now. Neil’s a great guy and a very community-focused blogger and I’d love it if you’d send some prayers and kind thoughts to him and Sophia.

Meg’s answers are below. Thanks to everyone who participated in the first Charming, but Single contest. I’m hoping it won’t be the last. Cheers!

Many times writers base some of their characters on people they know in real life. Do you find yourself doing that and has anyone ever recognized themselves in your writing and gotten upset over their portrayal?

I do sometimes model my characters on people I know or have known, but I practice the “small penis rule” — giving the character one trait that is so undesirable no one in their right mind would ever be willing to take me to court and say to a judge, “Your honor, that character, the one described as having the face like a pug/hideous bad breath/insufferable egocentricism, … that’s me.”  It seems to have worked so far!

Do people ever ask you when you’re going to start writing “serious” literature? If so, what’s your answer? (I’m looking for tips on how to respond to my pretentious literary friends, one of whom once said to me: “Oh! I didn’t know you wrote *those* kinds of stories”!).

I’ve noticed there’s been a lot less of this since I’ve had two movies and a television series made based on my work — which is actually kind of sad.  But it still happens occasionally, so when it does, I just toss off tidbits about my print runs.  Like, I’ll guess what the literary author’s print run is (usually 5,000), and go, “Yeah, I mentioned to my editor that I was going to do a literary novel about a male ballerina set during the Spanish civil war, but she told me the standard print run for that kind of thing is only five thousand books –can you imagine? — and I’m currently at two hundred thousand, so I thought I’d just stick to what I’m doing.  It seems to be working.”

I’ve been in this business a long time.

What is your writing process? Where do you write, what times of day do you prefer, do you have a ritual you go through, do you have a goal each day-a certain number of words, perhaps? Once you have your idea firmly in mind, how do you physically get it down?

Well, I usually don’t start writing something until I’ve mulled it over in my head for about a year (obviously while I’m doing this I’m writing other things.  I back burner the other stories I’m planning). Occasionally I’ll jot down a detail or two, but I’m paranoid about the outlining process — writing down anything before the actual novel itself — notecards, etc — doesn’t work for me.  Once I feel like I’ve got a solid idea for the opening scene, a firm ending, and a semi-planned out path for how I’m going to get there, I’ll grab my laptop and work on it from about 10 to 5 every day-if possible — until it’s done.  I used to work in bed, but cat allergies have driven me out of doors to the back porch.  Some day I work on one of those chair floats in the pool with an AlphaSmart … I love those, because you can’t edit as you go along.  That’s usually when I get the bulk of my first draft done.

So, you’ve written a book with Princess in the title, and now with Queen in another title- are you trying to tell us something about how we should see ourselves? If so, what is it, please?

Ha! Yeah, I’m all about self-empowerment. I have a witch book for teens coming out this summer, too –JINX - that explores this theme as well. Especially when so many so-called celebrity female role-models are saying they aren’t feminists and the idea of feminism seems to be confusing to so many women, I think it’s crucial that women have strong positive role models to look to who aren’t what they may consider the stereotypical feminist prototype - you know, hairy legs, no makeup, etc — but who very much ARE feminists.  My princesses and queens - and my witch -are just that.

Many young adult ‘chick lit’ tales chronicle a heroine’s crazy antics - often flirting with minor disasters of the social/dating variety. Do you think that this is meant to give young women readers a hope that their lives, no matter how scattered, might ‘all work out’ like their fictional counterparts? Is this a means of placating hypersensitive teens, and might that demographic be better served by tales of young women having more focus, setting more definite goals, and achieving them through conscious will, rather than ‘plucky luck’?

Well, I can only speak for myself and the kind of books I write – and choose to read. There are certainly lots of books featuring heroines like the ones you describe, and they sell very well.  I don’t choose to write about those kind of heroines because I can’t relate to them. That’s not the kind of life I led, and not the kind of life I would choose to read about, because that kind of life bores me. Choosing the road less traveled is what’s given me so much material to write about!

That said, judging from my mail, I think what you describe — focused girls setting definite goals — is the kind of life the vast majority of my readers lead, and probably why they like reading my books - because my heroines’ lives are so different than theirs, and they can “safely” experience that kind of life through my books.  Which sucks, because lot of them really NEED to let themselves have more disasters in their lives!  Because there’s lots of awesome stuff out in the real world … but to find it, you have to let yourself have some disasters!