Powered by Teen.com
Powered by Teen.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
When Sara Shepard was young, the things she wanted to be when she grew up were a soap opera star, a designer for LEGO, a filmmaker, a claymation artist, a geneticist, a fashion magazine editor and, most of all, a writer. Her first story ever, which she both wrote and illustrated, was about friendly yellow creatures that lived in a girl's backyard garden. Her second followed a group of animals, including a five-legged camel named Lloyd, as they went on an expedition through the human body's circulatory system. Sara and her sister Alison�who is nothing like the Alison in Pretty Little Liars�have been creating joint artistic and written projects ever since they were little kids, except they're pretty sure that they're the only ones who find them funny.
Sara currently lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband and three unruly dogs. Pretty Little Liars was inspired by her upbringing in Philadelphia's Main Line. Thankfully, she hasn't received any creepy, anonymous text messages...yet.
Sara currently lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband and three unruly dogs. Pretty Little Liars was inspired by her upbringing in Philadelphia's Main Line. Thankfully, she hasn't received any creepy, anonymous text messages...yet.
"Hi Sara, My name is Hanna Marin and i LOVE your books. In the future i would Love to become an author or a journalist, so can you give me a few tips on how to bring out my best writing?!?!"
-- posted by: Hanna Marin
Hello, Hanna Marin! I guess you already know you share your name with one of the main characters in Pretty Little Liars--perfect, beautiful Hanna Marin, who stops at nothing to be the most popular and irresistible girl at Rosewood Day Prep. And that's fantastic that you want to become an author or journalist!
As far as becoming a better writer, the number one thing you can do is to write a lot. Write stories, plays, poetry, little snippets of ideas on scrap paper when you're supposed to be paying attention in history class, whatever. Journal writing definitely counts, too.
When I was in junior high and high school, I wrote a few stories, but for the most part all I did was keep journals, documenting what happened to me, my friends, and guys I liked--most of whom never liked me back because I was too afraid to admit my feelings. Even though most of what was in the journals was silly, I was still practicing writing.
Another totally invaluable writing tip: Read a TON. And not just books like Pretty Little Liars, but contemporary adult fiction, the Victorian classics, science fiction, romance, true crime, whatever you can get your hands on. You'll be able to see first-hand how great writers handle dialogue, tension, description, plot twists, jumps in time, flashbacks, dream sequences, and action scenes, and how all of these different devices help enhance a story. And unless this sounds too nerdy for words, you could even highlight and mark certain great passages that achieve great writing effects, and refer to them when you're crafting your own story. (I used to do that, too. Because, well, I am nerdy. Nerdy, yet the owner of quite a few pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes.)
Finally, don't be afraid to stick your neck out and show other people your work. Your writing future isn't going to go anywhere if your work sits on your hard-drive, unread by everyone except for you!
Thanks for the question! Good luck, Hanna!
~Sara
Sign up for The Liars List and we'll keep you posted on site updates.