getting into (your) character

Emma Roberts in a Ryan Murphy project is basically the vibe

So I got my hair done yesterday (why does getting your ends trimmed and color refreshed always make you feel like a new person?) and my stylist had her station fully decorated for Halloween. Skeletons, spider webs, the whole nine yards. There was even a creepy cocoon man suspended above my head! As a fellow Halloweenophile, I was so into it. (Although the cocoon man maaaayyy be haunting my dreams a bit. I mean, LOOK AT HIM.)

After I finished gushing over her Halloween decorations, we got to talking about writing. She’s a writer, too, although she writes in a different format, and she told me she’s trying her hand at a novella next month. It’ll have some Halloween-esque themes, so she said her station decorations help get her in the right creative mindset. When she starts actually writing, she said, she’ll decorate her writing space at home and immerse herself in themed food and music.

I love that SO MUCH and relate so hard. When I’m deep in a project, I just want to crawl inside it and live there (even if it’s one of my suspense projects and bad things are happening). My absolute dream is to have a writing room where I could just plaster the walls with things that will help me sink into my fictional world — but alas, my writing space is a desk in the corner of our bedroom and the best I can do is a few sticky notes on the wall. (They always fall down, those darn sticky notes.)

So instead I try to create my writing cocoon (no relation to the creepy Halloween cocoon above!) virtually. Now, none of this is earth-shattering information and I’m sure 98% of the writers out there are already doing this, but I thought it might be fun to share some of the things I’m using to get into the characters for Sisterhood Above All. A mini behind-the-scenes, if you will.

First up, the Pinterest board! I am obsessed with making Pinterest boards for my writing projects and they can easily suck up my writing time, but honestly, nothing is quite as effective as getting me into the right mindset as scrolling through a properly curated Pinterest board. Here’s a tiny peek at the one I have for Sisterhood …

including a Bunny reference for my bunnies

… and a smaller one I have for one of the major characters

Emma Roberts in a Ryan Murphy project is basically the vibe

Next, a playlist! When I’m walking to the grocery store or working out at the gym, I’m listening to the playlist I’ve curated for the book. It really helps shake loose new ideas. Here’s the one for Sisterhood Above All.

I like what I like, though, and so many of my project playlists share the same DNA. For example, here’s the playlist for Both Things Are True, which has a totally different vibe (100% less murder than Sisterhood, for starters! Much more cheerful banter and longing and second chances and Dolly Parton) but shares the Arctic Monkeys, Cage the Elephant, Taylor Swift, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. (Looking at them now, I’m frankly shocked there isn’t any shared Jack Antonoff. brb, adding Steel Train’s “You Are Dangerous” to Sisterhood … )

Anyway, all that helps me get in the right mindset when I can’t create a fully immersive writing cave or literally climb into my story. It’s especially helpful when I’m working on a multi-POV story, like I am now with Sisterhood Above All and like I did with Follow Me. I can set mood boards and playlists for individual characters, and let me tell you, I could NOT have gotten into the character of “Him” without doing this.

speaking of Both Things Are True

I have a pub date! It’s not official-official yet, so I don’t think I’m supposed to share it but … *scream* IT’S REALLY HAPPENING! I love Vanessa and Sam so, so much, and I’m so excited for you to get to meet them. Both Things Are True is a genre departure from what I’ve written before, but it’s got the messy, social media-fixated characters you can expect from my work lol. This time, though, *good* things are happening to them!

also, a giveaway

I was digging around in our black hole of a storage closet for a sleeping bag yesterday (no luck, it has apparently been consumed by the monster that resides in said closet) and found some boxes of Truth Be Told when it was still called Are You Sleeping. Look at this lovely hardback of the UK edition!

If you want to win it, leave me a comment on this post and on Monday, I’ll use a random number generator to select a winner!

Happy weekend, pals! xo