Literary Birthday – 27 July – Victoria Aveyard

Happy Birthday, Victoria Aveyard, born 27 July 1990.

10 Quotes

I see it as a movie and I’m just writing down what’s happening in front of me.
A little distance does wonders in terms of writing and this is really helpful in screenplays in particular.
I’m a kitchen-sink writer. I write what I like, and I like lots of stuff, hence lots of stuff goes into the mix.
I’ve always been a visual storyteller, from my Barbies to my screenplays. Movies were my first love (since I couldn’t exactly read at 2 years old), so the moving image is always in my head when I write, whether the project is a book or a script.
I work from the classic three act, eight sequence structure, which really helps me craft.
I also think the most important skill I picked up in college is the ability to take criticism. Film is a really collaborative industry, so you have to be able to not only take criticism well, but know the difference between good and bad criticism, and also maintain distance enough to critique yourself properly. It makes things a lot easier when an edit letter comes around. It’s not personal, it’s help. It’s a damn cheat sheet on how to make your story better!
Telling stories has been a compulsion of mine since I could physically say ‘Once upon a time…’
I don’t necessarily set out to teach or say anything in particular in my writing. Morals and themes come out as I’m telling the tale. First and foremost, I approach work from a place of entertainment… I think transporting someone, putting them in a story for a few hours, taking them out of their worlds, is what I always strive to do.
I force myself to outline, but not too closely, so I guess I plot by the seat of my pants? My natural instinct is to dive right in, but I know I’ll get stuck. I like to stick with the architect vs. gardener metaphor. I guess I’m a gardener who plants tomatoes. I have the sticks in the ground and let the vines grow along those parameters.
My biggest bits of advice are, write as much as you can, finish what you start, get a thick skin, don’t take crap from anyone, but also live your life and have fun. The stereotype of a writer holed up alone all day is really unhelpful. You can’t write real people and real emotion if you don’t let yourself experience them.