Fighting Prose Interview with Shannan & Tayla Stedman!

Welcome to my in-depth writers series Fighting Prose. Where I talk to authors in the industry on what their process is like and what it takes for them to keep on creating, through all the odds.

INTERVIEW PIC.jpg — Shannan and Tayla Stedman

is my interview this week!

How long have you been writing?

Unofficially, since we could hold a pen, but we started taking it a lot more seriously in the later years of high school – both selecting ALL the English subjects and then studying creative writing at uni.

If you've written several books, which is your favorite?

The Lola Online series would have to be our favourite. We have the best time writing these books! They’re jam-packed full of personality and humour and we have a particular soft spot for book two in the series.

What's your favorite genre to read? Write?

To read would have to be a magical middle grade fiction or a swoon-worthy YA novel. And to write, would definitely be junior fiction because we have the best time doing so! We’re very visual writers so each book in the Lola Online series plays out like an episode of a sitcom, meaning we’re basically laughing out loud the whole time we write.

How do you get in the mood to write?

Honestly, we’re never not in the mood to write. But a big cup of coffee, a clean and organised office and a good night’s sleep certainly help.

How do your characters come together?

We establish our central characters first, brainstorming until they come to life, then creating character bios for them. After that, the side characters seem to fall right into place. It also helps if characters are loosely based on people in our lives.

How do you get your ideas?

Our entire existence is one big brainstorming session, forever discussing ‘what if’s’ and ‘hey, wouldn’t this be cool…’ These conversations between us are like a constant game of ping pong, with ideas going back and forth. We build upon each other’s suggestions until we have something we want to explore further.

Who do you admire the most in the writing world?

Taylor Swift, without a doubt! She counts, right? She is a lyrical genius. Other than her, we really admire JK Rowling’s world building and the detail that she puts into everything she does. Also, Jessica Townsend and Abi Elphinstone have some of the most mesmerising writing we’ve ever read.If you're not busy writing, what are you busy doing?

If you're not busy writing, what are you busy doing?

Hanging out with our three pups, baking the ultimate choc-chip cookies, binge-watching our fave tv shows, listening to music and going to reformer Pilates classes.

Have you always been creative? Has it always been writing?

Always! We anticipate that one day, scientists will discover that our brains are entirely made up of the right (creative) side. We love anything where we are creating! Before we were authors, we ran our own children’s entertainment company which basically consisted of us wearing fun costumes, playing characters and face painting.

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, how did you get out of it?

Truthfully, only once. And we used the despair of it to write a comedic picture book about that very scenario. That experience is now a constant reminder to us to that inspiration can be found even in the moments where you feel most blocked.

When you sit down to write, is it easy or hard? If it's hard, what makes you keep showing up?

Because there’s two of us, we do find that getting into the writing process is quite easy. We hold each other accountable, split the workload and weed out any bad ideas, so what we’re left with is a clear direction of where we’re going.

For a writer starting out what advice would you give them?

Write every single day! Or at least brainstorm or exercise some form of creativity. And write the book that YOU would want to read, especially if you feel like it’s missing from the shelf.

What is your dream writing location?

We really do love working from our home office aka. The Zone of Creativity. But the best thing about writing is that it’s so portable. We can just see it now, typing away from a New York loft in the midst of winter, perched in front of the fireplace with a mega cup of steaming hot tea and puppies curled around our ankles while snow falls gently outside the window.

In reference to your books, what question do you get asked the most?

A question that often comes up is how we write books together as co-authors. In regard to Lola Online, people seem to be very interested in how it was inspired by our little sister, Makayla.

If you could bring one of your characters to life who would it be? Why?

Ooh, what a fun question! We would have to say Lola’s Aunt Helen because she is the definition of wild and has the craziest stories to tell.

What do you think makes a good story?

Personally, we are obsessed with threads! When little plot points and ideas are woven through the story, and then come back in a big way, often involving humour or some twist reveal it absolutely makes a book, for us anyway.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

We would often say we wanted to be fairies or princesses, and thanks to our children’s entertainment business we can tick that one off the list. Other than that, it would have been authors and we are still pinching ourselves that we are achieving that dream :)