Writercon Q&A: Martha Wells
We're thrilled to welcome award-winning fantasy writer Martha Wells to this year's Writercon! This Nebula Award nominee is the author of The Fall of Ile-Rien Series, non-fiction pieces for Farscape and Harry Potter anthologies as well as several Stargate: Atlantis tie-in novels. Her books have been published in eight languages including French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, Polish, and Dutch. While we are patiently waiting for this year's con, Martha was kind enough to answer a few questions about writing, the sci-fi/fantasy industry and fandom for our latest guest Q&A. We can't wait to see her in July!
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
Very early on. When I was a kid, I used to try to write stories, and draw maps of fantasy worlds, usually based on things like Land of the Giants and Godzilla and other monster movies that were on TV. After I started college, I wrote fanfic that was published in Star Wars fanzines, and also started going to SF/F writers workshops. I sent out a lot of stories to magazines, but I didn't sell anything until I wrote The Element of Fire, a few years after I graduated.
Do you have a writing routine? If so, please share!
I write full time now, so I pretty much just get up in the morning, surf a little bit, and then start writing.
I wrote my first few novels when I was working full time in computer support and programming, and I'd write at work while I was waiting for programs to run, and then in the evening.
You've written two SGA tie-in novels, Stargate Atlantis: Reliquary and Stargate Atlantis: Entanglement. How different is the process of writing a tie-in as opposed to an original novel such as The Element of Fire?
When you're building your own world, even if you're basing it on a real historical time period, you can do pretty much whatever you want, and you're the one who makes all the rules and decides when to break them. Even when I was writing fanfic, I could still do pretty much whatever I wanted and just call it an AU if it wandered too far afield. With the two tie-ins, I wanted to expand on the world while still making it feel like part of the canon. I felt a lot of pressure to try to get it right.
How has the sci-fi/fantasy "industry" changed since the publication of your first novel?
It's gotten much much harder for new authors to get published, and for established authors to continue to publish.
What would you consider your greatest professional achievement to date?
Being nominated for the Nebula Award for The Death of the Necromancer.
What is the best piece of writing advice you've ever been given?
It was from Bruce Sterling, in a Turkey City Writers Workshop, about making description very specific to the moment and the character.
What was your first fandom?
Original trilogy Star Wars. Around the time The Empire Strikes Back came out, I saw an ad for a fanzine in the back of Starlog Magazine. It was for Facets, which I believe was the first Harrison Ford fanzine. I ordered it, then found other zines from the flyers that came with it. I'd already been to my first SF/F con -- I somehow persuaded my parents to take me and a friend to ArmadilloCon in Austin, I don't remember how -- so I've been involved in both media fandom and general SF/F fandom since I was around 15 or 16.
What has been your most rewarding fandom experience?
Finally getting to go to MediaWestCon with friends, and selling home-made zines out of our room and the dealer's room, staying up all night watching VHS tapes of our shows, building elaborate door decorations, and basically having the best slumber party ever.
What would you now consider "your" fandom?
Stargate: Atlantis, though because of personal issues I had to stop my fandom participation late last year.
What prompted you to accept the invitation to Writercon?
I like conventions, and I especially like going to new ones that I haven't had a chance to go to before. And it was very flattering to be invited.
For more information on Martha Wells and her body of work, visit her WEBSITE (www.marthawells.com).
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
Very early on. When I was a kid, I used to try to write stories, and draw maps of fantasy worlds, usually based on things like Land of the Giants and Godzilla and other monster movies that were on TV. After I started college, I wrote fanfic that was published in Star Wars fanzines, and also started going to SF/F writers workshops. I sent out a lot of stories to magazines, but I didn't sell anything until I wrote The Element of Fire, a few years after I graduated.
Do you have a writing routine? If so, please share!
I write full time now, so I pretty much just get up in the morning, surf a little bit, and then start writing.
I wrote my first few novels when I was working full time in computer support and programming, and I'd write at work while I was waiting for programs to run, and then in the evening.
You've written two SGA tie-in novels, Stargate Atlantis: Reliquary and Stargate Atlantis: Entanglement. How different is the process of writing a tie-in as opposed to an original novel such as The Element of Fire?
When you're building your own world, even if you're basing it on a real historical time period, you can do pretty much whatever you want, and you're the one who makes all the rules and decides when to break them. Even when I was writing fanfic, I could still do pretty much whatever I wanted and just call it an AU if it wandered too far afield. With the two tie-ins, I wanted to expand on the world while still making it feel like part of the canon. I felt a lot of pressure to try to get it right.
How has the sci-fi/fantasy "industry" changed since the publication of your first novel?
It's gotten much much harder for new authors to get published, and for established authors to continue to publish.
What would you consider your greatest professional achievement to date?
Being nominated for the Nebula Award for The Death of the Necromancer.
What is the best piece of writing advice you've ever been given?
It was from Bruce Sterling, in a Turkey City Writers Workshop, about making description very specific to the moment and the character.
What was your first fandom?
Original trilogy Star Wars. Around the time The Empire Strikes Back came out, I saw an ad for a fanzine in the back of Starlog Magazine. It was for Facets, which I believe was the first Harrison Ford fanzine. I ordered it, then found other zines from the flyers that came with it. I'd already been to my first SF/F con -- I somehow persuaded my parents to take me and a friend to ArmadilloCon in Austin, I don't remember how -- so I've been involved in both media fandom and general SF/F fandom since I was around 15 or 16.
What has been your most rewarding fandom experience?
Finally getting to go to MediaWestCon with friends, and selling home-made zines out of our room and the dealer's room, staying up all night watching VHS tapes of our shows, building elaborate door decorations, and basically having the best slumber party ever.
What would you now consider "your" fandom?
Stargate: Atlantis, though because of personal issues I had to stop my fandom participation late last year.
What prompted you to accept the invitation to Writercon?
I like conventions, and I especially like going to new ones that I haven't had a chance to go to before. And it was very flattering to be invited.
For more information on Martha Wells and her body of work, visit her WEBSITE (www.marthawells.com).