Writers Like Us - Lizzie Friend

Lizzie Friend, agency sister and writer of twisted secret societies and DC boarding schools is here to share her Writers Like Us answers!

Lizzie's answers are below in bold.

Lizzie on Writing

• I've written 1 book, and 1 has seen the light of day. Beginner’s luck? 

• My favorite thing to write is dialogue. This is probably a little strange to admit, but I’ve always had a weird thing about daydreaming entire conversations in my head. Writing dialogue has always felt like a really fun, much-less-embarrassing extension of that.

• No matter how long I've been writing, I still have issues with motivation. Writing is just like anything else, no matter how much I enjoy it, I also really enjoy vegging out on my couch. It’s so easy to put it off for yet another day, and once you get out of the habit, it’s really hard to get back on a consistent schedule. I wrote most of Poor Little Dead Girls during my commute when I was living in Chicago, and it was such an easy way to make sure I wrote a little bit every day.

• A typical comment from my critique partner is “tell your characters and their wiggling/raising/narrowing eyebrows to calm down”. Also, “Did you steal that plot point from a Lifetime Movie or a Mexican soap opera?” (Answer, usually both).

• The book I wished I wrote is Gone Girl, or Where’d You Go Bernadette. Only wish I was half as talented as those funny, creepy ladies.

Lizzie on Getting Published

• When I was querying, I felt like a kid on American Idol circa 2005 right before Simon Cowell started talking. “Please Mr. Cowell, won’t you validate my existence?” 

• The biggest mistake I ever made querying was including a (gasp) prologue in my sample pages.

• The craziest thought I've ever had while writing is “This book is totally going to make me famous,” *finishes bottle of wine*

• When I got "The Call," my first thought was ”This book is totally going to make me famous,” *finishes second bottle of wine*

Lizzie on Life Outside Writing

• If I weren't a writer, I'd probably be an analyst, which is what I do now. I’m about six bestsellers, a major surprise inheritance and some serious black magic away from this being a full-time gig. 

• Secretly, I'm terrified of snakes, though that one is no secret.

• Sometimes, when no one is around, I unironically enjoy trashy reality-show marathons. Also, not so secret.

Want more Writers Like Us? Check out the entire series, including interviews with A.S. King, Sara Zarr, Jennifer E. Smith, Kristin Halbrook, Tara Lynn Childs, Robin Benway, Katie McGarry, Trish Doller, and many, many more.