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| Flynn is the author of the book Bloodthirsty. |
Name: Flynn Meaney
Age: 24
Website: www.flynnmeaney.com (or find me on Facebook)
Location: New York City
When did you realize you wanted to be a published author?
My parents read aloud to me when I was growing up, even after I could read myself—
my dad read all of Gone with the Wind out loud to me (with voices for all the characters!
). So I kind of ‘thought in narration’ from a young age. My elementary school had a little
publishing room where volunteer moms typed our stories on typewriters and bound them
in these little book covers. In second grade, I “published” The Crazy Class, in which I
used the names of all my classmates in a slightly exaggerated story about us terrorizing a
substitute teacher. They loved having their names in there, and that was my first work of
funny, realistic fiction.
Name 5 authors and 5 books (do not necessarily have to be your favorites).
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, The
Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Tender
is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (these are SOME of my favorites!)
Where do you get your inspiration from?
For stories to tell: from newspaper and magazine articles, often about trends that are
going on in the world (trends for teenagers if I’m writing YA at the time), and of course
experiences I have, or my friends have. A book that got some stories starting in my head
was Mythology for Dummies, which has brief overviews of myths from all different
cultures.
For how to tell stories: the Freytag plot diagram (I first found it on Wikipedia) and
great movies, TV shows and books of all genres. Whenever I watch a great movie (I’m
working my way through the AFI Top 100) or read a great book, or even just a popular
book, I write down five things that make it great. Of course, a lot of those qualities
overlap, even from very different genres and in different media—characters with strong
motivations (love, revenge, protection of a loved one) drive almost every story.
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?
Specificity. This is important for all kinds of writing, whether you’re analyzing a
poem for an English essay, constructing a world for an epic fantasy novel, where the
little details can make an exotic and fictional world come alive for readers, or writing
something comedic and trying to make readers laugh. There’s such a difference
between, “Instead of going on a date, I spent Saturday night on the couch, eating and
watching TV,” and “Instead of going on a date, I spent Saturday night lying on my couch
watching a three-hour infomercial about a grease-free grill and licking the seasoning off
Cool Ranch Doritos.” Neither of these is really funny, but you can see that the second one
paints a funnier picture because the details exaggerate how pathetic the situation is.
Challenge: Write a one-sentence story!
Only a foot away from the great white shark, the girl—her pulse racing, her rapid
heartbeats counting the rows and rows of teeth, her mind picturing the fanged zipper of
that bowling bag mouth shutting her severed head inside-- gave silent thanks for the thick
aquarium glass.
Age: 24
Website: www.flynnmeaney.com (or find me on Facebook)
Location: New York City
When did you realize you wanted to be a published author?
My parents read aloud to me when I was growing up, even after I could read myself—
my dad read all of Gone with the Wind out loud to me (with voices for all the characters!
). So I kind of ‘thought in narration’ from a young age. My elementary school had a little
publishing room where volunteer moms typed our stories on typewriters and bound them
in these little book covers. In second grade, I “published” The Crazy Class, in which I
used the names of all my classmates in a slightly exaggerated story about us terrorizing a
substitute teacher. They loved having their names in there, and that was my first work of
funny, realistic fiction.
Name 5 authors and 5 books (do not necessarily have to be your favorites).
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, The
Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Tender
is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (these are SOME of my favorites!)
Where do you get your inspiration from?
For stories to tell: from newspaper and magazine articles, often about trends that are
going on in the world (trends for teenagers if I’m writing YA at the time), and of course
experiences I have, or my friends have. A book that got some stories starting in my head
was Mythology for Dummies, which has brief overviews of myths from all different
cultures.
For how to tell stories: the Freytag plot diagram (I first found it on Wikipedia) and
great movies, TV shows and books of all genres. Whenever I watch a great movie (I’m
working my way through the AFI Top 100) or read a great book, or even just a popular
book, I write down five things that make it great. Of course, a lot of those qualities
overlap, even from very different genres and in different media—characters with strong
motivations (love, revenge, protection of a loved one) drive almost every story.
What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?
Specificity. This is important for all kinds of writing, whether you’re analyzing a
poem for an English essay, constructing a world for an epic fantasy novel, where the
little details can make an exotic and fictional world come alive for readers, or writing
something comedic and trying to make readers laugh. There’s such a difference
between, “Instead of going on a date, I spent Saturday night on the couch, eating and
watching TV,” and “Instead of going on a date, I spent Saturday night lying on my couch
watching a three-hour infomercial about a grease-free grill and licking the seasoning off
Cool Ranch Doritos.” Neither of these is really funny, but you can see that the second one
paints a funnier picture because the details exaggerate how pathetic the situation is.
Challenge: Write a one-sentence story!
Only a foot away from the great white shark, the girl—her pulse racing, her rapid
heartbeats counting the rows and rows of teeth, her mind picturing the fanged zipper of
that bowling bag mouth shutting her severed head inside-- gave silent thanks for the thick
aquarium glass.
Thank you so much for all of your answers, Flynn! If anyone else would like to be a writer of the week, please follow the instructions here.
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