Sarah J. Maas on Empire of Storms and the Emotional Rollercoaster of Writing
Between the Throne of Glass series and the Court of Thorns and Roses series, Sarah J. Maas has the key to our YA-loving hearts. With Empire of Storms hitting shelves today, Aelin’s story is almost wrapped up—and by almost wrapped up, we mean it’s even more dramatic and gut-wrenching than ever. (Seriously. We need the final installment NOW.) We interviewed Maas on writing two series at once, creating strong female characters, and dealing with all the feels.
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What was your writing process like for Empire of Storms, and do you find it gets easier or harder to write as you get closer to the end of the series?
Writing Empire of Storms was…intense. Ha. In all honesty, it was equal parts fun and devastating. There were some parts when I literally had to stop writing and go cry for a few minutes because a scene totally wrecked me emotionally. But there were also parts that made me so amped up I could barely sit still while writing them. (In other words, writing this book was an emotional rollercoaster and I used a lot of tissues and blasted a lot of epic music.)
Every book has its own different creative process and journey, and with every new one I learn something about myself as a writer and as a person. I’m constantly reexamining and discovering things about how I write and revise—and methods that helped me create earlier books sometimes don’t work thanks to whatever the current book is demanding from me. It sounds a little crazy, but the fact that no two books have the same writing/revision process is part of why I love writing so much—it keeps things fresh and exciting.
What has been your favorite part of the Throne of Glass world to write?
Oh, man. There are so many things I adore about that world that it’s impossible to pick just one! I’ve been working on this series since I was 16, and I love that there are still pockets of it I haven’t discovered that sometimes pop up in unexpected ways (especially when it weirdly connects to everything I’ve established!).
The Stygian spiders were one of those little discoveries—I had no idea they existed until I was writing that scene in The Assassin and the Desert, and then…there they were. And it opened up so many fun/cool possibilities for me to play with. I live for moments like that when writing.
What was your writing process like for Empire of Storms, and do you find it gets easier or harder to write as you get closer to the end of the series?
Writing Empire of Storms was…intense. Ha. In all honesty, it was equal parts fun and devastating. There were some parts when I literally had to stop writing and go cry for a few minutes because a scene totally wrecked me emotionally. But there were also parts that made me so amped up I could barely sit still while writing them. (In other words, writing this book was an emotional rollercoaster and I used a lot of tissues and blasted a lot of epic music.)
Every book has its own different creative process and journey, and with every new one I learn something about myself as a writer and as a person. I’m constantly reexamining and discovering things about how I write and revise—and methods that helped me create earlier books sometimes don’t work thanks to whatever the current book is demanding from me. It sounds a little crazy, but the fact that no two books have the same writing/revision process is part of why I love writing so much—it keeps things fresh and exciting.
What has been your favorite part of the Throne of Glass world to write?
Oh, man. There are so many things I adore about that world that it’s impossible to pick just one! I’ve been working on this series since I was 16, and I love that there are still pockets of it I haven’t discovered that sometimes pop up in unexpected ways (especially when it weirdly connects to everything I’ve established!).
The Stygian spiders were one of those little discoveries—I had no idea they existed until I was writing that scene in The Assassin and the Desert, and then…there they were. And it opened up so many fun/cool possibilities for me to play with. I live for moments like that when writing.
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Aelin (and Feyre in ACOTAR, too) is such an inspiring blend of fierce and independent and sexy and feminine—how do you balance those characteristics?
I just write Aelin (and Feyre) the way she demands to be written. She was pretty much fully formed from the moment she walked into my head all those years ago—and I’ve spent the past 14 years basically letting her dictate where she needs her journey to go. I love that she still manages to surprise me, and that I still learn little secrets of hers every now and then—which I suppose is part of why I’ve stuck with this series for so long.
Your characters routinely go through some pretty rough patches, both physically and mentally. As the writer, how are you affected by their emotional upheaval?
Oh, it completely devastates me when they suffer or if they’re in those dark, hard emotional places. I write linearly just so I can experience the entire emotional arc of my characters the way they go through it—which means that when they suffer, I suffer alongside them. It’s never easy to write. Never. (True story: I had a headache pretty much the entire time I worked on Heir of Fire thanks to crying so much.)
How do you handle working on two series at once?
My daily planner.
Kidding. Kind of. Staying organized is crucial for me, and my schedule is basically planned out for the next few years. I’m usually working on one project or round of edits while gearing up to work on the next as soon as it’s finished. But I’m the sort of person who likes keeping busy and being challenged by new projects and horizons, so the schedule really works for me on a creative and personal level.
But I also keep on track and stay sane thanks to my incredible support team: everyone at Bloomsbury, my agent, and my wonderful husband. I don’t know what I’d do without them.
So, yeah—it’s definitely intense to have two series out there, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Writing has always been my passion and joy, so I feel tremendously lucky that I get to do it for a living, and share my books with such marvelous readers.
What are some of your favorite YA books and authors?
It’s so hard to name just a few! Some of my favorites: Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series, Melina Marchetta’s Lumatere Chronicles, Roshani Chokshi’s The Star-Touched Queen, Garth Nix’s Sabriel, and Renee Ahdieh’s The Wrath and the Dawn. They’re all such remarkably talented writers who build such vivid, intricate worlds and unforgettable characters (and swoony romances). I’m a huge fangirl of all of them!
Empire of Storms is available now.
Aelin (and Feyre in ACOTAR, too) is such an inspiring blend of fierce and independent and sexy and feminine—how do you balance those characteristics?
I just write Aelin (and Feyre) the way she demands to be written. She was pretty much fully formed from the moment she walked into my head all those years ago—and I’ve spent the past 14 years basically letting her dictate where she needs her journey to go. I love that she still manages to surprise me, and that I still learn little secrets of hers every now and then—which I suppose is part of why I’ve stuck with this series for so long.
Your characters routinely go through some pretty rough patches, both physically and mentally. As the writer, how are you affected by their emotional upheaval?
Oh, it completely devastates me when they suffer or if they’re in those dark, hard emotional places. I write linearly just so I can experience the entire emotional arc of my characters the way they go through it—which means that when they suffer, I suffer alongside them. It’s never easy to write. Never. (True story: I had a headache pretty much the entire time I worked on Heir of Fire thanks to crying so much.)
How do you handle working on two series at once?
My daily planner.
Kidding. Kind of. Staying organized is crucial for me, and my schedule is basically planned out for the next few years. I’m usually working on one project or round of edits while gearing up to work on the next as soon as it’s finished. But I’m the sort of person who likes keeping busy and being challenged by new projects and horizons, so the schedule really works for me on a creative and personal level.
But I also keep on track and stay sane thanks to my incredible support team: everyone at Bloomsbury, my agent, and my wonderful husband. I don’t know what I’d do without them.
So, yeah—it’s definitely intense to have two series out there, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Writing has always been my passion and joy, so I feel tremendously lucky that I get to do it for a living, and share my books with such marvelous readers.
What are some of your favorite YA books and authors?
It’s so hard to name just a few! Some of my favorites: Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series, Melina Marchetta’s Lumatere Chronicles, Roshani Chokshi’s The Star-Touched Queen, Garth Nix’s Sabriel, and Renee Ahdieh’s The Wrath and the Dawn. They’re all such remarkably talented writers who build such vivid, intricate worlds and unforgettable characters (and swoony romances). I’m a huge fangirl of all of them!
Empire of Storms is available now.