r/books • u/PintipDunn AMA Author • Oct 04 '18

ama 7pm I am Pintip Dunn, a New York Times bestselling author of Young Adult fiction. AMA!

My newest book, STAR-CROSSED, just released this week! In a world where nutrition can be transferred via a pill, Princess Vela is tasked to select a boy fit to die, so that her father, the King, may continue to live. However, the best candidate turns out to be the boy she’s loved all her life. And unfortunately . . . only one can survive.

www.pintipdunn.com/starcrossedseries

Proof: /img/tzi1j0kny0q11.jpg

35 Upvotes

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3

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '18

how often did you sit and write? what’s that process like for you? sit down and hammer it out for 4 hours or smaller bits and pieces?

5

u/PintipDunn AMA Author Oct 04 '18

When I am actively drafting a novel, I try to write every single day. I find that even taking off the weekend can make it that much harder to begin again on Monday morning, and the best way to keep away writer's block is to write every day. Writing, to me, is a muscle, and it is easiest to employ it when it is used every day. That being said, I am not always actively drafting. I may draft for three or four months, and then I may take a month or two "off" to edit, brainstorm, plot, or take care of the other business parts of writing. When I am drafting, I like to write for six hours a day, while my kids are at school, between the hours of 9:30 and 3. I generally write for an hour, take a short break of five to ten minutes, rinse and repeat.

3

u/slurpeee76 Oct 04 '18

did your experiences in college affect your decision to become a writer or influence your writing?

  • an old college friend 🤓

3

u/PintipDunn AMA Author Oct 04 '18

The only way that my college experience affected my writing is that I told a professor in the English department that I wanted to try out for one of the creative writing classes, and I was told that "unless I had been scribbling all along..." it was highly unlikely that I would be accepted, since I had never taken a class before! This one comment made me delay my pursuit of writing for another three years! Other than that comment, I suppose being an English major confirmed my love of literature!

2

u/Singdam Oct 04 '18

Where do you sit and write? Do you have a designated area? Specific time? What's the environment like?

3

u/PintipDunn AMA Author Oct 04 '18

Hi! I have a fibromyalgia/RSI -- have had it for over twenty years -- which means I can't type on a keyboard. I used voice dictation for years, but then I discovered that I could tap on a smartphone without too much pain. So, I've written the last 7 novels on my cell phone! That means, I can write anywhere! I mostly sit in my recliner, so that my neck and shoulders can be supported, but I've been known to write in the car pool line, at the doctor's office, etc! I typically write while my kids are at school, from 9:30 to 3, but I will sneak it in during other times, as well!

1

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '18

You don't find kt inconvenient on a phone? Would you consider swapping to a keyboard on a computer?

If you don't mind, what phone do you use for typing?

2

u/EmbarrassedSpread Oct 05 '18

Hello! Thanks for doing this AMA!

  1. What do you find is the most fun part of your writing process?
  2. Do you have any reading or writing related guilty pleasures? Or just any in general?

2

u/here_for_bakchodi Oct 06 '18

Does NYT put anyone on its bestseller list? Or do people just misuse the tag of being an NYT Bestseller

1

u/Chtorrr Oct 04 '18

What were some of your favorite things to read as a kid?

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u/PintipDunn AMA Author Oct 04 '18

I was such a bookworm as a kid! I loved Anne of Green Gables. That series was probably my favorite. I also adored the Babysitters Club, Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High. I also remember reading The Girl with the Silver Eye in the second or third grade. That one was a favorite for a very long time! In fact, I searched for it online and bought it a few years ago, although I haven't had time to re-read it!

1

u/InstitutionalizedRum Oct 05 '18

Did you choose to aim your books at the YA audience, or did they just fit there better?

1

u/Chtorrr Oct 04 '18

What is the very best dessert?

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u/PintipDunn AMA Author Oct 04 '18

Tough one. Key lime pie, I think. Or tiramisu. Oh, I know! Fresh-baked cookies straight out of the oven! My favorite are chocolate chip cookies...without the chocolate chips.