Ava Eldred

I definitely will! Thank you! 🥰

Thank you so much for chatting! Really enjoyed it!

Thank you so much for having me! An absolutely pleasure, really enjoyed that! 💗 #ukteenchat

I'm just wondering if there's any chocolate in my house I've forgotten about! I fancy some now! #ukteenchat

Exactly! And if you accidentally pick up 3 at a time, probably fate telling you you're doing really well and deserve a treat! #ukteenchat

I love this framing! Makes me feel like a much faster drafter! #ukteenchat

(And obviously the mini egg thing. That's the main one 😂) #ukteenchat

My other favourite is to 'arrive late, leave early - essentially, join the scene as close as you can to the climax, write only what *needs* to happen, then get out of there! It might not work particularly well for literary fic, but for YA mysteries it's so helpful for keeping the pace. #ukteenchat

If I'm stuck, I like to go through a scene and just write the dialogue. It tells me a lot about how the characters get from the start to the end point. With ESD, it worked so well that I thought... huh. I think this might be something! That's (sort of!) how the scripted voice was born! #ukteenchat

HAhaha that is true! Maybe that's why it worked! The panster in my soul was still getting what she wanted! 😂 #ukteenchat

It's a first draft, so I can't tell you much with confidence because I don't know myself! I will say it's another theatre-set novel, but aside from that it's different to ESD in almost every way - not YA and no murder! I first had the idea 6 years ago, so it's been a long time coming! #ukteenchat

a woman in a black shirt is holding a bowl of candy in her hands ALT: a woman in a black shirt is holding a bowl of candy in her hands

And in terms of rituals, I stole this one from my friend @annazoequirke.bsky.social but it really works - set your word count (say, 5000 words) and grab an easily dividable snack (a bag of mini eggs). After every 500 words, eat a mini egg. Is that a ritual? Either way, works a treat! #ukteenchat

I've been a fan of writing at The Barbican for a little while now, but what I *did not* know about until recently was the library there! It's so quiet and studious, then when you need a break, you can go out to the main arts centre and soak up all the vibes. It's a game changer. #ukteenchat

I know. It was extreme. I don't recommend it 😂 #ukteenchat

Same! I think there's probably a perfect middle ground, but I am yet to find it! I'm 80kish in to a draft of something right now, almost totally pantsed, and this afternoon was like 'oooh I should change a massive structural thing!' NO! Make a plan and stick to it! 😅 #ukteenchat

Usually a pantser, although I always know what I'm writing towards, but Exit Stage Death was *so* plotted. The synopsis alone was 8k words, so when I came to actually write it, it happened quickly! Would I do it that way again? Probs not. 🙅‍♀️ Did it work? Sorry, pantsers... it really did! #ukteenchat

Totally! It happens so rarely that when it does I'm like... THANK YOU! #ukteenchat

I'm trying to find a way to talk about this without spoilers and it's hard, but I think it also makes sense once you realise who the second voice is. Even that I'm like... HAVE I SAID TOO MUCH? 😅 #ukteenchat

Once they had a voice, it really humanised them (to me, anyway!) I loved having the chance to make them funny, and insecure, and all the other things that I hope come through in that scripting, that wouldn't have if the whole book was Livi POV. #ukteenchat

The main thing it did was let me give the killer a voice without giving away who they were. I could probably have done that in dual POV prose, but once the scripting idea came to me, that voice came *so* easily, and I think in writing, when something is easy, you should run with it! #ukteenchat

Exactly! They can explode stuff and be in peril while we're living vicariously through them all cosy with chocolate 😂 #ukteenchat

(This is my new favourite gif! It's *so* good! I can't believe I've never seen it before!)

A bit of both - I knew who the killer was and why they did it before I started, but how they were going to execute it could only come once I knew who the characters were. It was always a 'proper' murder mystery though, so the tropes that come with that were all there from the beginning. #ukteenchat

Indeed! I actually touch on this in the book, because it was *such* a hard time for theatre, both in terms of people not being able to make it, and for audiences not able to see it. I'm so glad to see it thriving again! #ukteenchat

Sort of same! I'm definitely not a performer, but I wish I was - that's all coming out in my characters! #ukteenchat

Waiting for Godot - not my favourite night I've ever spent in a theatre, but Ben Whishaw was in it, and was *excellent* so I didn't mind that nobody was bursting in to song 😂 #ukteenchat

I also really loved writing any scene in the dining room, or anywhere else the whole gang were together at once - with such a big cast of characters, all with big personalities and opinions, just letting them all chat to each other was a joy! #ukteenchat

Writing Livi and Juliet in contrast to each other was my favourite part. On the surface they're so different, but when you look a little closer, they have more in common than they'd like to admit. Finding that balance was so fun. #ukteenchat

(We did see a play. It was fine.) #ukteenchat

Darren Criss Musicals GIF ALT: Darren Criss Musicals GIF

My research for the theatre side was a *great* summer of musicals while I was editing. By the end of it, my best friend was like "PLEASE can we see a play?" 😅

To be honest I'll probably do that again this year. Is post publication research a thing? 😂 #ukteenchat