Spotlight on Sandhya Menon

Sandhya Menon is the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi, Of Curses and Kisses, and many other novels that also feature lots of kissing, girl power, and swoony boys. Her books have been included in several cool places, including the Today show, Teen Vogue, NPR, BuzzFeed, and Seventeen. A full-time dog servant and part-time writer, she makes her home in the foggy mountains of Colorado.

Q: You have written so many young adult books since your first one, When Dimple Met Rishi, came out in 2017. You must be very organized with your ideas to keep them moving so quickly! Can you describe your brainstorming, outlining, and writing process for us?

I don’t know about organized, but I do have a system that works well for me! I think that’s all we really need—something that helps our creative process, even if it’s against the “rules” commonly fed to new writers.

For me, what helps is having an ideas folder on my computer. But first, when I get a new idea, I need to flesh it out in a notebook. I always carry a spiral-bound notebook with me (don’t ask me why it has to be spiral bound…it’s just the way it is, okay??). Ideas typically come to me when I’m least expecting them—on a long car ride or slumped over in a chair at the DMV, for example—so I need to have access to something that feels good to write in. I’m a huge proponent of writers finding the exact right notebook and pen that make writing a pleasure for them; it really makes a huge difference.

Next, I put the idea in my ideas folder. Just a quick rundown of plot, characters, setting—anything that’s gripped me and made me excited to explore the world more.

After that comes the simmering phase. I like to let my ideas sit on the backburner and think about them when I’m doing other things. If, in a week or two I find that I’m still raring to go and have a bunch more offshoots of that main idea, then I’ll sit down and write a one-to-two-page synopsis of it. The synopsis will have the main points of the story, including the inciting incident, any twists and turns, and the ending. I also like to have a couple of comp titles on hand—stories that are similar in tone or genre to the one I want to write. This keeps me focused in on the kind of book I’m trying to write.

If I’m still excited after this, then I share the idea with my agent. And if she’s excited, too, then I begin the process of plotting! I use the Plot Whisperer method by Martha Alderson, and it works super well for me.

Once the plot is airtight, I sit down to write! Depending on my mood, I might write anywhere from 2,000-6,000 or more words a day (bear in mind that I’m a full-time writer with older kids, so I have that luxury!). I find that writing fast keeps me excited about the story and gives me a better first draft.

Q: In your Rosetta Academy series, you give traditional fairytales a new spin by diversifying the characters and stories. Why did you start off with Beauty and the Beast and The Frog Prince to begin this series, and where do you see it going next? Can you speak to why it’s so important to change up the original fairytales to create more inclusive stories?

I’m a huge, huge fan of Beauty and the Beast, as are so many of us. I really loved the idea of a bibliophile heroine, and then I thought—what if she was also an Indian princess? And the beast was this curmudgeonly British lord? It just felt too delicious to pass up. The Frog Prince retelling came to me because I absolutely love this fairy tale and don’t feel like it gets enough attention and love. I wanted to do a gender bent makeover story, and The Frog Prince just felt like it lent itself perfectly to that idea!

The third book in the Rosetta Academy series will be a Sleeping Beauty spinoff, and I’m so excited! Don’t worry, though—the heroine will be awake and have agency for the entirety of the novel. I’m playing with the idea of what being asleep means, and it’s so much fun!

I think it’s super important for everyone to get to see themselves as the heroes and heroines of any story they choose. I was a huge fairy tale fan growing up, and I never got to see a princess who looked like me. I want to change that for the young readers out there today. Seeing yourself in stories is such a powerful, empowering thing—no one should be deprived of that feeling.

Q: What advice do you have for aspiring young writers who are struggling with their stories? Can you share a time that you remember experiencing writer’s block and what you did to get out of it?

Firstly, you’re not alone! I have absolutely struggled with my stories, and I continue to do so. I used to think it meant I wasn’t cut out to be a “real writer,” but now I know that was silly! If you write at all—even if it’s only once a year in your journal—you’re a writer. If you want to be a published writer, you just have to be consistent with it and be really good at taking feedback, even when it stings.

I feel like I experience writer’s block—what I call burnout—at least once a year. I take it as a sign that one of two things is happening: #1. I don’t know where the story is supposed to go next because I haven’t plotted out the current scene I’m working on, or #2. I need to step back from the story and go refill my creative well.

If the problem is #1, I get out my trusty spiral-bound notebook (see? Having a notebook you love is helpful in so many situations!) and make notes on where my characters are at the moment and jot down ideas on where they could go next. I know what major plot points I want to achieve, so how do I get them from where I am now to the next major plot point? What interesting things could they get into? The main tenet I follow is that if I’m bored writing a scene, readers will be bored reading it. So every scene I write has to make me happy.

If the problem is #2, I shut down my story document and go do something else. Sometimes I need several days of a break, and that’s okay. I don’t believe writers need to write every day. Many times, the best thing I’ve done for my creative process is taking a break. If ideas come to me about the story, I’ll make quick notes, but that’s it. I purposely don’t work beyond that. I find that at the end of my break, I’m often raring to go again!

The main thing to remember here is that no one thing works for everyone, so don’t be ashamed to try new things to see what fires up your creativity. And have fun during this journey!