On Bon Courage and Whether or Not to Kill Off Your Characters

So I spent most of last month in ANOTHER COUNTRY (France)! It was only my second non-book related trip outside of the US since I first got published. I felt a little guilty about it (proof you are a workaholic: when you feel guilty for taking non-work related trips), but it was for a good cause: […]

Blooper Video/Author’s Guild/Princess Mia

People often ask, “How do you come up with your book trailers?” I thought a look behind the scenes might give you a few hints. Check out my book trailer blooper reel!

FAQs from the Book Festival

Did I have an amazing time in California at the LA Times Festival of Books? Why yes, I did . . . . . . until the tacos I had the other night came back up in the airport security line yesterday morning at LAX. I had them at a really fancy restaurant so I […]

Writer’s Block

I was having the best time in NYC, helping friends to celebrate their birthdays (click here if you missed it), and shopping until I literally dropped, when I was felled by an insidious bronchial infection that was obviously released here in the city by that same terrorist cell that’s been doing such a good job […]

Change…

Some of us love experiencing new things, while some of us (okay…me) prefer the comfort of the familiar. Example: When my best friend told me on the bus to school that her dad had bought this machine that played something called “video tapes”—movies that you could watch at home!— insisting that this was going to […]

Don’t Be a Book Licker!

It was an exciting weekend here in Casa Cabot. Why? Well, since I’m going to be speaking and signing at the Miami Book Festival this coming Saturday (the fair starts TODAY! Click here to see all the amazing authors who are going to be there!) the Miami Herald asked me for some advice for girls. […]

New in November….

It’s November…. And you know what that means! No, not pumpkin pie! (Although it means that, too!) It means, among other things…. The Glee cast album is out! Finally! I thought I was going to go crazy if I didn’t get that cast version of Bust a Move. But now I can relax. November is […]

I Got My Mind Set On You

Today I made a startling discovery. I was putting on my eye makeup and listening to the 80s channel on XM radio (as I do every morning) when they played George Harrison’s I Got My Mind Set On You. That’s when I realized it: This song is totally about writing a book! I know everyone […]

Is Social Networking Sucking the Life out of Romance Writing?

From an 8/3/09 PW article: Brenda Knight, associate publisher of Cleis Press’s Viva Editions, thinks she knows why the paranormal has become so dominant (in romance): “In the age of social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and Craigslist, there’s less fantasy. It’s increasingly easy to find and be found,” she says. “However, you can’t […]

Life After Labor

Yes! I’ve got deadlines! I know, I know, who doesn’t? At least, all my writer friends do. We’ve been burning up the Internet, going: “How many words do you have left? What chapter are you on? Do you think I can get away with a fifty page flashback? What about a two hundred page flashback? […]

Harry Potter and the Gushy Stuff

I’m keeping busy writing Runaway, the sequel to Being Nikki, and revising Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls #5 (which just had a title change—from Birthday Bash to Glitter Girls and the Great Fake Out, which is more appropriate given that there’s both a great deal of glitter and girls acting fake in it). And I […]

Romance, Trauma Porn, and Brazil Dates!

So many people have sent me this article (or the link to the original one it refers to)! Books about “dark” subject matters (like “13 Reasons Why,” about a girl who commits suicide, and “If I Stay,” about a girl in a coma) are hot in YA right now! There’s even a name for this […]

I Love New York…from my daybed

I am writing this from my new daybed in my office in NYC. It’s currently my favorite place on the planet. I decided to go Moroccan after being inspired by Bethenny’s fashion show on Real Housewives of NYC, as opposed to going French Chateau style like Theresa on Real Housewives of New Jersey. French Chateau […]

Idea Cemetery

My house got struck by lightning, causing me to lose my wifi connection! It only got back and up and running now, so my apologies for the lack of blog posts. I was, however, posting things to Twitter whenever I could find a wireless hotspot, which turned out to be practically never since I don’t […]

Amazon Fail Sunday*

I finally finished the book I’ve been working on (Allie Finkle #5, Birthday Bash), and I slept till noon today! I had breakfast for lunch and I’ll probably have lunch for dinner, and now I have to get started on the next book (Airhead #3) I have due. It’s all just crazy. But not as […]

The Day After

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you’re wearing green, even if you’re not Irish…it’s lucky, you know. And we all need as much luck as we can get these days! I had my Friends of the Library event last night with Judy Blume and though I do say so myself, I think it went pretty […]

Writing: Exercise for Your Mind

It’s the last week of February! You know what that means: Yes…the final romance give-away from megcabot.com! But before I get into that I want to talk about the #1 question I got while I was on my mini-tour this past week. And that was, surprisingly, not “Where do you get your inspiration?” but “Where […]

How to Get an Agent

I’m home from my signing in Miami—it was such a blast! I met a ton of fantastic readers, as well as the incredible team from Yathenaem (which I’m pretty sure I spelled wrong in both of Books and Books guest books—sorry, you guys! I’ve gotten a little too reliant on Spellcheck). I never did get […]

A Weekend in the Life of Meg Cabot

The one question I always get from interviewers is, “Tell us what a typical day for you is like.” I know I posted a Day in the Life of an Author video not too long ago, but you know the exciting thing about being an author is that no two days are ever the same. […]

10,000

No, that’s not how many words I have in my NaNoWriMo book (although I’m getting close). 10,000 is actually how many hours it takes people to achieve expertise in their field… …at least according to Outliers, the new book by Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell. He quotes a neurologist who says: “In study after study […]

Zero

Greetings diary readers! Sorry for the recent lack of updates. I’ve been busy finishing (and handing in—ALLELUIAH) my revision of BEING NIKKI, as well as traveling back to Key West from Indiana (I got to use the brand new Indianapolis airport—on the first day it opened! There was a band! And free wi-fi! And the […]

Revisions vs. Fairies

UGH! I am in the middle of revisions. Seriously, I hate revisions more than any other part of the writing process. Some writers like revisions. I don’t understand why. All revising is is being told you have to change something that you thought was perfectly fine just the way it was! I’ve actually heard that […]

What inspires you?

Guess what time of year it is? If you said the time of year when Brach’s releases all their fresh bags of candy corn, then you would be correct! I’m eating mine now. I LOVE IT. Some people (such as those who prefer not to be named in this blog) don’t like candy corn, claiming […]

Barbara, Hugh, and Me

So much to blog about! Really, lots has been going on–aside from the usual stuff, like trying to make my deadline and attempting to avoid my summer nemesis: bugs. I hate them. They love me. There are a lot more of them than there are of me. They are winning–mostly involving the amount of (not […]

Things With Happy Endings/Writing Tips

Thanks to everybody who came to my online chat! You asked such great questions, I was blown away. And if you missed the chat, never fear…the transcript will be going up here (click on where it says CHAT TRANSCRIPTS at the top of the page) soon! And you can always join me for another virtual […]

Research—Who Says Learning Can’t Be Fun?

A lot of you email me with questions about writing books, such as: How do you write a book? How do you get a book published? Is it important to get an agent? Have you ever put one of your books down your pants to celebrate getting it published? etc. In this entry, I’ll attempt […]

What’s Your Major?

I know this is supposed to be a journal about my most private thoughts but it’s not really, because if it were no one would speak to me ever again, especially vis-à-vis my views re: baby showers, which match this girl’s completely–minus the sports part (I can’t even get my cell phone to show me […]

Pssst…..

Popping in for a moment from my blog-caytion to say: Don’t forget I’ll be chatting about Princess Diaries 9, Princess Mia, with anyone who shows up this Sunday at 2PM EST here. The chatroom only holds 50, so show up on time or you might find yourself shivering in the cold, unable to get in, […]

Holiday Spirit!

A lot of people want to know why Princess Diaries 9 (click here for a sneak peek) isn’t coming out until AFTER Hannukah and Christmas. Well, that’s easy…my publishers know what you’re getting from your grandparents: Money and gift cards! And they’re hoping on December 26, you’re going to spend it on books (not just […]

Die Amy Die

I hope everybody who celebrated Thanksgiving had a good one! Mine was mellow. I don’t want to brag, but there is a chance I might catch up to all you NaNoWriMo participants, if I write 5,000 words every single day until November 30. The chances of this happening are approximately nil. But think of the […]

Writers Strike/NaNoWriMo/Airhead

Well, I’m back in Key West from visiting my mom just in time for…the writers strike! I know, it sucks. But hey, you think you’ve got it bad? If it goes on for very long, I’m going to have nothing to watch, AND all the film deals based on my books aren’t going to get […]

It’s Always Funny Till There Are No More Librarians

Wow, you guys are awesome detectives, you completely solved the mystery I mentioned in my last blog! The answers (more or less—some of these may not be completely right, if not, I apologize), for those who are interested, are posted at the end of this entry. Again, you guys went above and beyond and I […]

Mystery Mail

At least once a week, sometimes more, I receive a package of books which have been written by me and translated into foreign languages. I have accumulated quite a few of these over the years, as this photo will attest: Often when I get foreign copies of my books in the mail, they will have […]

Greetings from the Lair

I am still trapped in He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog’s lair. Unlike other heroines who have been brought to the lairs of superheroes–such as, say, Katie Holmes in the excellent (except for Katie Holmes’s character) movie Batman Begins–I have not been knocked unconscious. Except this would have been awesome because, as […]

The Truth About the Editor/Writer Relationship

Not five minutes after I posted my last blog entry, my adult editor emailed me to say she was very sorry, but she had revisions for me for my next adult book. I could not stop laughing (through my tears). Many thanks to reader Johanna for pointing out that one of my favorite writers, Laurie […]

Revisions Are Hell

Updates to the blog are going to be sporadic in the coming days due to the fact that I am in revision mode and have to focus all of my attention on the book I am currently revising or I will lose my train of thought. If you want to know what doing a revision […]

Pants On Fire Tour Days 2 and 3

Wow, Texas was a lot of fun! People in Texas are SUPER nice. Almost Minnesota nice (but let’s face it…no one–except Canadians–are Minnesota nice). I had a blast on Good Morning Texas. And what can I say about the signing at the William Scott Theater in Fort Worth? All 500 or so of you who […]

How Not To Be Afraid

Have you ever heard the advice, “Do one thing that scares you every day”? This is actually a famous quote from Eleanor Roosevelt. The first time I heard this quote, I was like, “Huh?” Why would you purposefully set out to do something you’re AFRAID of? EVERY day? But then I started thinking about it […]

Tidying Up

It’s Friday! In my house that means it’s time to do some tidying up for the weekend, which is generally when the houseguests show up. As you can see, we’ve been doing lots of tidying up on this site. There are new links on the Meg in the News page under Cool Stuff… And be […]

“Never tell me the odds.”

That’s what Han Solo tells the protocol droid C3PO in The Empire Strikes Back*. I first saw that movie as a thirteen year old, but it wasn’t until years later that I realized how true Han’s words were. Because when someone tells you the odds of successfully completing a task about which you’re about to […]

Article in February CosmoGirl! And other Dishy News!

Check out the February issue of CosmoGirl! (on stands now) for an article written by me on the benefits of keeping a journal (hint: they’re not what you’d think), with exclusive excerpts from the ACTUAL journal I kept when I was sixteen (in my own handwriting. With actual boys’ names. It’s so embarrassing)! My article, […]

Last Entry of ‘06

As ’06 draws to a close, you may notice that there’s nothing on TV, but that there’s TONS going on with this site! The Meg Cabot Book Club’s got a new look…and I’ve updated my blog. That would be because—I’m bored! What is WRONG with our society? Why is there nothing good on TV? Don’t […]

LOCKDOWN

Who is freaking out right now? No, not because you stuffed yourself with too much turkey and stuffing yesterday! Or because you missed the JC Penney special holiday sale opening at five this morning. I mean because you're trying to finish up your NaNoWriMo book as desperately as I am, and you just realized you […]

NaNoWriMo in Puerto Rico

14,656. That's how many words I have so far on the book I'm writing for National Novel Writing Month. Of course, while 14,656 words is a good start, my book has to be more than the 50,000 word length suggested by NaNoWriMo. So while you might think a word count of 14,656 is impressive, considering […]

Why I Don’t Outline

There is a war going on, people. It may not have affected you yet, but it exists. It's a battle between two factions of people, some of whom feel strongly that their belief is the only correct one, whereas the rest of us…well, we feel we should have the right to choose. Have you guessed […]

Why I Write Funny Books

When I was in college…. …I took this creative writing workshop through my dorm, the excellent Collins Living Learning Center. To live in Collins—which is the most beautiful (and progressive) dorm on the Indiana University campus (and possibly anywhere), and always reminded me of Harper Hall, where Menolly goes to school in the Dragonsinger books […]

RWA to NYC to JKR

So I spent the latter half of last week in Atlanta, Georgia, attending the twenty-sixth Romance Writers of America conference. A lot of people, when I mention that I have been a member of this organization since 1998, ask, “Why? You're not a romance writer.” Au contraire, mon frere! I am and have always been […]

Quitters DO Win

Everyone wants to know…. …whatever happened to Carol (see: entry before this one entitled TRUE STORY). Carol's story really seemed to strike a chord with readers. I'm glad so many of you appreciated the Carol story, including my own mother, who prank called me after reading it, pretending to be Carol (but it didn't work […]

MONDAYS

I am going to admit something totally embarrassing now: I love Mondays. I know that is hugely geeky and all, but I don't care. I'm tired of living a lie. I'm tired of replying, “Why, Friday, of course,” when people ask, “What's your favorite day of the week?” I am not an idiot. I know […]

TAKIN’ RISKS IN 06

Hello, and Happy New Year! Did any of you watch the drag queen drop in Key West on New Year's Eve? I did. Last year I actually went down the street to see it live, but this year I wasn't in the mood to battle the crowd, so I watched it on CNN. Sushi, Key […]

58% HAPPY RULE

Oh my God, so many people are so mad at me for what I wrote in my last entry about literary novelists. People, I was totally joking. I mean, I would never say anything mean about literary novelists, especially since I am actually sort of related to some (well, through my mom's boyfriend's daughter's husband's […]

Chick-Lit

When your new book is the number one New York Times bestselling children's chapter book for three weeks in a row, you get a lot of reporters and the like, calling to ask you things. And the number one thing people keep asking me lately is how I feel about being labeled a “chick-lit” author. […]

CONNIE HUNTER WILLIAMS, PSYCHIC TEACHER

I hate rewriting. I HATE IT. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE IT. If you would like to read more about my hatred for rewriting—and also how in the fourth grade I was tormented by a Canadian girl named Shoshana; fell madly in love for the first time (oh, Stuart!); and was told by […]

New Book Day

The countdowns: Days until READY OR NOT is released on July 26 (TOMORROW): 1!!!! Days until my online chat with Susan Juby about her excellent new book, ALICE MACLEOD, REALIST AT LAST, at the Meg Cabot Book Club: Also 1!!!! Days until Meg Cabot Day on July 31 (or 30th, depending on where you live): […]

Daily Schedule While Writing A Book

A lot of you seem to want to know what my daily schedule is like. I have warned many of you that you do not actually want to know what writers do all day, because with the exception of a rare few of us, such as Sebastian Junger and Danielle Steele, we actually lead lives […]

May the Braid Be With You

As many of you know, writers are notorious for one thing. No, not heavy drinking (well, actually, that too). But what I meant was not writing. Yes, it's true. Writers will go to almost any length to avoid actually writing. I have mentioned this before. And although some of you wrote the last time I […]

Writing a Screenplay

I am off to San Antonio to speak at the International Reading Association convention, and attend a booksigning. In the meantime, below is some info a few of you have been clamoring for. (On a side note, if 600 guests had been invited to MY wedding, I'd have run away too.) Ever since ICE PRINCESS […]

How to Write a Novel

Hello, I'm feeling much better now. Thanks for all your get well wishes. Really, I could not have gotten better without them. Or antibiotics. Or bad made-for-TV movies, like LOCUSTS, which had moments of badness that actually bordered on brilliance. But we will have to discuss the brilliant badness of LOCUSTS on another day, because […]

CEER

So I was watching some news show the other day (while I put stamps on the 100 copies of the Princess Diaries engagement calendars the Meg Cabot Book Club gave away last month, and no, in fact, I don't have an assistant here in Key West to do these kinds of things, and yes, in […]

DOLPHINQUEST 2005

Wow. Thanks so much for the hundreds of birthday messages and greetings. I don't know how I will ever get through them all, there are so many, but I will certainly try. It's very reassuring to know that there are so many people out there whose moms are older than I am. Thank you. I […]

More on Writing

* So I don't get what the deal is, but I have been getting TONS of emails asking for writing tips lately. I pretty much said everything I have to say on the subject in the November 2003 archive here. But since people don't seem satisfied by that, I will attempt to answer the following […]

Meg’s Media Round Up/Mail Room

So if you read this blog, you know I am in deep in the middle of Princess Diaries 7 right now. I just want to tell you, in case you haven't figured it out: it's not pretty. Not the book. ME. I haven't washed my hair since Friday. LAST Friday. I have Band Aids on […]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Here is a collection of questions/comments about our profession that we authors most frequently hear during social gatherings. I have compiled this list—which contains numerous contributions from my fellow authors–after a great deal of careful research into the matter. Why have I done this? Because I believe that you, the reading public, deserve to know […]

Eating Elephant

Okay, so I'm rewriting All American Girl 2. I realize I've been telling you I've been doing this for a while, but whatever. It's taking a long time. I really hate rewriting. I hate it so much, in fact, that I put it off for as long as I possibly can, and wait until the […]

THAT QUESTION

So I'm sitting in the airport on my way to the Midwest Literary Festival, having escaped Ivan, and my flight got cancelled so I thought I'd answer some questions on the Ask Meg forum on www.megcabotbookclub.com while I waited for my new flight. I would like to commend the people who posted questions there today […]

Meaning of Life

So since I haven't posted in a while I thought I would take this opportunity to expound on the meaning of life for a minute or so. I hope you don't mind. I just realized I never told you guys what it is (at least, I don't think so) and I thought you might be […]

RERUN BLOG

So it's summertime, and you know what that means: yes, re-runs. And not just on TV, but, it turns out, online as well! Because I'm swamped finishing up All American Girl 2, I've decided to re-run a few of my more popular (or not so popular) blog entries. So here, in its all its glory, […]

Mary

So I've been back in Florida the past few days, after an extended stay in New York and a weekend in Chicago, and I'm sorry to have to tell you that Mary, our resident ghost, is back. I say back because she last put in an appearance several months ago, then disappeared, and I actually […]

Movie Stuff and Selling Out

So there's some movie stuff going on, besides Princess Diaries 2 (due in theaters August 11. The trailer will be out soon) and 1-800-Missing's 2nd season. I keep getting emails about something I wrote called Ice Princess. Ice Princess isn't a book. It's a movie. I actually have no idea if my name is going […]

Rerun Blog

PRINCESS DIARIES 5, PRINCESS IN PINK, and PERFECT PRINCESS, an illustrated guide to princesses past, present, and pretend, narrated by Mia Thermopolis, ARE OFFICIALLY ON SALE IN THE US (and Canada) TODAY! And what am I doing to celebrate? Promoting PD5 on TV and radio this week, while frantically trying to finish my next book. […]

BLOG BLOG

So I was worried when my publisher first told me that I had to start a blog that I would become obsessed with it and never finish my novels because I'd be so busy blogging. I know a lot of you think authors lead these very exciting lives, gallivanting around the world on our yachts. […]

THESE ARE NOT THE DROIDS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR

I know I said I'd write about Valentine's Day in my next entry, but my diabolical Valentine's Day scheme isn't quite ready yet. Which is a shame because if you want to take part in it, you're going to need a couple days to prepare. But I figure if I post it next week, a […]

Well, it’s a new year, and you know what that means:

It's mailbag time again!!!!!!!! Also Book Tour time!!! The following are actual emails I have received lately. Signatures have been left off to protect the senders' anonymity. Also, there's a list of places I'll be appearing in January on my Boy Meets Girl book tour. If I'm coming to your town, I would LOVE to […]

On Writing

So about 75% of the emails I get are from people who want to be writers. They want tips on how to get published, or on why they can't seem to finish a story, or just on how to write a story at all. I do talk about these subjects elsewhere on this site, but […]

My Bad Week

Hello. I've had a terrible week and since so many of you write to me to share your ups and downs (mostly downs…why is that, by the way?) I thought I'd share mine. First, on Sunday, my laptop died. Just died. It's been through a lot in the two years since I bought it…a half […]

Buongiorno (or buona sera, if you’re reading this at night)

That's good day or good evening in Italian. I just got back from Marches, this region of Italy no one has ever heard of. When the customs guy at the airport in Rome asked me where I was going, and I said Marches, he made a face! He said no one goes there. Well, if […]