Hello theatre people! So-recently I had the pleasure of interviewing the writer of After Wicked-an online novel based on the Wicked novels. Mara Sandroff is 18years old-and has already become quite successful in the craft of writing. Hope you all enjoy!
Q: For people who don't know, what
is The If Duology about?
A: The If Duology explores
Oz sixteen years after the musical Wicked
ends and tells the story of fourteen-year-old Saguaro Throgelaar, who has
grown up on an island miles away from Oz. Neither of Saguaro’s parents has told
her anything about their pasts in Oz, and Saguaro decides to run away to Oz to
find out the answers to her questions. There, she discovers that the secrets
are more complicated than she ever could have imagined and unintentionally sets
off a chain reaction that forces the characters of Wicked to reexamine the decisions they have made in their lives. It’s
very much a coming-of-age story, and the mother/daughter relationship is also heavily
explored.
Q: Where did you first get the idea
to write the duology?
A: I first got the idea exactly a week after I saw Wicked back in 2005. Even though I loved
the show, I felt unsatisfied by its ambiguous ending and I ended up asking my
mom where she thought Elphaba and Fiyero, two of the characters of Wicked, go after the curtain closes. She
replied, “I suppose they went somewhere they would belong,” since, as a
green-skinned sorceress and a Scarecrow, Elphaba and Fiyero could not fit in
just anywhere. At that moment, my character, Saguaro, appeared in my mind’s
eye. While at the time I didn’t know anything about her, I did know that she
was the answer to my questions. I started writing my first draft that very
night.
I never expected that this moment
of inspiration would lead to seven long years of writing, a two-volume book
series, or the craziest journey of my life. Honestly, if I had known, I’m not
so sure I would have gone through with it! But it did happen, and even though
the journey has been difficult at times, it’s also been incredibly rewarding.
Q: Did you ever have any doubts
about writing it?
A: Oh, definitely! I’ve had so many doubts. My first real doubt came
about a month after I started working on my books and I found out that Gregory
Maguire’s own Wicked sequel, Son of a Witch, was coming out that
October. At the time, I hadn’t yet read the original Wicked novel, which the musical is based off of, and had
unintentionally ignored the character of Liir in my sequel. While I eventually
decided to go through with my story after I realized how different the book and
musical truly are, this did lead to several moments of doubt, some more recent
than others.
Even now, I sometimes worry about
how people will respond to me as a writer given the “fanfiction” label of my
books. I’ve worked so hard on this, and while I do plan to write my own
original books eventually, I worry that people will not take me seriously as a
writer because I’m writing “fanfiction.” That’s when I have to remind myself
that Wicked is also a piece of
derivative fiction and that it doesn’t matter what other people think.
Ultimately, my faith and passion for my story are stronger than my doubts, and
that’s what helps me through the tough times.
Q: What is your writing
process-when you have an idea for a chapter do you outline it first, or do you
just start writing?
A: I’ve gone through several drafts, and in the original drafts, I
just wrote and went wherever the characters and story took me. Now, in this
final draft, I outline my chapters very thoroughly before I begin writing. I
did a lot of exploring with the first drafts, but with the final one, everything
has to be deliberate and measured, as I can’t let my story get too far off
course. But even now, I always discover a few new things when I am writing each
chapter, and that’s always exciting.
Q: Did you ever think that If would be as popular as it is now?
A: You know, it’s funny, because I’m still working on getting the word
about my story out there and gaining new readers. I will say, though, that I am
very happy with the amount of readers I have gotten in the first six weeks, and
I’m very excited to see how my readership will continue to grow.
Q: Where did you get the idea to
publish your story online?
A: For a long time, I was at a crossroads. I couldn’t publish my
works traditionally because of copyright laws, and I didn’t know how else to
share them with the world. One day, I came across G. Norman Lippert’s James
Potter series, a popular piece fanfiction, which is published on its own site.
That when I realized I had two options: I could try to obtain the Wicked rights, which would be next-to
impossible and unfair to the original creators, or I could accept my story’s
limitations and do what I had always wanted to do: share my books with the
outside world. Researching it, I realized how perfect the Internet would be for
my story and how exciting it would be to use it to tell my story in a more
unconventional way. There are so many great stories that are being told on the
Internet, and I’ve loved the freedom of controlling my books through online
publication.
Q: Would you like to see The If
Duology in print one day?
A: In a perfect world, absolutely. But unless Universal Pictures, which
owns the rights for Wicked, call me
up on the phone one day and ask me if they can publish my works, which I’m
certainly not holding my breath for, The
If Duology will never be published traditionally. I don’t own any of the Wicked characters and can’t legally sell
my work. But I am considering printing up a few copies to give to my friends
and family. We’ll see what happens! Even though I will probably never
traditionally publish The If Duology,
I am determined to become a published author. Most writers write multiple books
before an agent or editor picks one of their books up, so I feel very lucky to
be gaining readers at such a young age.
8. How would you sum up your
journey so far?
A: Crazy! I know it’s an overused metaphor, but I really
liken my journey to a rollercoaster; there have been very high highs and very
low lows. I’ve gone from screaming at the top of my lungs after receiving a
letter from Gregory Maguire or a shout out in Playbill to sobbing after I first
learned about Son of A Witch at age
eleven or was rejected in some way. I’ve spent seven years working on my books,
and though that’s not long in the grand scheme of things, since I’m only
eighteen, it feels long. I’ve pretty much spent my whole adolescence immersed
in my journey, and that has been difficult.
I think the main thing I’ve learned, though, is that in order to
achieve a dream, you have to put up with the pain in order to open yourself up
to the exhilaration. As John Elway said, “I've experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows. I
think to really appreciate anything you have to be at both ends of the
spectrum.”
Q: Has anyone ever disagreed
with/disliked your story?
A: You know, since posting my story online, I really haven’t received
many negative comments. I’m sure that will change, because the bigger something
gets, the more responses it receives, but so far, I’ve been really lucky. In
some ways, I suppose there isn’t as much a reader can disagree with at this
point, because If has mostly included
original characters, and people can’t critique the way I’m writing those
characters in the same way. When more Wicked
characters are featured more prominently, things might change.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this
at all. In the seven years since I started working on my journey, I’ve met
many, many people who basically implied that I was idiot for spending so much
time on a piece of “fanfiction” and for writing a Wicked musical sequel when Gregory Maguire had already written Son of a Witch and his other Wicked Years novels. That was why I was
really surprised when a Wicked book
fan, who has not yet seen the musical, wrote me and told her that she was
enjoying my book. When I expressed surprise that she was enjoying it given how
different it is from the book, she said that she likes it because of the
differences. And that was just great to hear. So far, I’ve been lucky enough to
have readers who trust me and the direction the story is going, and that’s
really the best thing I could ask for.
But am I nervous when I post a
chapter and feel that I’ve included something some readers may disagree with?
Absolutely! But in the end, I’m writing this for myself, and that’s what I need
to remind myself.
And finally...
Q: What advice would you give to
young people like yourself who dream of accomplishing what you did-to have a
successful online novel and a respectable fan base?
A: I think I would say that the first thing you
should do is write the book. Don’t stress about anyone reading it yet; just
write it. Revise your book as much as you see fit, get feedback from a few
trusted readers, and write the story you’re determined to tell. Remember, you
have to be your biggest fan first.
Once
you’ve finished your book and have a rough idea of your budget-for example, do you
want to hire a web designer, like I did, or are you okay with publishing your
work on a free site like Weebly? - I would suggest educating yourself as much
about web traffic and web syndication as possible. I went to a few friends of mine
who had established identities online, and they defined important web terms and
passed on advice that had helped them. The social media approach is also very
in right now, so I would definitely recommend opening up a Twitter and Facebook
for your site. It’s a great way to connect with people and to generate more
traffic and conversation about your work.
I think
the biggest advice I’ve been given is, “Don’t be afraid to start small.” Get
your friends and family on board, and don’t be discouraged if you don’t get a
lot of readers at first. Remember, word of mouth is the key to going viral, so
even if just one person loves your story and tells all of his or her friends
about it, you’ve been successful. I would love to help anyone who is thinking
about doing the same thing I did, so feel free to contact me and I will help
you as best as I can.
Read The If Duology at afterwicked.com. I know you won't regret it. It was a pleasure to interview Ms. Sandroff , and I wish her the best with her writing.
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