I don’t plot with huge detail, just big moments and important elements, and then I have a structure but can fly by the seat of my pants when I write. Rae Carson Read Quote
I decided a long time ago to be unfiltered and wholly myself in these areas of social media. I’ve been very happy with the results of this decision. I feel that I get lots of interaction and loyal support. So I’m grateful for my Twitter and Facebook followers every day. Rae Carson Read Quote
I’d love to see more middle and high school teachers who are not teaching English develop classroom libraries. Our message to kids should be that reading is for everyone. Rae Carson Read Quote
I was a Social Science major in college, with an emphasis in secondary education. I took as many courses on the American colonial era and westward expansion as I could. This turned out to be wonderful preparation for writing fantasy novels. Rae Carson Read Quote
I have tremendous respect for teens who navigate the quagmire that is modern religion. If there is any message in my books, I want it to be that it’s okay to ask questions, and it’s okay to come up with a belief system all your own. Teens who change their worldviews in the face of tremendous social pressure are heroes to me. Rae Carson Read Quote
It’s important to not marginalize any people group in fiction. A complete, authentic-feeling world should include many different elements of life and culture. For this reason, my books will almost always contain people of faith. Rae Carson Read Quote
I grew up in a cloistered, conservative culture that adhered to strict gender roles. So it’s easy to understand why the ‘girl dressed as a boy’ trope resonated so much. In a world that didn’t want to give people like me adventures or significance, books with cross-dressing girls were treasures. Rae Carson Read Quote
The message was always, ‘It’s good to be pretty, but don’t look like you’re trying to be pretty!’ Inherent in that is a lot of misogyny, I think, because the implication is, ‘You must work hard to achieve a feminine ideal for which society has nothing but contempt.’ Rae Carson Read Quote
Competing in pageants made me hyper-aware of the unfair expectations society places on women in terms of youth and beauty. But it also gave me empathy for women who use beauty as a creative exploration. When expressed healthfully, dressing up, doing hair, crafting makeup, etc., is an art form. Rae Carson Read Quote
