Elizabeth Lim: Give Yourself Goals, Not a Timeline
Elizabeth Lim grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was raised on a hearty diet of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Before becoming an author, Elizabeth was a professional film and video game composer, and she still tends to come up with her best book ideas when writing near a piano. An alumna of Harvard College and the Juilliard School, she now lives in New York with her husband and her daughters.
Elizabeth’s internationally bestselling novels include Six Crimson Cranes, The Dragon’s Promise, Spin the Dawn, and Unravel the Dusk. She is also a contributor to Disney’s A Twisted Tale series.
She invites you to visit her at elizabethlim.com and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Elizabeth Lim
Adrian Ow
In this post, Elizabeth discusses exploring sibling bonds, returning to stories she’d previously put on pause, and more.
Name: Elizabeth Lim
Literary agent: Gina Maccoby
Book title: Her Radiant Curse
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release date: August 29, 2023
Genre/category: YA Fantasy
Previous titles: Six Crimson Cranes, The Dragon’s Promise, Spin the Dawn, Unravel the Dusk
Elevator pitch for the book: Two sisters, one a beauty and one a monster, must break a terrible curse with the help of a snarky yet lovable snake, and a dragon who’s not all that he seems.
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What prompted you to write this book?
I wanted to write a book focused on sisterhood and the powerful bond between siblings. Channi’s voice came alive upon working on the first page, and even when I took breaks from working on this manuscript, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I’ve been working on this book for over four years! I first conceived it as a character study of a morally gray character who was the opposite of Maia Tamarin, my protagonist in Spin the Dawn. While working on the first draft of Her Radiant Curse I realized that it was part of a larger story, and I put Channi’s story on hold to write Six Crimson Cranes. Two years later, I returned to Channi and finished writing her book.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
While I was working on the book, my editor read an early draft and suggested that the focal romance in this book was between the two sisters, Vanna and Channi. Until that point, I’d felt that something critical had been missing in the story, and the advice helped me find the heart of Her Radiant Curse and really work on bringing out the sisters’ love for one another.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I originally meant for this book to be a true standalone, unrelated to my previous works. But after I finished the first two drafts, I realized that there was more to Channi and her world that I wanted to tell and that her story wouldn’t end with Her Radiant Curse. The Wild Swans is one of my favorite fairy tales, and I‘ve always been curious about the stepmother figure, who traditionally curses the royal children without much of a motive.
I knew I wanted to write a reimagining of this fairytale, but I also wanted to delve deeper into her character and explore why she did the awful things she did. And so, it occurred to me, that Channi was the perfect channel for me to do this character exploration and deep analysis. It took a lot of rewriting, but it was very worth it.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope that my readers will find this a story that is heartbreaking as well as heartwarming and will encounter Channi as a character that is not easily forgotten.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Read as much as you can, but listen too. A good ear can improve one’s writing immeasurably. Give yourself goals, not a timeline. Don’t let rejections get you down. Persistence is key.
While there’s no shortage of writing advice, it’s often scattered around—a piece of advice here, words of wisdom there. And in the moments when you most need writing advice, what you find might not resonate with you or speak to the issue you’re dealing with. In A Year of Writing Advice, the editors of Writer’s Digest have gathered thoughts, musings, and yes, advice from 365 authors in dozens of genres to help you on your writing journey.