Manifesting with... Gabrielle Tozer

What are the secrets to a long and varied writing career?

I’m fairly new to the works of #LoveOzYA author Gabrielle Tozer, but after reading one, I had to get my hands on several. I was so excited to be able to ask some burning questions of Gabrielle and gain insight into her writing processes.

Gabrielle’s latest YA, The Unexpected Mess of It All, is available in bookstores now: A coming-of-age story about falling apart, starting over, and the people and places you can't live without.

How did you get your start in the writing/publishing world? Did you submit to competitions and opportunities, or write novels until one was picked up?

I have been pitching and writing articles, reviews and interviews since I was 18 years old, which meant I was immersed in the world of deadlines, facing rejection, writing, writing, writing, and editing huge amounts of copy from a young age.

I also studied journalism and creative writing - not that you need a degree to be a published writer! But it did give me plenty of practice in terms of the reality of what it takes to write in a professional capacity, which I think has helped me tremendously in the world of publishing.

As for how my first novel, The Intern, was picked up… it was a case of “persistence meets hard work meets SO MUCH LUCK and also seizing an opportunity”. I’d met a non-fiction publisher at a writing course who saw something in me and we stayed in touch for the occasional coffee and chat during my mid twenties.

Years passed and one day an email appeared in my inbox: that publisher had passed on my details to a YA and children’s fiction publisher at her company who she thought would be a good fit for me. They asked me to pitch some ideas, which turned into sending through sample chapters… and that’s where it all began. It still feels like a surreal dream.

You’ve been writing YA for ten years now, and cover a huge range of themes in your novels; how do you make sure your writing stays contemporary for teenagers?

I often joke that I’m a 30-something-year-old teenager because I unironically love so many of the same things as teenagers do, e.g. certain TV shows, films, music etc. I’m pop-culture-obsessed and have written or worked for titles including Dolly, Girlfriend, Cosmo, Cleo, DisneyGiRL and Frankie, so there is definitely something to my natural creative voice that aligns with YA writing. Maybe I just have a relentless case of arrested development!

Jokes aside (although I do think there is truth to the above), I value teenagers. I care what they think and what they have to say. I visit high schools around Australia, give author talks and run workshops, and also work as a mentor for youth organisations like the Regional Scribes program and the Horizons program. In the past, I was a mentor for the Heywire program, too. I also am an Author Pen Pal with a high school in Sydney this year, and that correspondence is brilliant for staying tuned in, too.

Also, some of my friends’ kids are getting older and in high school now, which also helps! 

What’s your writing routine? How do you fit it in around work and other commitments?

I used to have such a snappy answer for this…  before having my first child in 2018. Now, I write when I can! It looks different every week.

I write books for work around other freelance work when my children are at school and at daycare, but the hours are short and I am still with my youngest child two weekdays a week. This means, I have to write in the cracks of life, too: some weekend sessions, evenings etc. The lines can get blurred, but it works for me. (I know that’s not the case for everyone.)

I used to LOVE writing at 5am before having children, but now sleep is everything to me so I can’t bring myself to wake up for that anymore. My biggest tip is to map out your week. I am a scheduling machine! See where your windows for writing could be and block out that time like it’s a meeting. We really need to protect our time to get novels written.

Which authors in your community inspire you?

I’ve been lucky enough to be in the YA and kids writing community for a decade now and I feel grateful for everyone. Seriously. This isn’t an easy gig and everyone has their own path, and I find inspiration in how everyone does it. 

How do you approach your creative projects? Do you plot? Is it different each time?

I am a plotter, but I wasn’t always. Remind Me How This Ends was probably the first book I seriously plotted out and I still ended up changing a lot, so I’m not super-strict about it. But I do like having a foundation before I venture into a new novel.

I’m an anxious girlie who is terrified of the blank page, so I combat that by mapping out the arc of the plot before I begin. That helps me to feel anchored to my idea. I also like to think about who I want my character to be at the beginning of the novel and by the end. How have they changed? Why have they changed? What got them there? How do I want my reader to feel by the end? I do like having those questions swirling around, even if I don’t know all the answers. 

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to those trying to manifest their writing dreams?

Know why you want to achieve your writing goal. Write down those reasons and read it regularly, especially when you’re feeling disheartened or creatively stuck. Hopefully reminding yourself of your “why” will help to be a circuit-breaker. Also, self-edit your work more than you think you need to! Print off the pages, get that red pen out and kill those darlings. Sorry, I am an editing bully, but you only get one shot to make a first impression with a publisher or agent. Oh, and if this is something you passionately want, don’t give up. Persist, experiment, stay curious and open to learning, and try to enjoy the rollercoaster ride.