In Issue 1, we advertised that we would post the complete interview with Esther Friesner on September 9... well, that was yesterday and we apologize that we got caught up with Tolstoy and just plumb forgot. In any event, here it is. Yay!
READ: In Nobody's Princess and its sequel, Nobody's Prize, you have taken the character Helen of Troy and written her both as a young girl and a maturing young woman. Out of all the characters in Greek mythology, why did you choose to explore Helen's back-story? What was your inspiration?
Esther Friesner: I've always been interested in the "untold stories" of fictional characters, especially those whose roles in their stories are one-dimensional. Just as some families label their children "The Cute One, The Good One, The Smart One, The Athletic One, some stories treat major characters in the same way. That's a waste of a good character!
In the myths, Helen was always The Beautiful One. She was seldom given the chance to act as a person. Things were done to her more than by her. When she’s barely out of childhood, Theseus abducts her because she’s that beautiful and her brothers rescue her. When it’s time for her to marry, her father decides how the arrangements will be made. When the goddess Aphrodite competes with Hera and Athena to win the golden apple inscribed "For the Fairest," Helen is the bribe she uses to sway the judge's choice. Helen is not treated like a human being with a personality or a will of her own, she's a Major Award.
Helen deserved better than that. (Don't we all?) Isn't there more to the straight-A student than her grades? Does the rock star's life begin and end with music and fame? Is the successful businessperson nothing more than a fat bank account and a pile of expensive possessions? Why should being known for the ability to do one thing extremely well mean that there's nothing more to your life? It's not fair. It's also not healthy. What happens to the person who consents to being nothing more than The Athlete if the day comes when they can no longer play the game?
I thought it was about time something was written in which Helen could do things for herself and to show that she was more than just The Beautiful One. I believe it makes her much more interesting than her old role of Major Award, and I am very happy I had the opportunity to do it.
READ: What kind of research did you do in preparation for writing these novels?
Friesner: I've known the myths about Helen from childhood, but I double-checked the stories I remembered with books and online sources about Greek mythology. Did you know there were three different versions of the Quest for the Golden Fleece, including who was on the Argo? I also read lots of sources about Minoan-Mykenaean civilization. Helen of Troy is a myth, but even so, she belongs to this particular historical era. I wanted to put her in the proper setting. Well-illustrated books were a great help. It's always easier to describe something if you've seen it. For some things-like how she'd learn to ride a horse in a time when there were no stirrups-I asked friends with the first-hand experience and expertise I needed. I learned a lot!
READ:
In your novels, Helen is always claiming to be someone else (oftentimes a boy) in order to train and go on adventures. Was it frustrating to have to keep writing her as a pretender?
Friesner: I'd sooner call Helen a problem-solver than a pretender. She aspired to do something more with her life than the narrow role her society allowed. The rules and barriers keeping her from her goals had no greater justification than "This is the way it is because this is the way it's always been." She didn't have the power to change the rules of that society, so she used her intelligence, resources and spirit to find a way to work around the barriers set in her way.
I didn't find it frustrating at all to write about Helen's chosen path. It was as much of a challenge for me as for her, and I love challenges.
READ: Oftentimes in your novels, you reveal ancient myths as mere exaggerations. For example, in Nobody's Prize, the character Herakles says that the Hydra was not a nine-headed monster serpent but rather just a "cluster of swamp snakes". What was your intention in questioning these classic myths?
Friesner: When you ask the right questions, you've got an excellent chance to make some wonderful discoveries. Many thought that the whole story of the Trojan War was nothing but myth, but 19th century amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann questioned the evidence and discovered that the walled city of Troy actually existed. People interested in the story of Atlantis have discovered that there well may be a true story behind that myth in the almost complete destruction of the ancient island civilization of Thera in the Mediterranean.
On the other side of the coin, if you realize that magnificent tales can be created from simple beginnings, perhaps some day you can create your own stories of great wonders. I'll be eager to read them.
READ: How much of Helen's personality is your personality? What specific traits do you think she has that are yours?
Friesner: Like Helen, I don't like being told that I can't do something "just because." If there's a good reason, let me hear it. Give me credit for having the intelligence to understand that reason, to question it if necessary, and to accept it if it does seem sensible and justified. This is especially true of situations where I'm told I can't accomplish something just because I'm female, or because "we've always done it this way." History is full of too many instances where those words have been used to justify great abuses of human rights.
I'm also a bit like Helen in that we're both ready to speak up when something's bothering us instead of suffering in silence. (Suffering in silence? Now that's frustrating!)
Finally, like Helen, I really don't like having to do needlework. Cooking, yes; needlework, no.
READ: Nobody's Prize seems to be a little darker than Nobody's Princess was. There are battles and casualties and even a random tragic accident that completely takes the reader by surprise. Did you feel the shifting difference of the two books as you were writing the second? Did it surprise you?
Friesner: Some of the darker events were inevitable, given the myths that were my source material, so I could not be completely surprised by them. On the other hand, part of the successful writing process is having your characters become independent personalities, so some of the events in any book will evolve from what such people would do naturally. If the writer tries to force characters into certain actions rather than guide them, the result will seem artificial and the reader will feel cheated. I don't think it really matters whether or not I felt the shifting difference you mention, but only whether that difference made Nobody's Prize a satisfying experience for the reader.
READ: The Nobody's Princess excerpt we have in READ is the scene where Helen first confronts Glaucus and her brothers and demands to be allowed to train. Would you care to comment on this scene?
Friesner: As a reader and a viewer I've encountered my share of stories where the heroine (or hero) wants to achieve a goal and it simply happens. There are no obstacles to overcome, no one there to stand between her and the goal, just a flick of the switch and presto! She's a warrior / wizard / athlete / superstar. It's easy for the writer, but unless you still get a big kick out of watching a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat, it's not going to be very interesting for the reader.
How the pampered princess acquires the skills to become something more, how she faces and counters whatever stands in her way-now that's interesting! It would have been much easier for me to have Helen declare, "I want to learn how to fight!" have her brothers say, "Great! Sure! Why not?" and have her beat both of them and Glaucus the first time she picks up a sword, but honestly, where's the fun in that?
The writing process was one of posing a series of problems for the character and then finding a way for her to solve them in realistic and believable fashion. It's like planning a journey: You know where you're starting from and you know where you hope to go, but you've got to think about how you're going to get there and what complications might arise along the way. Then you've got to think about how you might deal with each one and, in case your first solution doesn't work, you've also got to come up with a Plan B. You might not get where you're heading easily, but you'll definitely have some great stories to tell your friends about the trip once you come home again.
READ: Your Helen is the young Helen. Then there is the other Helen of Troy-the face that launched a thousand ships and began the Trojan War. After the War was over and she was returned to King Menelaus, her story ends. Or does it? Is there more to her story there? Do you think you might write it someday?
Friesner: There is definitely more to Helen's story after the Trojan War. In addition to her appearance in The Odyssey, and there are plenty of mentions of her in the myths. One fascinating version of Helen's myth claims that she never went to Troy with Paris. When they left Sparta, they had to land in Egypt for supplies. The Pharaoh discovered that Paris was running away with another king's wife, so he kept Helen in Egypt and sent the Trojan prince away. Helen's husband didn't find out that his wife was in Egypt until after the Trojan War was over.
For me to write about Helen's post-Trojan War life as a Young Adult novel would require a more age-appropriate point of view character than Helen, since by that time she would be a grown woman rather than a young girl. I'd be sorry to give up Helen's voice, but I'd enjoy the challenge of continuing her story.
READ: Who are some of your favorite writers? What do you like about them?
Friesner: This is going to be tough one to answer. I have lots of favorites spread across the field, including everything from novels to poetry to graphic novels and manga! But I'll do my best to come up with a few.
I love humor, so I have to count Terry Pratchett as one of my favorite writers. His work doesn't just make you laugh, it makes you think. Then it makes you laugh again.
I'm still a big fan of the children's fantasy novels of Edward Eager, such as Half Magic, Magic By The Lake and especially Knight's Castle. He knew how to write about children who were real people leading ordinary lives, which made it all the more wonderful when extraordinary, magical things happened to them.
I love the way F. Scott Fitzgerald was able to capture the spirit of the Roaring Twenties, making me feel as if I'm not just reading a story but experiencing a different place and time.
Rumiko Takahashi is one of my favorite manga writers and artists. Her storytelling range is fantastic, covering everything from romantic comedy to bone-chilling horror. And even though this will take us out of the realm of books, I have to mention Hayao Miyazaki for his marvelous storytelling vision in anime like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. I truly admire the way he's not afraid to make a story sweet and heart-warming because he has the talent to do so without making it syrupy.
READ: How long have you been a writer? Do you have any words of wisdom you would like to share with our young readers and writers?
Friesner: When I was three years old, my mother wrote down the first stories I wanted to tell. I don't know if that counts as the starting point for my becoming a writer or not. I do know that as soon as I learned how to write, I used that ability for writing stories. Sometimes I even tried to illustrate them!
I thought about trying to have my stories and books published from the time I was in seventh 
grade, but it was long time before I met with success. One of my biggest mistakes was how I reacted to receiving rejection letters. I always took it personally, and as a result I would stop writing for at least a month after every rejection. Now I know better. A rejection letter doesn't mean the editor hates me. It might not even mean the editor hates my story. It just means that my story is not what that particular editor is looking to buy at that time. (But let's be honest: Sometimes it does mean that the editor hates my story. That's when I tell myself how lucky I am to live in a world with lots of other editors.)
My first professional sale as a writer of fiction was in 1983, to Asimov's science fiction magazine, and my first fantasy novel was published in 1985. I've been busy ever since, and I have always enjoyed writing. Which brings me to the word of wisdom you request for young readers and writers:
Love writing for itself.
Write about the things that interest you and that mean something to you.
If you want to become a professional, published writer, understand that writing is both an art and a craft. It's not enough to write a good story. You also have to learn the basics of spelling, grammar, and manuscript preparation. Editors have to read a lot of submissions and they've only got one set of eyes apiece. Make it easy on them.
And why do editors have to read so many submissions? Because there are so many aspiring writers out there. Do not fear the competition. Someone's going to get published. It won't be you if you don't try.
Know that you're not going to get it right the first time, but that part of the pleasure of writing is learning how to get it right at last. Read a lot so that when you find a story that works for you--something that stirs your emotions, opens your mind, or transports you deep into the world of the story--you can observe how the writer achieved that effect and maybe learn how to do it in your own writing.
Remember what I said about rejection letters? I'm going to say it again: They are not about you; they're about the story. The same goes for any other negative comments you might get about your writing. Listen to them and think about them. Decide for yourself if they're right (they might be!) and if you can learn things from them that will improve your stories. But again, do not take them personally.
Finally, there's one piece of advice that we've all heard so many times from so many different sources that it's tempting to ignore it as worn-out, silly, naïve, and unrealistic. That's too bad, because it's old and overused, but it's still true:
Don't give up.
Hey, it works for me!
