Interview: Liana Tang on ‘Stuck in Her Head’
Stuck in Her Head, a modern YA book by Kylie Wang and Liana Tang coming out in October 2023 with Earnshaw Books.
By Liana Tang
The Rosebud: Tell us a bit about yourself!
Liana: Greetings and salutations! I’m Liana Tang. Career-wise, I’m an author who has been published or forthcoming in 60+ publications and has been nominated for Best of the Net several times. I’m also a member of the Writer’s Union of Canada, and am currently working at a film company as a screenwriter and marketing advisor. Outside of that, I’m just another person from Hong Kong who really likes video games, animation, music, running and spending time with my (most likely crazy) cousins.
The Rosebud: What made you want to write this book?
Liana: I was dissatisfied with many YA books growing up since I felt a disconnection between what I read and my personal experiences. Thus, I initially pitched to Kylie, a writer friend I met in primary school, the turning point of the novel and some of the themes I wanted to tackle. Since publishing a book would help with our college applications, it led to the creation of Stuck in Her Head.
The Rosebud: Can you introduce Stuck In Her Head and what was the writing process like?
Liana: Set in contemporary Hong Kong, Stuck In Her Head (SIHH) is a story about two high school girls, one an aspiring musician and the other a music prodigy who’s secretly unsure what she wants to do in life, who team up in a coding competition while discovering things about themselves and each other that test the strength of their friendship.
In general, the writing process for SIHH was extremely challenging. At the beginning, we had to schedule constant pitch meetings despite the time zone differences (Kylie was in America while I was in Hong Kong). Even after we laid out the initial plan for SIHH, the book had to undergo several drafts. There were a lot of deleted scenes that didn’t make the cut, and those that did had to undergo heavy revisions before making it to the final version. For example, in the original opening scene, one of the protagonists was practising for her piano tutor until she was told that she wasn’t a “real musician.” Then, she stumbled onto the competition poster, which serves as the inciting incident of the book. In the final version, the opening scene is revised to show a local piano competition where both Naomi and Emma, the protagonists, are competing, for which Emma inevitably loses. Not only does the revision help heighten the stakes and make for a more engaging opening, but it shows one of the main themes of the book – learning to be enough in a world filled with social comparisons. Many scenes that we deleted had good moments, but a good scene should fulfill multiple narrative purposes, such as showing character, heightening the stakes, and so forth.
The Rosebud: Can you elaborate on the working process?
Liana: Lots and lots of Discord calls.
We have a PowerPoint slide to outline the story beats for the book after lengthy pitch sessions. I was assigned to write Emma’s first draft, while Kylie wrote Naomi’s. The quality and who did what really didn’t matter, as we just needed to have something on the page, and dividing the labour this way was easier. Afterwards, we both held more calls to assign different editing responsibilities. We talked about what scenes we needed to delete, what scenes we needed to rewrite, rinse, and repeat until we were satisfied with our drafts. Then, we submitted to beta readers for one last round of feedback before we started querying together.
The Rosebud: How was the novel's title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
Liana: The title has multiple meanings. Firstly, the idiom "stuck in one's head" can be applied to music when a tune is constantly repeating in your mind. Secondly, it applies to the pining aspect of the novel. Thirdly, it's supposed to symbolise how the two girls are so "stuck in her head" that they can't see each other for who they really are, only who they want each other to be.
Fun fact: We had a brainstorming session about titles, and some of the titles eventually made their way as chapter titles instead!
The Rosebud: Did you plot your book in advance, or fly by the seat of your pants and write freely?
Liana: Both!
The Rosebud: Who or what inspired you when creating the two main protagonists?
Liana: The most obvious way to tackle themes is to create character foils. Emma is supposed to be this passionate amateur who has her eyes on the stars, yet she doesn’t have the same unfair advantages that a piano prodigy like Naomi is born with. On the other hand, Naomi represents this "self-made" success who is dissatisfied with her talents and doesn’t know what she wants to do in life. Both of them are jealous of each other for different reasons, yet they don't realise the other is feeling the same way. We believe it could be very relatable for a lot of people, especially teens.
The Rosebud: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
Liana: Yeah, but the ending changed several times. Originally, Emma was supposed to move away to Britain after everything that happened. However, we altered it because we thought it'd be too unrealistic after all the changes we made to other parts of the book. The novel is almost barely recognisable from its first draft, but the spirit and the premise remain the same.
The Rosebud: What are you currently reading and why?
Liana: I’m attending a lot of humanities classes, but one of my more memorable readings include Anton Blok’s "The Meaning of 'Senseless' Violence." The text debunks the commonly-held idea that violence is often irrational because there’s a strong cause-and-effect connection, even if this relationship is seemingly absent. Furthermore, it delves into the symbolic meaning and "theatricalization" of violence. If we’re talking about what books I’m indulging in my free-time, I’m currently reading graphic novels like Leigh Barudgo’s Demon in the Wood, or Squire by Nadia Shammas since I’m planning to publish one in the near future. It also helps to develop my visual vocabulary since I want to write for film and TV shows.
Pop all your book, website and social media links here so our readers can find you:
Our website: https://twoteenauthors.com/stuck-in-her-head/
Kylie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyliewangwrites/
Liana’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lianatang.yantung/
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Liana Tang is a teen writer who has been published or is forthcoming in 60+ publications. She is enrolled at the University of Toronto and plans to study English Literature and Cinema Studies. She is a Writers' Union of Canada member, has been nominated for Best of the Net, and attended the John Hopkins Talented Youth English program. Trouble Department has picked up her poetry chapbook, and her co-authored Young Adult novel, "Stuck in Her Head," comes out with Earnshaw Books in October 2023. She's also a screenwriter and marketing advisor for an upcoming feature film for a film company, and currently enrolled in another theater workshop. You can find her at @lianatang.yantung on Instagram.