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Freida McFadden Explains How She Writes So Many Books in a Year While Living a Busy Life
Freida McFadden, author of The Housemaid, regularly adds to her fans’ yearly reading lists as she continues to produce several books each year. This year she already has released the book Dear Debbie and The Divorce, which is scheduled for May. Besides writing, the accomplished physician and mother of two shared how she manages it all in an exclusive interview with E! News.
“First of all, I just get down with writing the first draft,” she said. “In fact, I hate doing things halfway. It is not me that can write a little each day and be satisfied with it. I totally immerse myself and just go on, I don’t stop, I even ignore everything in life until I’m finished.”
Nevertheless, her fast drafting is counterbalanced by her time-consuming editing process. “Following that first draft which is usually done in a few weeks, I’ll just go on and on with the editing,” McFadden added. “I could be doing the editing for another year but I’ll be handling a few of them at the same time.”
Besides having two careers and running a family, McFadden doesn’t seem to be scared of fitting even more book projects into her timetable.
Freida McFadden on Multitasking, Career Transitions, and the Challenges of Prolific Writing
Freida McFadden says that her ability to juggle multiple projects comes from her experience as a mom and doctor. “I think being a mom and doctor, I’m really used to multitasking,” she told E! News. “You’ve got different books in progress, they’ll give me one set of edits, I’ll work through them, and then another set will come. I love working hard, so when I’m working very hard I’m most happy.”
The author of Never Lie said that she loves a packed diary and even got scared when she left her hospital job. “I was so afraid of being bored. I really want to be doing several things at once,” she explained, however, she also realized that it became too much for her to do full-time medicine and a flourishing writing career at the same time.
Doing more than one book at the same time definitely has its own challenges, especially when it comes to overlapping details. McFadden said that sometimes the plot points that are similar sneak into the books that come out one after another, even if they were written a year apart. “It may be that there are similar plot points on two books coming out one after the other… they just happened to release in that order,” she said.
Freida McFadden Balances Creativity and Challenges in Writing Different Novels
Freida McFadden talks about the mental challenge of writing several books. She says, “I only have one brain, and sometimes, it’s not easy that the ideas just get mixed up.” Even so, she purposely makes diverse plots to avoid monotonous themes. Through ex-con Millie’s storyline in The Housemaid, to nurse practitioner Brooke meeting her ex in The Inmate, McFadden is thrilled with the different lines of the stories and enjoys the novelty of each one.
“I want my work to be fun for me,” she explained. “I quit my job to do this, and I don’t want this to be a drag. I always want it to be fun. So, I’m trying to do different things, step out of my comfort zone, and write things that maybe require a little more research. Every time I just try to stretch a little further.”
She gave credit to her mom and husband as the main people that kept her grounded during her writing process. “I usually will throw stuff back and forth with my husband,” she revealed. “He is my secret weapon. If I have a tiny bit of the idea, and I am stuck on it, I talk to him about it, and he kind of spits things out—he usually makes fun of me, as he can’t help himself—but I believe simply talking to someone helps a lot.”
Freida McFadden’s Success Shows Her Bestselling Novels and Popular Film Adaptations
With a loving family around her, Freida McFadden’s writing has not only been bestsellers but also has made a big splash in the film industry. Her novel The Housemaid has sold more than 350 million dollars since its theatrical release in December and now is available on premium digital and video on demand.
McFadden’s fans will be able to enjoy the continuation of the story, as the sequel The Housemaid’s Secret is already in the works with Sydney Sweeney and Michele Morrone starring, and Paul Feig directing the film. McFadden talks about her first book’s film adaptation and how pleased she is. “Of course, there are authors who have really not liked the adaptation because it is so different, or the right atmosphere has not been captured. And I would say that I am lucky because they have captured the atmosphere so well,” she confides in an interview.