Where do you find the inspiration for your books?
I collect inspiration like a magpie collects shiny trinkets. One of the unexpected and delightful gifts of living life as a writer is that I see the world through stories, and suddenly, everything becomes inspiration for the next sentence, the next chapter, the next book. I even have a note on my phone that’s almost over 5-years-old, full of collected shiny moments, thoughts, and experiences that seemed inspirational when I encountered them in the wild. The trick is returning to all those observations and knowing which ones belong to what book.
My debut novel, Who We Are In Real Life, started as a love letter to Dungeons and Dragons because I was immersed in that game, both as a player and as a game master. As I wrote the manuscript (and re-wrote it over and over again), I incorporated little pieces of inspiration from the campaigns I played, from the people I played with, and from all sorts of tiny moments that happened in-between. As I continue to write, I’m learning to watch for inspiration, rather than to wait for inspiration to strike. That’s why I have a note in my phone and call myself an inspiration magpie now.
What were your favourite books when you were a kid? As a young reader, did you see yourself in the books you read?
This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me or has read my book, but I’ve always been a romantic and a bit of a literary weirdo. One of my favourite memories as a young reader was listening to an audio book with my grandmother while I was visiting her on a solo trip one summer. We went to the public library on the first day of my visit and picked a book together, then we spent the entire week between the little CD player in her kitchen and listening in the car, until we finished the book. I was 10 or 11, maybe? That book was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and it still happens to be one of my favourites.
I can’t say that I found a lot in common with a character like Jane—I mean, what does a 9-year-old have in common with a 19th century governess?—but I did love to play make-believe and imagine I lived in that book. The ability to pull you in, that’s the power of a good story!
What’s the most surprising thing you have learned when creating your books?
When writing Who We Are In Real Life, I was surprised to learn that the longest posted fanfic on Archive of Our Own was a Terminator fic. I’d heard that a few years prior that the longest fic was about Super Smash Bros, but nope. The Terminator fic, “Future Shock” by Nobody_TOK715, remains the longest fic on AO3 to this day, with over 9 million words posted now.
What is a challenge you have faced as a writer?
The biggest challenge I’ve faced as a writer, one that I think many people face when they sit down to write, is the temptation to give up. In fact, there have been many, many times I have given up because there are endless opportunities to just stop writing. You might stop before even allowing yourself to think of a story because you don’t think you’re “good enough” to be a writer, or maybe you give up after two pages because writing a whole chapter feels overwhelming. You might give up part way through a manuscript because you’re bored or after draft one because you’re scared. Then comes editing and the possibility of rejection. Each draft and red-mark, every “no” from a contest, an agent, or a publisher might become another opportunity to walk away.
For me, I needed to develop stamina and self-compassion through the long, long process of writing. To keep going, even when I wasn’t sure about the destination, while I tried to learn all I could along the way. So far, that seems to be working for me.
What advice do you have for kids who are interested in writing?
Write! If you’re interested in writing, then do it! Someone has to write all those stories you love to read, so why not you?