Fierce Middle Grade Fantasy Reads
A: A lot of things inspire me. When writing Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest for instance I was inspired by John Bauer’s art, a pair of troll statues from Slovakia, a recent trip to Europe, a conversation with coworkers, several grammar blogs, and a previous start for the book which perfectly described the main character.
A: The same things that make a book great. It’s subjective. So for me a great writer wants to write and loves to be immersed in their stories. I think that passion for storytelling shines through and is felt by the reader.
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I bet you’re a lot like me when you read a book or book series. You develop a mental picture of the character and sometimes cast famous people to play the role of your favorite characters. It’s fun to do and it’s fun to compare notes… especially against the author of the book or if the book is ever picked up to be produced as a motion picture. I’m sharing my vision of the Fierce family with Zaria, Merry, and Colonel. Let me know what you think!
She’s the perfect blend of cute and sassy.
She’s warm, friendly, and happy.
He’s handsome, strong, and wonderful.
How do you visualize the characters? Who would you cast for the role of Zaria, Merry, and Colonel Fierce?
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In a word? Starting.
Starting is the absolute hardest part about writing a book. Everything after that is easy, even if parts can be frustrating or annoying.
So how do you start a book?
Give yourself permission. You don’t need permission from anyone else. Just yourself. When you’ve done that, sit down and write… and write… and write. Even if you trash it later and start over, you have to write. Without the words there is no story to share.
For me, I wanted to write Zaria’s story for a while. I knew Zaria Fierce as a character, but I didn’t know her story. I did a lot of world building for a school of misfit fairy tale children and archived it all, including the prologue and first chapter. Then I wrote her in a Beauty and Beast fairy tale setting where her kingdom was under attack. Hm… not that plot either. So I put those chapters aside.
What I did next was write about Zaria. I wrote her description, her character, and her background. She became a younger character at age 12 instead of age 16. It was amazing how quick it poured out of me. But I hesitated to keep going… I had two previous false starts. All I had now was Zaria. Who was the villain? What was the plot?
I set the story aside for a few months and returned to it when I found the villain. I ruminated about him for a long time. What was his name? What was his goal? Would he have powers and what would they be? When the villain came to me, he arrived fully form as a particularly nasty river-troll with an agenda. When I had Olaf the world built itself, but I would never have found the villain without having Zaria fleshed out.
It doesn’t matter where you start or how you arrive at your story. What matters is that you tell it.
