Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Road Trip Wednesday

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.


When and why did you start writing?

Well, it depends I guess. I've always kept a journal where I write my thoughts, poems, and even short stories. So in that respect I've been writing since, well, since I could write.

As far as novel-length fiction -- I started writing in August of 2009.
It all started as a fanfic, believe it or not. I belong to a community called Babycenter, and there was a forum for parents that are Harry Potter fans. Yes, it's quite obvious that we love Harry Potter in this house isn't it? (I'm even wearing my DA t-shirt today!)



Anyway, I made a couple of really great friends in that forum, and one of them started writing a Harry Potter fanfic. I had never experienced fanfic before then, and found it quite fun. So, I got to thinking. What could I write about?

I realized quickly that I'm not the type of person who can write stories about other people's characters. Instead of writing a story about Harry and the crew I decided to take it a step farther. What would the wizarding world be like in America? What schools would exist? What if it was a girl main character from a small town in a small school in a world that was totally different than the Harry Potter world, but still had magic?

That's pretty much how it went. I thought it'd be a short story, maybe a couple chapters worth. Then I got to know Mandy (my MC) and she had a very cool story. I couldn't let her go after just a few chapters, and I knew I was finishing a novel.

Here I am, nearly a year later, finishing off final revisions before seeking an agent. Working on three, yes three, more novels, and feeling like I have finally found my calling. Finally found what I was meant to do, and I cannot wait to write even more. It's a passion and a need. I need to write these stories, I really do. There is no more holding them in.

7 comments:

Erinn said...

I started in Fan fiction too, after a really long break from writing. I was West Wing and Lost.

I needed to control my characters more and not be limited by someone elses views of them. So I started writing my own books.

very cool how we both started back up the same way.

KatOwens: Insect Collector said...

interesting!

Kate Hart said...

I used to be on BabyCenter too, years ago. It's funny how inspiration comes from such unexpected sources!

Michelle Schusterman said...

Awesome! Sooo many writers got their start doing fanfiction, it's a great outlet!

Leila Austin said...

Cassandra Clare started out with Harry Potter fanfic too :-)

I love that you have a DA t-shirt!

Glenna said...

That's so cool... A lot of us started out with HP, but you really took it far. Love it, Holly!

Jess said...

Love this: "It's a passion and a need. I need to write these stories, I really do. There is no more holding them in."

Great post!