Welcome to The Shootin' Gallery and the sixth post in the YA Indie Carnival. The carnival is designed for authors, readers and reviewers of YA Indie books. Each Friday this team of YA Indies will post on a common theme.
Today's post theme is, What inspires your writing?
LIFE inspires my writing! Whether directly or indirectly my writing is inspired by who I am and the journey I have traveled on the long and winding road that began on September 18, 1970 (don't hurt yourself doing the math on that one, lol!).
What do authors write about?
I find my writing deeply reflects my values and beliefs. While I may be writing about fantastic creatures and beings that only exist in the world of make believe I try very hard to make the relationships of my characters and the circumstances they live in anchored in reality. My characters possess a wide range of emotions and find themselves in circumstances that, while they may be imaginary are still quite familiar to every person. I try to integrate into my books the essence of humanity, what it is to be human.
Who do authors write to or for?
I write for young adults. I want to inspire and touch the future! I think teenagers are the most fabulous and amazing creatures on the planet! They have so much potential... and I believe in them.
And why do authors write?
For me, it's simple, it's an escape and mental exercise. It relieves my stress while at the same time allowing me to express myself creatively. As a teacher I am lucky enough to inspire and hone creative skills in my students but I don't always have the opportunity to challenge myself. I'm an artist. I must create! Through my writing I can do this.
What tools do authors use to create characters, plots, etc...
Everything! Art, music, television and movies... you name it! For me, I am most inspired by dreams and pictures (a picture is worth a thousand words). I can be flipping through a magazine and come across a picture of a little girl sitting in the corner of a dark room, alone and suddenly a story begins to spark to life in my noggin. Questions swirl in my mind; Who is the little girl? Why is she here by herself? How is she feeling and what caused her to feel that way? ...and so on. In my book Soul Quest I had a dream about a little boy surrounded by mirrors, only the mirrors were reflections of life's past tragic events (Nazi Germany, Nine Eleven).
Well, that's what inspires me to write, how about you? What draws you to your favorite genre of books?
Before you head off to the next booth in the carnival please don't forget about...
The Guardians of Souls Blog Tour August 25th - 31st.
The Guardians of Souls, Book Two in The Soul Quest Trilogy. It is available on Amazon NOW!
Carnival of fun!
The Ferris Wheel
Dani Snell: An awesome reviewer.
http://www.refractedlightreviews.com
The Rockin' Roller Coaster
Patti Larsen: Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, and The Diamond City Trilogy.
http://pattilarsen.blogspot.com/
The Kissing Booth
Courtney Cole: Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
http://courtneycolewrites.wordpress.com/
Cotton Candy Corner
Wren Emerson: Author of I Wish and a contributing author in the upcoming anthology that I am participating in (The Glassheart Chronicles).
http://wrenemerson.wordpress.com/
The Fun House
Nicole Williams: An indie author of paranormal fiction. Her titles include: Eternal Eden, and the upcoming Fallen Eden. She is also participating in the Glassheart Chronicles. Here is the link to my review on Goodreads.
http://nicoleawilliams.blogspot.com/
The Dunking Booth
Fisher Amelie: Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
http://fisheramelie.com/blog/
The Carousel
Laura Elliott: Author of the recently released Winnemucca!
http://www.laurasmagicday.wordpress.com
The Haunted Castle
Rachel Coles: Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms.
http://rachelcoles.wordpress.com/
Hayrides!
T.R. Graves: Author of Warriors of the Cross.
http://thewarriorseries.blogspot.com/
The Face Painting Booth
Cydni Tefft: Author of Between
http://ctefft.blogspot.com/
The Fortune Teller
P.J. Hoover: Author of Solstice
http://pjhoover.blogspot.com
Congrats to P. J. for her recent book trailer award for Solstice!
Popcorn and Caramel Apples!
Alicia McCalla: Author of Breaking
http://www.aliciamccalla.com/
Pony Rides!
Heather Cashman: Author of Perception
http://heathercashman.com/better_off_read/
Don't forget to make a comment and join my followers! I love hearing from from my old friends as much as I love making new friends!
This is interesting. I'm finding that we are all inspired by life in general, and that writing is our tool for expression. I also liked your comment that you often express your beliefs no matter how fantastical the creatures or worlds. This is what has often been said about science fiction, that the aliens are aspects of humanity thrown into focus.
ReplyDeleteRachel Coles www.racheclcoles.wordpress.com
I love that you said you write because you must create. There is that core inside us all, the creator, that rarely gets out unless you're willing to risk. And we do that every time we write.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Amy!
Thank you RC and Patti! It really is amazing how our brains work. After blog hopping through this week's topic I've discovered that we all share a similar basis to our inspiration.
ReplyDeleteIt really makes you think... They say we only use 10% of our brain power as human beings. I've always felt as though the rest of my brain is struggling to break free, lol!