Dear Reader
Has anyone ever said something to you that really got you thinking? It happened to me at the Silver Birch Awards ceremony in Toronto. I was talking to readers and signing their books. Most of them asked me the usual stuff — how much money I make and how old I am. (The answers, by the way, are "some" and "old enough not to talk about it.") But one girl said, "I like your books because I never know where you're coming from."
Well, of course I asked her what she meant. And she said that the first book of mine that she read was historical fiction, so she'd thought I was "that kind of author." Then she got another of my books, and was really surprised when it turned out to be a collection of spooky stories. And the next one she read was a fantasy about ravens. "How come you write such different kinds of books?" she wanted to know.
It was a really good question. I thought for a moment, and then I said, "Curiosity, I guess. I love delving into different kinds of things. And if I can imagine I'm a princess in one book, why can't I imagine being a raven in another one?"
I thought more about it when I got home. And it seems to me that, as well as curiosity, there's another reason that I write different kinds of books. I follow my instinct, and when some idea gets me excited, I go after it. I don't stop to worry whether or not it "fits" with books I have written before. Most of my books come from an unusual incident, something that gives me an electric "zap" that makes me think, "There's a story to be told here." For instance, The Princess in the Tower began in a university library when I discovered a very old book with uncut pages. And Raven Quest began when I witnessed crows holding a "funeral" in my own back yard. (Yes, such things really do happen!) My editor calls these odd happenings my "woo-woo stuff."
I believe that learning to follow your instinct is the most important thing you can do as a writer. (Well, that and a lot of hard work getting the words right!) And here's the best part: the more I pay attention to the creative ideas that pop into my head, no matter how crazy they seem, the more ideas I get. You can try this for yourself. Next time you get a crazy idea, write about it — or draw it, or build it, or do whatever is your thing. If you do that, lots more ideas will come to you. Trust me!
Right now, I'm working on a sequel to Raven Quest, flying with Tok again and running with the wolves. After that, I don't know where the next electric zap is going to come from, or in what direction it may send me. But I'm sure that it will come. That's what keeps life (and writing) interesting!
Best,
- Sharon Stewart
