My Inspiration

I dabbled in writing on and off growing up, but I can clearly remember the inspiration that pushed me to actually start and finish my first novel.  I was in high school and I loved reading.  Anything I found, I read. 

So, of course I was confused when everyone else didn’t feel the same way. 

Especially my youngest sister.

She had difficulty with reading, and she was very vocal about how much she hated it.  It was almost physically painful listening to her talk about her dislike of books and reading.

But that didn’t stop me.  I knew my sister, and I was set on finding something she would enjoy.  I can’t count the number of books I went through, until finally, I found Ella Enchanted.  I gave it to her on her birthday, and that’s when things changed.  She loved it.  She read it over and over until she had it practically memorized. 

Fort Christmas, I gave her a second book by the same author, The Two Princesses of Bamarre.  Slowly but surely, she began reading more and more of Gail Carson Levine’s books, expanding to others in the similar genre.  Watching my baby sister learn to read, and to love to read brought me more joy than I ever expected. 

That’s when I realized that I could write something that she would enjoy.  I knew how to write, and I knew what she liked.  That’s when I stared my white WIP, following in the footsteps of retold fairy tales.  I think my most fulfilling moment as a writer was when I showed her a draft and she enjoyed it.

I still think of my sister when I focus on my audience, and she will always be one of my first readers.

Who inspires you?