My Recent Inspiration

Another day of studying, but mostly stress. Finally I came to my senses. Read a book, played some League of Legends, wrote this blog, did my best to relax. Tomorrow morning at 9:30 is the first of my three final exams, and at this point there isn't much more knowledge I can absorb.

Even though I wasn't able to keep up with that 50 book challenge, I think I'll continue to write up reviews of the books I read this year. This one I received from my mom, who found it in a used bookstore and thought of me. It turned out to be a great gift, getting me excited about reading and writing again before the end of exams. It's been important to me during the past two months to have something to look forward to, something keeping me going.

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Book 3: The Wand in the Word, by Leonard S. Marcus

This is a collection of 13 interviews of fantasy authors: Lloyd Alexander, Franny Billingsley, Susan Cooper, Nancy Farmer, Brian Jacques, Diana Wynne Jones, Ursula LeGuin, Madeleine L'Engle, Garth Nix, Tamora Pierce, Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, and Jane Yolen. I've read at least one book by 9 of them.

The questions asked are about their influence by J.R.R. Tolkien, WWII, and their various upbringings. Many of them have met Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and/or seen them give lectures, of which I am very jealous. Each author submitted a picture of a page from an early draft of one of their works, edited and scribbled-on sheets of paper that show that these famous authors are as human as the rest of us.

I found it very inspiring. Some authors did well in school, some did not. Some have a work schedule every day, some do not. Some know the end before they start to write, some do not. It shows how everyone has their own style, and no one person does it the "right" way. Mostly their advice to writers is to read and write as much as possible, and learn to not dwell on the criticism. A must-read for anyone who likes writing in any form, or anyone interested in the life of an author.