“Inspiration
comes from everywhere. From life, observing people, etc. From movies and books you love. From
research.” – Holly Black
Black,
who turns 45 today, is a prolific and very diversified American
writer, editor and producer. Winner of
the Newbery Medal for her novel Doll Bones, she’s also well-known for her children’s fantasy series The
Spiderwick Chronicles – co- created with writer and illustrator Tony
DiTerlizzo – and Young Adult trilogy The Modern Faerie Tales.
When I say “prolific” and “diversified” that
might be an understatement. Since
breaking onto the scene in 2002, she has authored nearly 30 novels and many dozens
of short stories. She’s also written so many
different types of books that she’s joked about putting out a guide so that
people who like a certain type of her writings can quickly locate them. If so, she’d probably go with social media
for making those connections, since she’s a major practitioner of its use.
“I think there are a lot of really
positive aspects to social media 
for novelists,” she said. “Even though our
work is pretty solitary, through Twitter and Tumblr and Facebook and Instagram
and blogging in general, we're better able to connect directly with readers.”
As for her advice to new writers,
she says don’t be intimidated by how much you need to write. “Can you write 200 words a day? 100? 50? In
six months, 50 words a day is 9,000 words. That's 2-3 short stories,” she
said. “ If you did 200 words every day,
in three months that's 36,000 words. That's half a short novel.”
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