Don't be intimidated; just write

 

“Inspiration comes from everywhere. From life, observing people, etc.  From movies and books you love. From research.” – Holly Black

Black, born on this date in 1971, is a prolific, diversified 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.  

“Prolific” and “diversified” might be an understatement.  She has authored more than 30 novels and dozens of short stories in the past 20 years.  And, she’s written so many different types of books that she’s joked about putting out a guide so that people who like a certain genre can locate them.   

Also a major practitioner of social media, she noted that, “I think there are a lot of really positive aspects to social media,               

  especially for novelists.   Even though our work is pretty solitary, through Twitter . . . Facebook . . . Instagram . . .  blogging in general, we're better able to connect with readers.”

Her advice to new writers is not to be intimidated by how much by word counts.  “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.”