Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Today’s guest for the WHAT is Brooke Carter, a Canadian novelist. She is the author of several books for teens, including Another Miserable Love Song, Learning Seventeen (which was commended by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre as a Best Book for Teens), Lucky Break, and The Unbroken Hearts Club (a CCBC Starred Best Book for Teens).

In 2020, the first book in her Runecaster young adult fantasy series, will debut. Titled The Stone of Sorrow, the book is set in a magical version of ancient Iceland, and draws upon Brooke’s Icelandic heritage and love of rune magic. Book two is coming in Spring 2021, and Book three publishes in 2022.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

Yes! I am Icelandic-Canadian, and I’ve always been fascinated by my family’s culture. During an MFA class many years ago taught by the wonderful author Susan Juby, I workshopped—on a whim—a rough first chapter of this book. It was very loose, but the main character of Runa was fully formed in my mind. She was named after my amma (my grandma) Gudrun, and was inspired by her strength.

Icelandic myths, the magic, the fantastical creatures, are all so wonderfully weird. I studied Scandinavian Literature during my undergrad and one of the things I loved about the ancient sagas and the modern stories was how deeply flawed the characters were. They all had a darkness I could relate to. My book evolved in that same tradition—the epic journey of a broken person through darkness and magic.

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

This book, the first in a three-book series, is very much about a journey. It’s an interior journey for Runa, as she has to come to terms with a destiny she never wanted for herself, and it is also an external journey to find a mystical location and save her sister. Runa’s goals were so clearly defined that I just kept throwing obstacles at her along the way.

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

Yes. I always outline my books, and I’m a stickler for structure because of my screenwriting background, but it is inevitable that the characters will make choices that deviate from the plan. I’m not totally sure how that happens, but it’s a good thing. You get into the zone and the story goes where it wants to. The tough part is making sure all the threads tie together in the end. It’s especially difficult when writing a series, or books that play with the element of time.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

I have the TOO MANY IDEAS disease. I have to keep a folder on my desktop that just contains random snippets of ideas. I just shove them in there. Sometimes they inspire a whole story and sometimes not. I find I get the most ideas when I’m writing a tough part in one of my books. I think it’s my brain’s way of distracting me.

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

That can be agony. Ultimately, I choose the book I’m daydreaming about, and the characters that feel like they have the most to say. Writing a book is a sustained creative process. It has to feel passionate to me. I’ve definitely abandoned a few projects partway through.

I have 5 cats (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

I don’t have pets (right now), but I do have kids. They are plenty distracting, but also endlessly inspiring. I used to worry that having kids would make me less productive, but if anything it has taught me to be very protective of my writing time. I wouldn’t have it any other way.