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. 

Today’s guest for the WHAT is Kristina Forest, the author of Zyla & Kai a fresh love story about the will they, won't they—and why can't they—of first love.

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?

Starting points for my ideas often come to me while I'm sleeping or daydreaming. One day I pictured a boy and a girl waiting at a bus station, and I just kind of knew that they were sneaking away. And that was it--I sat on the idea for a while. Then a few months later I saw the movie, Moonrise Kingdom about two kids who run away together, leaving everyone they know confused about their actions and whereabouts. I thought it was a uniquely structured movie. And then I remembered those two characters I'd thought about who were running away too. That's where the idea for Zyla & Kai really bloomed. 

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

It really depends on the book. Sometimes an idea begins with a concept, or sometimes it begins with a vibe between two characters and I build the plot around the two of them. My philosophy is that character informs plot. So I might have an idea, like a boy and girl run away together. But then I have to go back and build out the characters to discover why they'd run away together. Where are they running away to? What influenced their decision? Why do they like each other? How do they relate to each other? Or maybe, what's keeping them apart? 

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

In small ways. Sometimes certain aspects about a character will change and that will therefore affect how they react to certain situations in the plot. But I'm such a hardcore outliner that once my plot is in place it kind of stays that way for the most part while working on the first draft. But after I've finished the first draft and start revising, I do move things around when needed or when suggested by my editor! 

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

New ideas come to me often, thankfully! 

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

I write whichever books feels the most developed at the time, or whichever book I feel the most ready to write. Sometimes an idea needs a little more time in the oven and I don't like to force things to come together. 

I have 6 cats and a Dalmatian (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'm so jealous of you and your 6 cats! I do have a few writing buddies. We used to write together in cafes, but now we're all living in different parts of the country so we write together virtually and it's very nice and productive! Writing can be such a solitary job, so creating community makes things easier.

Kristina Forest is an author of romance books for young adults. Her novels include I Wanna Be Where You Are, Now That I've Found You and Zyla & Kai. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing at The New School, and she can often be found rearranging her bookshelf.