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 Swati Teerdhala. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a BS in finance and BA in history, she tumbled into the marketing side of the technology industry. She’s passionate about many things, including how to make a proper cup of tea, the right ratio of curd to crust in a lemon tart, and diverse representation in the stories we tell. The Tiger at Midnight, her debut novel is now out in paperback. The sequel in The Tiger At Midnight series, The Archer At Dawn will be published in May 2020. She currently lives in New York City. You can visit her online at www.swatiteerdhala.com.

 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?

The first spark of inspiration for THE TIGER AT MIDNIGHT trilogy came from a visit to an ancient fort on a vacation I took a number of years ago. I was wandering the Fort, imagining the lives of the people who lived there, when I came to an open window. I looked down and I thought to myself, “what sight would make a hardened soldier absolutely stop in their tracks?”  Immediately the answer came to me. A girl. And that was the inspiration for my trilogy–and the first scene in the first book. 

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

I built the plot slowly after figuring out the kind of story I wanted to tell and the characters. Character was more important than anything and it informed the entire plot. Once I had Kunal and Esha, two people on opposite sides of a war-torn land and conflict, the rest of the plot fell into place fairly organically. 

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

Yes! All the time. I think there is this nebulous, unformed space between the plot in your mind and the plot on the page where things can shift drastically. Sometimes you might have an idea that seems utterly brilliant in your mind but the minute you write it down all you can see are its glaring problems. There is something about seeing ideas on paper that changes how you receive them. So, I’ve definitely thought through an incredible twist or scene only to have it completely transform as I get it on paper and see that it needs something else or something more to truly be brought to life.

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

It’s a mix for me. In the beginning of my writing, ideas flew at me like a hail storm. As I’ve gotten deeper into my writing career and have more deadlines, it can be harder. But it’s funny how inspiration can come from the smallest thing. I heard just a snippet of music the other day that invoked an entire scene in my head. It wasn’t a story idea, but it was enough of a wisp of one that I could grasp it and hold onto it. One day, that wisp will become something bigger. And that’s become more of my process nowadays. Layering and layering until I have the right story.

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

This is something I’m still trying to figure out! Usually, it’s whichever story is grabbing me at the moment. There’s always one idea or concept that refuses to let go and demands to be heard. And it works. I try to typically have a few stories simmering on different temperatures at all times. Some take shorter, some take longer, but all of them will eventually come out fully cooked.

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

I don’t have a writing buddy other than my tea mug, which I use faithfully every day. I do love to write in tandem with a friend as an accountability buddy. On days when writing is hard, it can be really encouraging to have a buddy to “sprint” with and to talk to about your work.