The Writer Story | featuring Author Kelly Webber
A conversation with Middle Grade Fantasy author, Kelly Webber, and writingly things to do
Hello and Welcome to the Writer Story!
The last newsletter about Writer’s block was quite well-received by the community and some new subscribers have joined us.. How exciting!!
Today, we have an exciting interview with Middle Grade Fantasy author, Kelly Webber. Also starting with this newsletter, I will be sharing some writerly things to do…
Before that, some exciting news…
I am getting ready to go on submission to editors with my commercial, slightly off-beat book— pitching it a The Princess Diaries meets P. G. Wodehouse. This will be my very first time and things are equal parts exciting and terrifying. I am steeling myself for a long arduous sub journey, we’ll see.
Okay, let’s meet Kelly Webber…
Here’s Kelly’s official bio.
Kelly Webber is a librarian and author. When she’s not surrounded by books, she loves spending time outdoors. Hiking, stargazing, and gardening are a few of her hobbies. She has two pets, a cat named Sancho and a bearded dragon named Yossarian. Her writing is often inspired by mythology and nature.
Welcome Kelly to the Writer Story, excited to have you here and discuss about your writing journey and your debut Middle Grade Fantasy novel, Wisteria. Could you please tell us a bit about your book?
Wisteria explores the origins of an enchanted forest's magic. I wanted to write a book that could be a sort of stepping stone from fairy tales to adventure/fantasy novels. It's got the enchanting elements of fairy tales, with a little extra danger!
How did you get the idea of this story? and when did you feel it could become a book?
The idea for the book came from a short story called "The Wand of Wisteria." It was originally published in the anthology Calliope's Collection of Mystical Mayhem in 2022. I started writing the book almost right away!
What do you think is the most important aspect of writing for Middle Graders, to make it more appealing to both the kids and their parents/teachers?
I try to focus on telling a good story. If I don't enjoy writing it, why should they enjoy reading it? I also pull inspiration from some of my favorite middle grade writers, like Madeleine L'Engle and Erin Hunter.
Would you please share your writing and publishing journey? How you started and how's it going so far?
Before Wisteria, I mostly wrote non-fiction. While I've always loved to read fantasy and dreamed of writing it, I found most of my initial writing opportunities through school journalism. Turning to fiction and starting my publishing journey has opened a whole new world of writing for me.
What is your writing and editing process? Has it changed since you started writing?
My writing process changes a little bit every time. I usually start with an outline, but I don't always use it.
What advice do you have for writers who are in the beginning stages of the publishing journey? Or any words of caution?
Learn as much as you can about the industry! There's a lot to learn in the world of publishing, and also lots of people (from authors to editors to publishers) with stories that might give you some valuable insight.
What is next for you? Are you working on something else? What can you tell us about it without any spoilers?
I'm currently working on a sequel to Wisteria! There will be more news about that soon.
And finally, where can we find you online?
You can find me at my website kellywebberbooks.com, on Instagram (@kellywebberbooks), and TikTok (@wisteriabooks).
Thanks Kelly for the interview. You can find her MG fantasy book, Wisteria here.
Writerly TO-DOs
In this new section, which I’m planning every other week, I’m going to share interesting todo items we can do to forward our writerly journey.
To Read : This hilarious article in Points in Case about a layman’s guide to relativity. Check it out. It plays with throwing your frame of reference around to create unexpected metaphors in an uncharacteristic way.
To Watch : I just started watching The Discovery of Witches on Netflix. I know I’m perhaps late to the party. But it’s so intriguing. If you haven’t yet, give it a try.
To Listen : Jennifer Armentrout’s interview on the Story magic podcast where they talk about writing a fantasy series and character arcs spanning through multiple books. Check it out.
Writing Prompt : What if one night when you go to sleep, you wake up in a parallel universe which is initially appears same with only slight differences. Describe the things you see and your interactions. This is to be plain exposition, no dialogues, no interactions with other characters. The idea here is to improve on imagination, world-building with subtlety.
That’s all for today.
Thanks for reading The Writer Story. You can find me on social media - Twitter/X - @authoranima or Instagram - @authoranima
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Until next week,
~Toodle-oo~