Writing

“Asking ‘What If’ About Our Real Life Experiences”

Attempting to float a mattress across a pond sounds like the kind of thing that could only happen in fiction. But it happened in real life.

I would know, since I was one of the few to watch as three of my friends attempted to sail a queen-sized mattress across a local pond on a cold December night. I’d helped haul the thing through the dark, but I was at least smart enough to not try to float alongside them in the freezing pond water.

As it turns out, mattresses aren’t the best flotation devices. About halfway across the pond, the mattress began to sink, and my friends had to abandon ship and swim back to shore. The mattress stayed visible below the surface for about a week before it finally sank to the bottom.

Now, hopefully most students aren’t going to get involved in activities like that. But ideally, they still have plenty of everyday experiences that they can use as the basis for their own stories.

This can be a helpful way to adjust the often-repeated writing advice to “write what you know.” When trying to get students interested in writing their own stories, this advice can feel incredibly vague, and even overwhelming.

After all, when you’re a kid, what do you really know? If you feel like you don’t truly “know” a lot about anything, it could intimidate you from writing anything.

That’s why I feel it’s important to take this advice a step further. Saying to “write what you know” can feel like you need to know a lot about history, science, or some other subject. On the other hand, reframing that in the lens of your real-life experiences can suddenly make writing a lot less intimidating. After all, storytelling is a natural part of our day and how we relate events, even if we don’t usually think of it in that sense.

By reframing the mindset, students can find stories just about anywhere. Inspiration could come from:

• Participating on a sports team
• Clubs and other activities
• Playing in a band
• Working a summer job
• An incident that took place on a family trip
• People-watching at a park or mall
• Activities with friends
• Classmates
• Stories they’ve heard from friends or family

Of course, there are a few caveats to go along with this. For one, kids can’t just write down what happened to them in real life; not if we’re trying to help them truly flex their creative muscles. This is where asking “what if?” comes in.

An attempt to float a mattress across a pond serves as the opening of my book Night of the Living Toilet Paper, the second in my middle grade comedy horror series. The incident in the book certainly has a lot of similarities to real life, but it is firmly grounded in the world of the story.

In real life, floating a mattress happened on a whim (teenage boys can be dumb like that). In the book, Marv, who is obsessed with preparing for an alien invasion, does this as an experiment to see if a mattress could be used as a means of transportation after ETs take over. That simple change in the who and why helps take things in a different direction.

The main threat that Marv faces in this book (a giant toilet paper monster) is also very loosely adapted from a high school friend’s plan to toilet paper our school. His plan never came to fruition, but it was definitely the kind of thing that felt like it belonged in a story somewhere.

Bringing these real-life incidents into the book required looking at them through the lens of “what if?” For me, asking “what if?” usually means taking something loosely connected from my real life experiences and placing it in a more paranormal setting. It also helps to have read (and watched) plenty of spooky stories for inspiration.

Young writers might need some prompts to get the “what if” mindset going. But with the right nudge, they can start reframing their experiences in a way that helps them rethink how they can be creative and come up with their own stories.

Some example prompts could include:

• What if one of your experiences happened to your favorite movie/video game/book character? How would it happen differently?
• If you had done X instead of Y, what would have happened?
• Put your real-life experience into the world of your favorite book, movie, or video game. How would this different setting change things?
• What if you had a parent with you instead of your friends — or vice versa?

Hopefully, by helping kids see that there is potential for interesting stories anywhere, they can become more interested in storytelling themselves — and more interested in getting out and living life so they can have those experiences to draw from.

Published September 23, 2025 by Temor Press

About the Book: In the sequel to I Know What UFO Did Last Summer, a few months have passed since Marv and his friends stopped what he believes was an extraterrestrial plot to take over the planet. But he’s not letting his guard down. If there’s one thing Marv knows, it’s that aliens could attempt another invasion at any time.

So when he spots an unmanned motorcycle racing into the woods, pursued by a paranormal investigator, Marv’s instincts scream that something very weird is going on. Marv tracks down the bike and hauls it to his fort for closer inspection. That’s when he sees it: a Sleech—one of the creatures he encountered last summer—slithering out of the motorcycle’s tailpipe.

But when Marv returns to show his discovery to his friends, they find the fort completely destroyed. The only thing left is his emergency stockpile of toilet paper.

And it’s alive.

Now Marv and his friends must unravel the mystery of the Sleech before their entire town is overrun by a monstrous swarm of toilet paper. Because if they don’t stop it in time…

It’s going to wipe them out.

About the Author: Kevin Garone is the author of I Know What UFO Did Last Summer and its sequel, Night of the Living Toilet Paper. He lives with his wife and sons in Arizona. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him reading, playing video games, hiking, or cheering on his favorite sports teams. Visit him online at https://www.kevingarone.com/

Thank you, Kevin, for pushing us to push our writers by using their experiences and a dash of imagination!

“Inspiring Young Writers Wound Up Inspiring Me!”

When I started writing my first book, I didn’t give a lot of thought to how my work as an educator would support my writing. Yes, being a teacher gives me some great insight into children’s interests, language, and desires. I’m able to tap into the exact age reader I am hoping to excite with this magical world of Charlie and the Crystal Cave. It wasn’t until I spent some time discussing my book with some 4th graders though that I realized just how valuable their insights can be.

My book was in the final stages of editing when I brought it to the 4th and 5th grade classes at the school I teach at. The teachers of these classrooms graciously agreed to use it as a read aloud. I was curious to see if the story made sense to the readers I was hoping to reach and if it would hold their interest. The teachers spent time reading the book aloud, one chapter at a time. The children would ask them to keep going, saying, “One more chapter please!” Different children would see me in the halls or out on playground and come up to me, telling me how much they liked my book.

Upon finishing the book, the teachers invited me to talk with the children about my process. I looked at this as a great opportunity to inspire students to write as well as get some valuable feedback from these readers. What I received was so much more. The teachers asked their students, “Do you have any questions for Miss Julia?” I received some very thoughtful questions about the characters and story as well as, “When will the next book be ready?” Then a child said, “I want more lore and origin story about King Louie.” The children around him nodded their heads. “Yeah, where did he come from?” and “How did he get inside the Crystal Cave?” questions came from across the room.

I was surprised by the enthusiasm of these students. I could see how empowered they felt connecting directly with the author of a story they cared so much about. The energy of the room was electric as we discussed the ins and outs of the story. I wrote down everything they asked or said, as their input was so valuable and I wanted them to know that. I didn’t go into this conversation thinking this would be a brainstorming session for the second book, but that’s exactly what it became.

I left that classroom, my mind ablaze with questions of why and how King Louie, a talking albino alligator, ended up in this cave. Was he born there or did he travel there? Was he always magical and could he always talk or was he once just a regular alligator? How could this back story support Charlie’s adventures moving forward? These young readers got me thinking in ways I hadn’t before and viewing the story from their perspective opened pathways I didn’t see. It’s my hope that these students were as inspired as I was by the discussion. Meeting an author is such a fantastic and tangible way for young readers to explore writing as well. Writing begins with imagining and I hope this experience showed these students how exciting writing can be.

If you are a teacher and have a connection with a local children’s author, consider bringing them in to meet with your students. This exchange is not only beneficial to the students who are exposed to real world creative writing, but also so valuable for the author who desires to create a perfect story for the right readers. Upon finishing the first book I had some thoughts of how the second book would start, but after having this conversation with these students, I have a much more complex plan for the story. I don’t think that would have happened if I hadn’t heard the desires of my targeted readers. And I look forward to giving them what they want! In fact, I can’t wait to get started writing.

Published July 22nd, 2025

About the Book: Some caves hide treasures. This one hides a magic world… and a destiny.

On his way to his first day of school in a new town, Charlie finds himself drawn to a strange cave in the woods. Inside this magical world of the Crystal Cave, he meets King Louie, an albino alligator, and discovers his true calling: he is the Creature Seeker. Charlie is King Louie’s only hope in finding the Crystal Creatures that have been stolen from the Crystal Cave and hidden across the globe.

With the help of the cave’s mysterious magic, Charlie must adventure to new places, overcome hidden dangers, and discover powers within himself he never knew existed.

Charlie and the Crystal Cave is a beautifully imagined fantasy adventure about bravery, discovery, and the shimmering magic just beyond the veil — perfect for readers ages 8-12 who believe the world holds more wonders than we can see. Also a great first chapter book for reading aloud.

About the Author: Julia Krebs Patterson began telling bedtime stories to her older son a few years ago. He specifically requested a story about an albino alligator inside a magic cave. As these stories unfolded, night after night, he would ask her to write a book. She finally wrote the first in a series of books called, Charlie and the Crystal Cave. Julia has a background in theater arts education and she has written plays for children to perform. Julia lives in Louisville, KY with her husband and two boys. They have a dog named Ranger and a bearded dragon named Draco. They all love to go out into the forest to explore or muck about in creeks together. Julia loves teaching children and works as a preschool teacher where she uses her creativity and story telling to infuse their learning.

Thank you, Julia, for sharing how your writers inspired you!

“Co-Authoring a Novel”

The number one question that we get asked when we do book events is: how do you co-author a novel?

Even now, over a decade since our first co-authored novel hit the shelves, we find ourselves a little baffled by the ubiquitousness of that question. We get asked it at every event, in every interview, whether we’re talking about a co-authored book or one we’ve written solo. For us, writing together comes so naturally that we find the fascination with the process a bit confusing. At first, we even struggled to answer reader questions on that front because we couldn’t quite figure out why people kept asking us that question.

“But what happens when you disagree?” asked one reader, insistent. “Which one of you has the final say?”

We just eyed each other across the signing table, realizing that we had no answer for that. We never disagree.

To those of you now reading on with some skepticism: yeah, you’re not wrong. Of course we disagree, but the point is we never disagree in ways that put us on opposite sides of an issue. We actually learned very early on in writing our first book together that if we disagreed about what should happen next in our story, or what a character would say, or how the relationship arc would go, what was actually happening was that we were both wrong. Or, rather, we were both right—but going about listening to our instincts the wrong way. Amie thinks it has to be A, Meg thinks it’s obvious that it should be B – what’s really going on is that we’ve both missed the fact that the right answer is really the hidden, secret option C.

For instance, Amie might think the next scene ought to be full of action, but Meg thinks it ought to be a romantic scene. It’s not because one of us is wrong and one of us is right, it’s because actually what we’re picking up on is that neither of us has the perfect next scene. So we talk about why Amie feels the need for a fight scene—we need to see the characters showing off their strengths, perhaps—and why Meg feels more pulled toward romance—because we need to see the characters becoming closer, and cementing their bond. And it turns out that the perfect scene for both those things is actually a scene where they confront an obstacle together in a way that binds them and shows them being good at what they do.

Writing with a partner in a full, 50/50 split of the responsibilities requires the ability to set aside ego in favor of the book. It took us many years to figure out why this seemed to come naturally when it struck so many others, usually budding artists and young writers themselves, as strange. “I could never do that,” we keep hearing from readers. “Give up control that way!” But the truth is that any good, healthy relationship between friends (or anyone, really) demands that you value the strength of your connection over whatever project you might be embarking upon. From the very beginning, we always said that if writing together ever started threatening our friendship, we would simply stop. The friendship mattered most.

When we began writing Lady’s Knight, Amie suggested that we try a new way of outlining the book. Meg was a bit resistant to it, because that’s not how we’d worked before, and it wasn’t what came naturally to her, but we gave it a go and it turned out to be the perfect way of approaching this book. With the plot largely decided upon in advance, it meant that we could pour ourselves into the joyful anachronistic world-building, witty dialogue, and pretty much every joke we’ve ever wanted to put into a book we were writing.

Each book is a little different in terms of how we go about writing it, but Lady’s Knight was an exercise in joy and healing from the very beginning. Conceived of during the height of the pandemic, when we were all confined to our homes and wondering how many years it would be before we could see our loved ones in person again, this book just became our happy place. We’d call each other from opposite sides of the planet, bursting with ideas and jokes, laughing and writing them down as fast as we could.

We wrote about a girl who dreams of being a knight, and a noblewoman who finds herself put up as the prize for a tournament—and rather than waiting for someone to save her, she decides to engineer her own salvation. Each of the girls learn a lot about themselves, during the adventure that ensues. We learned a lot about ourselves, writing them.

We wrote this book to delight each other—whether it was breakfast on the balcony with plates of delicious pastries, a makeover scene with incredible fashion, a breathless rush through the castle after a falling-out, or the satisfaction of skewering a sexist old man (only verbally, don’t worry), we always came back to what we loved. We told a story from our hearts, and in pursuit of joy.

There’s a beautiful merging of egos, when you write something with someone you deeply trust, and even though this was our eighth book together, there was still a special kind of magic as we watched all our ideas merge into a very special “secret option C.” This book ended up being the best of both of us, and a love letter to our friendship, and it was such fun to write.

Published June 3rd, 2025 by Storytide

About the Book: An undeniably fierce, unforgettably funny, unapologetically queer feminist romp through the England of medieval legend. Bestselling and acclaimed authors Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner bring readers along on an epic quest for valor, freedom, and, above all, love. A Knight’s Tale meets the Lady Jane series, with a dash of The Great!

Gwen is sick of hiding—hiding the fact that she’s taken over her father’s blacksmithing duties, hiding her attraction to girls, hiding her yearning for glory as a knight.

Meanwhile, Lady Isobelle of Avington, queen bee of the castle, has never once considered hiding who she is—until now. She’s been chosen as the grand prize in the Tournament of Dragonslayers, to be given to whichever knight can claim her hand. And for the first time in her life, she can’t talk her way out of trouble.

When Isobelle discovers Gwen’s knightly ambitions, they hatch a scheme together—Gwen will joust in the tournament, disguised as Sir Gawain. Winning means freedom for Isobelle, and glory for Gwen. Losing means… well, let’s not go there.

One thing’s for sure: Falling in love was never the plan.

But the best laid plans…are often trampled all over by dragons.

About the Authors: Amie Kaufman is a New York Times and international bestselling author of young adult and middle grade fiction and the host of the podcast Amie Kaufman on Writing. Her multi-award-winning work is slated for publication in over thirty countries and has been described as “a game-changer” (Shelf Awareness), “stylistically mesmerizing” (Publishers Weekly), and “out-of-this-world awesome” (Kirkus Reviews). Her series include the Illuminae Files, the Aurora Cycle, the Other Side of the Sky duology, the Starbound trilogy, the Unearthed duology, the Elementalstrilogy, and The World Between Blinks. Her work is in development for film and TV and has taken home multiple Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, and a Gold Inky, made multiple best-of lists, and been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Raised in Australia and occasionally Ireland, Amie has degrees in history, literature, law, and conflict resolution and is currently undertaking a PhD in creative writing. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter, rescue dog, and an extremely large personal library. Learn more about her and subscribe to her newsletter at amiekaufman.com.

New York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner grew up reading and writing every spare moment of the day while dreaming about life as an archaeologist, a marine biologist, or an astronaut. She graduated from Hamilton College in New York State with a degree in playwriting. She’s traveled all over the world, to places such as Egypt, Australia, South Africa, the Arctic, Greece, Antarctica, and the Galápagos Islands, and there’s a bit of every trip in every story she writes. She currently lives and writes in Asheville, North Carolina, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there’s no telling how long she’ll stay there. She’s the author of Hunted and Sherwood and the coauthor of the award-winning Starbound Trilogy (These Broken Stars, This Shattered World, Their Fractured Light) and the Skylark Trilogy (Skylark, Shadowlark, Lark Ascending). In her spare time she plays guitar, plays video games, plays with her cat, and reads. meaganspooner.com

Thank you, Amie & Meagan, for sharing your process!