One Page a Time

1. What inspires you to write?

I’ve loved fantasy for as long as I could remember, but I had never read any that featured people who resembled me and my loved ones. ASOWAR was inspired by my desire to create a fantasy world that held Black folks and the African cultures I had grown up with front and center. Also, as someone who has dealt with anxiety for most of my life, I wanted to see a Black character who reflected this struggle but still got to be the hero of their story.

For Serwa, I’ve always loved Saturday morning cartoons, particularly shows like Sailor Moon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where a ragtag group of misfits has to put aside their differences to save the world. But I’d never seen a story like that as a Black girl as the leader. That desire led me to write a story that was as action-packed and high stakes as the cartoons I loved growing up but with a girl who looked like me at the center of the adventure.

2. What’s a story or plot you’ve always wanted to write about, but it didn’t work out?

I’ve always wanted to write a mystery, but it hasn’t worked out yet. Maybe one day soon!

3. If you could give yourself a tip for being an author, when you first started writing what would you say?

I’d tell her to pick a job that comes with healthcare! But in all seriousness, I’d tell her that her gut instincts to treat her writing as a priority and as seriously as others treat things like sports or clubs was right. And that so many amazing, wonderful things she can’t even fathom are coming her way, as long as she keeps putting a pen to paper and never gives up.

4. Do you plan out your stories before you write them or do you just go page, by page?

I’m what some call a road tripper, which is where I have a solid idea of where I’m trying to go and know exactly what is in front of me at the moment, but I’m not sure where I’m going to stop along the way. Is it a very stressful way to draft? Oh, 100%. But it hasn’t failed me yet!

I’m what some people like to call a road tripper of a headlighter, which basically means I know where my end destination is, I know the general direction I need to go in, I know where I am and what’s right in front of me…and that’s it. I find that when I try to outline too tightly before I begin a project, I get bogged in the weeds. A lot of my best scenes come when I throw my outline away and just completely trust my gut.

5. If you could change the ending to one of your favorite books which book would it be, and what would you change?  

SPOILER ALERT I’d change the ending of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe so that the Pevensie children don’t have to leave Narnia at the end.
Can you even imagine growing up to be this super awesome adult ruler in a magic world, then having to return to our world with no magic, and you have to go through PUBERTY again??? Absolutely not!

6. How did you get the idea to use the Adinkra symbols in “Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Witchcraft and Mayhem”?

I grew up with the Adinkra symbols my whole life, and I always knew I wanted to use them in my writing one day. When I was crafting the Serwa world and had these super cool villains based in Ghanaian folklore in the adze, I knew I needed an equally cool magic system based in the culture to match. The Adinkra were the obvious choice, and the world grew from there!

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I love reading, and I spent all my free time reading books on my Kindle. I also like taking walks and hanging out with my kids.

How do you hope your writing will impact your readers?

I believe that it is important to know more about the world around us. I hope my books will help readers understand different cultures, viewpoints and perspectives.

1. What’s your favorite character that you’ve created? And why? 

I don’t know if I have a favorite. They are all somewhat a part of me, and also somewhat a part of others as well as my imagination. I think I like them all in different ways!

2. What is the best advice you have ever received as a writer?

Don’t read the reviews!

3. Are there any books or authors that have influenced your writing style or storytelling?

Growing up, I loved reading books about New York City, and I believe all of those books helped me write my books now (which are all about New York City!).

4. Out of the books you’ve written which has been the hardest to make/write?

Probably the one I’m writing right now, which is a historical middle grade novel.

5. What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book?

Don’t give up! 

1. What is the most difficult part of writing a book for you?

Definitely the muddy middle! If I get to a scene where I don’t know how to write it or if I’ve written myself into a corner sometimes I’ll just skip ahead to the next scene where I do know what’s going to happen and go back later.

2. If you didn’t write what would you do?

Well, my full-time job is teaching fourth grade which is super fun, but if I could be any other job in the world, I think I would be a travel writer. Getting paid to travel and write about it sounds like a pretty awesome job!

3. To date, what is your favorite chapter you have ever written?

This is a fun question! So I had already done extensive edits for the Stepmom Shake Up, and my editor sent me a whole new outline, which included some brand new scenes. Needless to say, I was freaking out! So I went to my daughter, who was the same age as the main character Grace at the time, and I asked her (frantically, with my hair sticking up on end) “What would you do if you were trying to make two adults fall in love?” And she said, “I would give them a milkshake with two straws.” So I went off and wrote that scene in the Stepmom Shake Up, and it ended up being my very favorite scene and it even changed the title of the book! 

4. What do you do when a new idea comes to you while you’re still working/writing a new book? 

I have a notebook of orphan ideas and anytime I have a stray one while I’m working on something else, I write it down. But it’s the ideas that won’t leave you alone that you eventually have to write.

5. What have you learned about yourself from writing?

I’ve got grit and thick skin. You need that when you are faced with all the challenges of being an author. I am also a terrible speller and I have no idea where commas are supposed to go.

6. Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot, and plan, or is your writing more organic?

I definitely outline and plan a lot. The thought of staring at a blinking cursor on a blank page is terrifying! So I at least have some idea of what’s going to happen in each chapter. But sometimes past me leaves future me some really annoying notes like “something hilarious should happen here.”