GYDO: Miriam Forster

Miriam Forster, Author of City of a Thousand

Hello, wonderful reader-type people!

I was going to do some sort of light hearted guest post about my book, maybe a character sketch or a playlist or something. But when I sat down to write it, I found myself writing something entirely different.

That happens to me a lot. And sometimes? Sometimes it’s really discouraging.

Let me explain. As I write this, I’m working on the second Bhinian Empire book. It’s longer than the first one, and much more involved. I’m doing things I’ve never done before. A lot of time this past year I’ve felt over my head.  And I get that horrid, sour little voice in the back of my mind. Maybe you know that voice? The one that says. “You’re not skilled enough.” “You’re not experienced enough.” “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” When nothing sounds the same in our heads as it does on the page, when nothing is clicking right, that little voice is right there to tell us we’re not qualified.

“Go away,” the voice says. “Come back later when you’re better.”

I hate that voice. It’s a stupid voice. And it doesn’t just happen to writers. It happens to artists, dancers, speakers, anyone who’s had a passion. Because our passions don’t always line up with our experience level. What we love is sometimes so much bigger than what we can do with it. And it’s easy to get discouraged and give up.

But for me at least, I’ve learned it’s important not to listen. Because the story/art/whatever that you want to make right now, that’s today’s story. It’s not tomorrow’s story. Tomorrow, you’ll have a new story, one that will stretch you just as much.

Because creating things that are hard is how growth happens. That’s how we learn and get better.  

And so I’m writing this post, because I’ve been thinking a lot about art and passions and skill and how all those things intersect.  And I think we, all of us, should make what we’re passionate about now, for today. Don’t wait for some fabled time when you’re “better” Let your art be messy and not as good as you wanted it to be. Let your passions show up on the page like an awkward baby gazelle, with skinny little legs and a tendency to stagger around and fall down. (Also that analogy came out way stranger than I intended. It happens.)

Tell today’s story today.

City of a Thousand Dolls Blurb
An exotic treat set in an entirely original, fantastical world brimming with deadly mystery, forbidden romance, and heart-stopping adventure.
Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. Nisha makes her way as Matron’s assistant, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city’s handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.
Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls’ deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but her own life.

Author Bio

Miriam Forster learned to read at the age of five, wrote her first story at the age of seven and has been playing with words ever since. CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS, her debut novel, will be coming from HarperTeen on February 5th, 2013.

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