While writing The Quadrants, I spent months getting into the fantasy genre. I had never been a fan of X-men, Lord of the rings, the Avengers or any fantasy-type book at all. I wrote the first draft as a blank slate, never having seen or read anything in the fantasy realm (except Harry Potter, of course), just so I wouldn’t be influenced, and only then did I go all out. Since then I have seen and read dozens of stories I would never have considered before ( like Avatar, which I loved) and the surprising thing is, I liked it. Though I do have to admit, the whole time I’m watching, I’m constantly taking careful note of scenes, dialogue, plots etc, for dos and don’ts in my own story. But if nothing else, it has given me a whole new potential topic of conversation with my brother, lol.
Now that I have completed and moved on from the Quadrants, for now at least (until I begin the edits on book #2 The Demidium), I have begun the edits for The Muse, and as a result, I’ve entered into a whole new type of movie and book to get my mind in the right place. Tonight I watched Angus, thongs and Perfect Snogging. It’s a 2008 British teen-movie, and it was really good. Will have to go back over A Fault in Our Stars, A room with a View etc and find some YA books to get started on. I’m thinking Jasper Jones first of all, and I read bits of Twilight randomly if I need to get in the mood after having cooked tea (which I consider a most unpleasant task), for example.
If you have any young adult romance films or books to recommend, feel free to leave them in the comments below.
Rohsaan McInnes - Writer 