ASH
I’ve always loved stories and been an avid reader. When I was thirteen, I started struggling to find YA books that held my attention—especially in the sci-fi genre. Over that summer break, I started drafting my first novel, Stardust, and self-published it the next year. I finished out the trilogy over the next couple of years, and now I’m working on my dystopian sci-fi series, Rogues: Legends. I’m really excited about this series, and I can’t wait to continue sharing it.
Pacing was top of mind when I started writing ASH. I love fast-paced action scenes, but I also wanted to incorporate real-life moments that would fully flesh out the characters.
While outlining, I noticed I was skimming the first few chapters of other books until the story really “started”—when actual events began unfolding. That inspired me to hook readers from page one with immediate core story events.
I also created a scene map and color-coded each scene by type: action, emotional, character development, etc. That way, I could easily identify if there was too much action and I needed to add character moments, or if the story was dragging and needed more conflict. It really simplified the process for me.
Since Ash and Kade’s story takes place on the dystopian planet of Xeiryn, it was a challenge to really get into each character’s headspace and understand how this world shaped them.
Relationship dynamics, power structures, and moral codes are different on Xeiryn, so I explored how those elements would influence the characters and their worldview. I wanted Ash and Kade to have a unique dynamic that blurred lines and captured the complexity of relationships in a world like theirs—while still feeling relatable. Keeping all that in mind and sharing it in a way that draws readers into the story was a fun challenge.
This may sound cliché, but my advice would be: there’s no one right way to write. The most important thing is just to start and stay as consistent as you can.
For me, setting a small daily or weekly word count goal works best. Once I get started, I usually find myself going beyond that goal because I’ve hit a creative rhythm. At the end of the day, nothing has to be perfect—as long as you’re enjoying the process.
