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London Writers' Salon
#127: Holly Black — Crafting Bestselling Fantasy: World-Building, Character Development, and The Prisoner’s Throne
Jan 14, 2025
Holly Black, the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her enchanting fantasy novels, opens up about her creative process. She shares how childhood experiences in a Victorian house filled with ghost stories inspired her magical worlds. Black discusses overcoming rejection in her writing journey and offers insights into character development and world-building. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity in writing for different audiences, illustrating the balance between creative integrity and the unpredictable nature of publishing.
51:58
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Quick takeaways
- Holly Black emphasizes that the writing journey involves iterative revision, often leading to refined drafts rather than linear progress.
- Her childhood experiences with magic inform her narratives, blending wonder and danger to evoke fascination in readers' minds.
Deep dives
The Journey of Writing and Revising
Holly Black emphasizes that the writing process often involves making numerous mistakes before arriving at the final product. Her experience reveals a struggle with producing early drafts, often leading her to revise sections repeatedly instead of writing the entire manuscript straight through. This approach of revising as she goes allowed her to refine her ideas but often delayed her ability to produce complete drafts. Black asserts that understanding this aspect of her writing process has been crucial in her evolution as an author.
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