Before you wrote TQR, did you ever “learn” how to write a book—or did you just kind of intuitively do it?! I tried coming up with a plot to write a book—but I literally could not come up with problems for the character to face, what spurs their (spiritual

I wrote a book before TQR that was the most cliche fantasy ever. It was not a well crafted story, but it taught me A LOT about how to pace, how to plot, how to develop characters. All in all, it was several months worth of a trial run, but it was preparing me for TQR.

I think learning how to write a book comes with experience, which means you gotta roll up your sleeves and hack through the woods and figure it out as you go, and learn as you go, which can be frustrating but no writing–even the writing you might think is terrible and cliche–is ever wasted.

If you are struggling to come up with problems to fuel your story, or how to structure the character arcs, I recommend that you read. Read some of your favorite books and take note as to how those authors structured their plot. When did things start happening? When did plot twists or revelations happen? How did the characters respond? What is the main character’s motivation or goal, and how did the author create the challenges that impede them? 

You will continue to grow into a stronger writer the more you practice your craft by writing, and also by the more you read.