Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)

by Kristin Cashore

If she took Po as her husband, she would be making promises about a future she couldn’t yet see. For once she became his wife, she would be his wife forever. And, no matter how much freedom Po gave her, she would always know that it was a gift. Her freedom would not be her own; it would be Po’s to give or to withhold. That he never would withhold it made no difference. If it did not come from her, it was not really hers.

You will make mistakes. If you make them in your book, they will be preserved for all eternity. For example, you will write offensive things into your books, like a disabled character who’s healed by magic—a frequent and problematic trope in fantasy that I neglected to think about while I was writing Graceling. You will learn a lot from this experience. Especially how important it is to listen, how important it is to try to do better, and how likely it is that you will make more mistakes.