I love writing about and for teens. Okay, that’s far too simplistic, but the truth is, I’ve been trying to put my finger on what I love to write and I can’t figure it out. One of the members in my writing group asked me recently what my theme is – what unites my books and manuscripts. I stared at her like maybe she had meningitis. And then I spent half the night thinking about her question. What unites my books? What is the common thread that ties them together?

At the superficial level, there is no theme uniting my manuscripts. My debut novel is dystopian, the book I’m working on is fantasy, the one I was working on last year is a Midwest contemporary novel and many years ago I wrote a children’s book about a squid named Squirty. They are as different as love and hate. But after really thinking about that, I realized that isn’t exactly true. All of my books are about finding a place in this world; a place where we can belong and feel accepted. The genre of the book doesn’t seem to matter – I write all types, but the common theme is certainly there. All of us have a place where we belong, even if it takes years to find it.

When do I write best and when do I not write?

I have not figured out the answer to this question. I have no writing patterns, I have terrible writing habits, and the only time I had any sort of structure, set schedule and success was when I did NaNoWriMo this past year, and the manuscript I churned out during that intensive month was so bad, I haven’t looked at it since. I’m afraid that I do not write when I have to work, when I feel rotten, when the cat pukes on the floor, when the wind is blowing too hard, and when I can play games with my kids. I am very good at finding reasons not to write, and yet I feel compelled to scribble something down when I can. I think there’s something wrong with me.

Whoa, I am not revealing that. Okay, I don’t have any tricks or sneaky idea-generating powers. My ideas come from conversations, observations, really amazing students who blow my mind, and simply the machinations of life. I do not dream in stories, I do not commune with any higher idea-generating powers, and I do not have a muse. It would actually be very helpful if I did.

I love stories. I love getting so sucked into a good book that I stay up way too late to finish it. I love watching a really good movie, laughing at the one-liners, crying at the emotional scenes, and becoming furious with the antagonist. I love creating those stories myself. Discovering that amazing character and that powerful voice makes we want to live in another world, even if it’s a world I’m creating, full of flaws and idiosyncrasies. I’m afraid it’s quite an addiction, and I don’t see myself recovering from it anytime soon.

You can find Chris on her website https://www.chrisstruykbonn.com  or on twitter @ChrisStruykBonn.