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Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
Anya Geist, Worcester high school sophomore, just published her first novel, “Born on the First of Two.” Having written poetry for both Stone Soup and Worcester Magazine, Geist drafted her debut book during the quarantine of last year as part of Stone Soup’s 2020 Book Contest. The manuscript was chosen as Editor’s Choice and sent to publishers. The story tells of a young girl born on Earth, but raised in an alternate magical reality who must fulfill her destiny and learn her place in the world. Geist sat down with Last Call to discuss her book, the writing process and what she hopes readers will take away from the story.
Where did the idea come from?
I think it came from a lot of places — I always have a bunch of ideas in my head, influenced by the books that I’m currently reading and the things that are happening in my life. When COVID hit and school shut down and all of my activities and sports were closed, I learned about this contest and decided to go for it. Also, I was reading “Lord of the Rings” at the time so the idea of prophecies was definitely fluttering through my head.
Will this also be a trilogy also?
No, I don’t have any plans for any further books — it’s a stand alone.
How long have you been working on the book?
The first draft took me about a month and a half — from sometime in April to June. Then I let it sit for a few weeks, then I went back to it. I had family and friends read it to give me some feedback, then I submitted it in late summer. Once it was chosen as Editor’s Choice and I found out it was going to be published, I worked with the editor at Stone Soup throughout last spring to get it ready for publication.
How did it change from when you drafted to publishing?
Not much of the plot changed except for clarifying certain parts to help them flow, working on how best to express character’s emotions, how to make valuable perspectives, and just generally help characters be the best they could be.
What was your favorite part about the process?
Getting to invent this whole set of characters in this world, getting to describe it and make it real. It was a very fun and very cool experience to use my words to describe these ideas that I had in my head.
Would you say this is a character-driven story?
Yes, I wanted to focus a lot on the development of my main character, Maya, but also pay a lot of attention to the setting as well. It’s rich in both those aspects but definitely a lot of it is character driven.
What kind of other fiction do you like to write?
Well, I started writing novellas when I was like nine so it didn’t really go anywhere [chuckles]. I definitely like writing vignettes and shorter pieces actually, as opposed to long fiction. I really do like to focus on the setting and characters specifically as opposed to an overall plot so this was quite a challenge in that way, but it was great fun to come up with the plot.
So this was a departure from your usual work. What was your process of plotting a story?
I definitely did outline it a lot. Started with an idea of how I wanted it to go, even if certain details changed along the way. I would say the most difficult part was figuring out exactly how it was all going to end and bringing it all together. I was working on how the climax was going to go all through writing the story, then deciding where the characters would go after the climax and how their emotional arcs would be resolved.
Were the characters based on anyone you know?
Not really, they just came out of my head but mostly a combination of my own characteristics and subconsciously based on people in my life. I know I can be very stubborn at times like my main character. In general, I wanted to create a character that wasn’t always likable but she had a good heart, even if she did have a lot of conflict in her character.
What did you learn from writing a novel?
I think I learned that it is a large task — a very concentrated period of time when I was writing it. To really create a world, characters and plot, you have to delve into it, like I was submerging myself into it. What I really liked about the book and describing it, is that I could describe Earth, more than creating a whole new world for them to live in. It made it more grounded.
Do you think you’ll try and publish some of your short stories now?
Maybe but right now I’m focused on writing for fun.
Is there something in particular that you hope readers will take away from this?
I hope that kids especially will take away the idea that really anything is possible if you set your mind to it. All throughout, this was a pretty daunting task, but I did it and I’m very proud of what I’ve written and I think that now the idea of writing another piece of long fiction is not as intimidating as it was before. This has opened a gateway for me, in terms of being confident about myself and I hope that it can bring confidence to other kids about exploring things that seem intimidating.
Anya Geist, author of “Born on the First of Two.”
COURTESY OF STONE SOUP The book cover for “Born on the First of Two.”
COURTESY OF STONE SOUP
