Boyce Q&A is your source for adventure, magic, and mischief.
Today, learn about what inspired me to write the Grimoire Saga — and how you can steal some of my ideas to add adventure + inspiration into your everyday.
Links, as promised in the video:
Charles Asked:
I’m in the middle of Lichgates and loving it! Where did the inspiration for this story (and/or world) come from?
My Answer:
Earth is beautiful, vast, terrifying and fascinating in every way. I’ve always been captivated by life on earth. What I do is find pictures online of places and creatures and I put them on a Pinterest board. This board provides the inspiration for Ourea and I pull from it constantly to create new settings, kingdoms and races. I wanted to put the magical things in our world into Ourea.
We have two main characters in the Grimoire Saga. Kara Magari and Braeden Drakonin endure loss, adventure and discovery. Their emotions are inspired partly by experiences in my own past. I think every author pulls from their past and their experiences in order to bring inevitability to their characters.
When I develop plot I like to observe my characters by creating situations that tests what my character believes is true and right. From there I can see how they might react to the story and the other characters.
In terms of inspiration for the story itself, it started with this create your own spell caster book from Harry Potter. I created something totally different than what was in the book and from there I started thinking about what kind of person would use these spell caster wands. I wondered what they might do, how they would live and what their world would be like. Eventually I took the spell casters out of the story, but the people and places they inspired stayed and became the story you know today as the Grimoire Saga.
It’s funny how that spark that inspires a story can be taken out completely and you still have an amazing story. It happens to writers all the time.
I’ve been actively working on the story since 2006 and that is why it’s so complex and dynamic. I spent so much time developing this place and the people within it. I consider the world of Ourean to be a character of the story. The whole concept of Ourea is once it claims you as it’s own, you can never leave.
Looking back at the inspiration, it has been quite a journey. I hope you have enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed creating it. I also hope I’ve answered your question, thank you so much for asking it.
Want to ask a question? Join my email tribe or ask your question here.
If you like content like this and want more, head over to my Patreon feed where patrons can get exclusive content just for being a patron of the arts. It’s a fun way to show your support for my work and get awesome stuff in return.