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This podcast is for anyone who loves a good story. Board now for interviews and writing samples from talented authors!
If you would like to be featured, email your work to storystation@riverbendmediagroup.com
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Every story is a ticket to somewhere extraordinary. No need to pack a bag, just settle in and let the words transport you. Now boarding: an insight to an author's mind. This is The Story Station.
Emma: Today, I am joined in the studio by Morgan Beck, the author of "Into the Lighthouse" and "The Odd Little Caterpillar." Morgan, thank you so much for coming in today.
Morgan: Thank you for having me.
Emma: Of course! So first off, why do you write?
Morgan: I love to read. I think that that's my favorite thing ever. I've always loved to read ever since I was little. I remember that even before I could read, there was a book that I had memorized. Then they told me I could read it, and I think ever since then, I've just loved reading. And so, I've always wanted to have my own book.
Emma: That's so cool. One of my favorite authors, Jennifer Nielsen, she once said, "if there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you've got to write that book." So, I don't know... I was just kind of thinking of that. When I was a kid, I tried to write The Princess Bride. My mom was like, "you can't write that. It's already been written." And I was like, "oh." I didn't really understand plagiarism back then.
Morgan: Yeah, I get it.
Emma: So your books, Into the Lighthouse, what would you say the genre is?
Morgan: So it's middle-grade fantasy fiction. Middle grade is kind of a confusing name because everybody thinks middle school, but middle grade is actually about eight to ten year olds. And so it's for elementary students.
Emma: So what inspired you to write in that genre?
Morgan: I have always wanted to write, and so I've had a lot of ideas. You know, you get the ones you set aside all the time. And there was one that I really loved, but I didn't really know where to go with it.
And I was one day reading to my children. I don't know if you know the Black Lagoon series. It's like, "The Librarian from the Black Lagoon" or the... and they have some that are chapter books. There's a lot that are picture books, but I was reading one of the chapter books, and I thought, "This is so much fun. This is what I want to do." And so that's when I thought, "Wow, I could actually take this and write a smaller version of what my original idea was without the commitment to a huge novel."
And it was so much fun writing for children. I love it.
Emma: Considering children as your audience, how does that affect your writing style?
Morgan: I have what's called beta readers, which is somebody who's reading for you, that are children. And so I have children who read it. They're family and friends, but they help me to know what's too hard, what's too easy. They help me see if something is too complicated of an idea or if it's confusing. And so I have adults too, but the children are really a nice addition because they get to read a fun book and tell me that it was kind of confusing.
Emma: That's genius. Going straight to the source.
Morgan: Yeah.
Emma: What do you think is one of the biggest challenges of writing middle-grade fiction?
Morgan: The funny thing is, the writing, I don't think is as challenging as I would say the marketing. I think marketing is the challenge because my audience for reading are elementary school kids, but my marketing for selling is their parents and teachers. And so I have to think about that when I'm doing marketing, and writing is just for fun. I—it's fantasy. I just make up whatever I want, and it's for children and so it can be fun. But then I have to think, "Okay. How do I market this to the person who will actually be buying the book?" And so I think that's actually what is challenging about middle grade is the audience is not the same for reading versus marketing.
Emma: I didn't even think about that. That is tricky.
Morgan: Yeah.
Emma: I'm gonna switch tacks here a little bit, but because Into the Lighthouse is a series, do you have any tips for writing books in a series?
Morgan: Yeah. I think, first of all, my tip and biggest advice: make a list of all your characters and funny things and main plots and side animals and just a huge list of who is who, because it can get really confusing in a series because every story is not about everybody. And so I might have mermaids in one book and they're not in another, and then I have to come back and remember, oh, who is who? And so it's good to have a list. That's my top advice for anyone writing a series is make lists.
Emma: So when you write your series, is it sequential—kind of, like, following the same story? Or do they just kind of take place whenever you want them to? Like, can you read them out of order? Or...
Morgan: They are in order. So I do have a timeline. It's all within a few weeks in the summer, but it is in order. So it's designed to have small stories and then one big one. The main story will go through the whole series, but it's just each little individual experience that my main character has.
Emma: Tell me about your main character. It's Molly, right?
Morgan: Molly. Yes. Molly is somebody I think I would like to be more than am. She's adventurous. She loves outdoors and to play, and she has built her own things. And there's a place there that we call "the sea" that is just trees, and she built a pirate ship. And so she loves adventure, and so she's very curious. And I think she's just a fun person. I think she'd be fun to know.
Emma: That's a good trait, too: curiosity. Do you have any tips for crafting your stories and your ideas to fit the conventions of the genre that you're writing in? Because I know sometimes for certain, like, types of stories, like, for middle grade, for example, there might be an average length of a book. So if you have an idea, but it's not, like, long enough or short enough, how do you approach that?
Morgan: Yeah. There's actually rules with most different types of genres and series and age groups. And what I've learned, anyway I mean, don't quote me on this, but what I've learned is about 10,000 words is the right amount for middle grade. It's just enough that it's a nice fun book, but it's not too overwhelming. And my chapters are really short, and so it's... it really progresses, I think, for early readers who are just getting into chapter books that they like it not too meaty. They wanna just be able to take bite size, which is why I love having a series in the middle-grade genre, because I get to have the full-length story, but it's in more easy manageable pieces.
Emma: Do you have a plan for how many books are going to be in the Into the Lighthouse series?
Morgan: Yes. There will be ten when it's all done. I've written most of it, but I haven't finished the end yet.
Emma: That's exciting. And you're, like, over halfway there!
Morgan: Yes. Yes, in fact, I'm working on book seven. I'm hoping to get that one out this year and then the next couple years finish up.
Emma: And then you also came out with a picture book recently.
Morgan: Yes. I'm getting into picture books! I'm excited. This was actually a fun one because it was given to me—the idea was given to me by the people at the Butterfly Haven in Pingree. They're amazing, and I will go there all the time all summer. And I was told about the giant swallowtail, and he is an ugly little caterpillar. So he gets a bad rap, but he turns into a beautiful butterfly. And so it's a really fun ugly duckling story to see in real life nature.
Emma: That is super cool, because it's not even... It's like the same general idea, but it's not even a duck mistaken for a swan, or a swan...
Morgan: Yeah. He is what he is. Just a poor little ugly guy.
Emma: And still turns out beautiful.
Morgan: But he turns out beautiful, yeah.
Emma: What do you think is the biggest difference between writing for middle grade and then writing for children?
Morgan: It's a lot of work to find illustrators. I love my illustrators. I actually chose my illustrator for the caterpillar book because she's in my book club, and she's really good at watercolor. And I really felt like with that one, it needed more of a watercolor beautiful garden feel whereas I really like the cartoony-ness of my middle-grade chapter books, because that's more older kids and it's more of a story where you can kind of see yourself in it. And so I think illustrations is a huge deal when you're doing your books, and you have to base it around those.
And also, it's just shorter to write children's books. It's not faster or easier, I would say. It's just shorter. Just a shorter process.
Emma: Finding an illustrator, that sounds really exciting, to find someone who can really bring your stories to life.
Morgan: Yeah. They've been amazing.
Emma: Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Morgan: When I first started writing, I don't know why, but in my head, I felt like I had to write a novel, a big long story. And I guess we all just wanna write the great American novel. I don't know. And so it was when I was reading the children's book that I realized how much more opportunity there is than just "I have to write a big old novel. And so I think if you're getting into writing, it would be fun to dabble in all the different kinds of writing, whether it's short stories or longer, fantasy or science fiction or mystery. But just to, like, experiment with the different types. Because I don't know that I would have ever considered writing a children's book until I had read one, and I thought, "Well, I want to do this. This is so much fun." And so I think just having that, like, desire to check what other types of writing there is.
Emma: That is excellent advice. Do you have any upcoming projects, whether in your series or more children's books?
Morgan: I do. First of all, of course, I'm gonna finish the series. I have four more books. I wanna say three because I've already written seven, and that one's almost done. But, really, I have four more for this one. But I also have another one that is gonna be a Halloween book. It's a picture book, and it's gonna be so fun. It's in the process of I have to mostly just wait right now because how much work they are. But I'm so excited for that one because it's gonna be such a cute little Halloween book.
Emma: I love the holiday-themed books. Super fun. Do you think you'll ever write anything for older audiences, or have you kind of found your niche where you like to be?
Morgan: I might. I'm not gonna say no. I don't know. Maybe. But I don't read much more than young adult. I like the more adventurous and fantasy and dragons and stuff. And so I don't know if I would write adult book. Maybe. But definitely I love writing the children's books. They're just such a great audience too. They're so excited. Everything is exciting and fun, and they try to guess what I'm writing, and it's fun.
Emma: I agree. That is so fun. I have a sister right now who is 15 years old. And we actually read a lot of the same books, which is kind of funny. But sometimes, you know, even if books are written for younger audiences, as long as they're well written and they have a fun story, then it's just fun to read.
Morgan: Yeah. That's what I love about books. You don't have to have an age.
Emma: I completely agree. Well, did you bring some of your book that you'd like to read today?
Morgan: I did. Yes. I am gonna read a section from my first book in the Into the Lighthouse series. The beginning is a lot of getting to know Molly and where she is and who her family is. And so then you get into chapter four, and I feel like that's when the real adventure starts. So I'm gonna read chapter four.
Molly couldn’t stand to leave a mystery alone. She couldn’t stop thinking about the keys. Why would Mr. Phillips use two different keys for the same door? At night she was dreaming about it. Even after two weeks, Molly would sneak a peek into the window every day as she passed to and from her pirate ship. Mr. Phillips hadn’t been there for at least a week, and Molly was worried about him.
“Maybe he’s sick!” she told her dad. She tried to convince him to check on the store and make sure that Mr. Phillips was all right, but he told her that he had seen him stocking shelves just the day before.
“I’m sure it’s just been a busy week, and he will be back to the old lighthouse soon. I don’t know why you’re so worried about it. It’s just a dusty, old building.”
Molly hadn’t told her dad, or anyone for that matter, about seeing the second key. She kept it to herself because if that secret turned out to be just as normal as the first one, she would be disappointed again. She really wanted to believe something exciting belonged to that old Lighthouse. Little things seemed to draw her in and make her take a second look; flashes of light in upper windows, the smell of the sea air when she walked by, and once she could have sworn that the stripes were a deep, bright red. It had only been for an instant, in the corner of her eye, because when she turned to look it was just as faded as always. The dull reds covered in a layer of grime.
Finally, after another whole week, Mr. Phillips was back at his caretaking duties and seemed to be airing the building out because the door was wide open. Molly waved as she came up and leaned against the little fence.
“I just can’t seem to find my book!” he exclaimed, partly to her but partly to himself.
“What book are you looking for?” Molly asked.
“Oh, just a little fairytale of sorts. You know the kind, with dragons and pirates and giant butterflies. That sort of thing. It’s a family treasure, and I seem to have misplaced it. I’ve searched for quite a while now, and I really don’t know what I did with it! I must have left it at the top.”
“Want me to help find it? I can run and ask my dad and, if he says it’s okay, I’ll help you look!” Molly said while already heading back to her house.
Her dad told her that it was very kind of her to offer, but not to take too long. He knew her curiosity about the lighthouse and didn’t want her to become a bother. He also told her that he was making lunch and wanted her home in time to eat. She promised to be right back, as soon as she found the book. Molly ran back to the lighthouse, not even tired because she was so excited. She realized as she ran up to the fence and jumped over it that she didn’t even know why she felt that way. She had been inside, and it hadn’t been super interesting. Just as she was about to step inside to start looking, she noticed that the key in the door was big and gold. She paused.
“Why do you have two keys for the same door?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Never mind. What does the book look like?”
“It’s leather with gold lettering, and it has a picture on the front.”
“What picture?”
“You’ll know it when you see it.”
Emma: I like that. That's a good hook to a mystery. Do you have any advice for authors who are starting out for how to get that intrigue and that mystery that captures the reader's imagination right from the start?
Morgan: I like to throw things out to myself. Just what would be a totally unexpected thing to have happen right now, like using two keys to a door? Why would you do that? Just something weird that we would never do, and so I like to throw in random things, and then I just like to see where they go.
Emma: Do you outline your books first and then write them in a sequence, or do you write them in parts? What's your process?
Morgan: I am a pantser. I know I've heard on your radio show that it's mentioned a lot...
Emma: It seems like it's always one or the other.
Morgan: I'm a pantser, so I fly by the seat of my pants. But I do have to have an outline eventually once I get into the series because you lose track of people if you don't. But I definitely like to just throw the story out there and see what happens. I waste a lot of story. Like, there's a lot that I put into my rough drafts that I might use later. I love that. I can always pull it back in, but I write way more than I'll ever use in my books.
Emma: That is so cool. And useful, too. Because then, like you said, if you ever need it later...
Morgan: Yeah. You just save it for later, and you might find a reason to use it.
Thank you for traveling with us. Next stop: your work of art. Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, you name it! Email us at storystation@riverbendmediagroup.com. Submission guidelines are not shy; they can be found in the podcast description. The Story Station, hosted by Emma, is a production of Riverbend Media Group.