Ask the Author: Christian Page
Answered Questions (7)
Christian Page
Sure thing, Lucy! Send me the questions here or shoot me an email at chrispagewriter@yahoo.com. Glad to hear you enjoyed the story! :)
Christian Page
Ultimately, you'll come to days where you really don't want to write and so you just have to get into a rhythm and slog it out. The problem is a lot of those days come back to haunt you in the editing process (they often don't result in great writing). If it is a really bad creative day, then I will compensate by editing prior chapters or working on the outline for future chapters making sure continuity makes sense and all the details are buttoned up. But if you do a decent job with the outline and pacing up front, usually writer's block can be at least minimized.
Christian Page
I start out with a world or larger idea. For the Monster Squad I was seeing a lot of emphasis on wizards and witches, vampires, werewolves and zombies in popular culture but not a lot of air time for the other great characters from classic Sci-Fi and gothic literature. I thought it would be fun to update this pantheon of classic fixtures and give them a young and modern twist kids who are just starting to get into reading could enjoy and be inspired by. From there I write a first chapter based on the idea and see if the idea hangs together. If I like it, I then go into an iterative process of outlining and writing using a long time story arc as my guide (the Monster Squad is designed to be four books to complete the broader story I want to tell). There is a lot of iteration of details but you keep to the broader arc for where you want the characters to ultimately go and the relationships you’d like to see develop. Along the way, the story is read aloud multiple times. Ultimately, I want my writing to “sound” like a movie with the same pacing and dialogue you would expect from something on the big screen. It’s got to have escalating pacing, well positioned set pieces, the right drama and character development with logical breaks for the reader where they can take a breather. I think the first Monster Squad did a good job of achieving the original vision both in terms of the world and the pacing/narrative style goals I set out. I'm excited for the follow on books because the setting of book 1 is constrained to the main characters' small Oregon hometown - Books 2-4 open up the settings and the cast of monster characters quite a bit - we'll hit on all the classics from Gothic Literature and classic Horror and Sci-Fi movies.
Christian Page
My kids, 7 and 9, love to read and we have kept the tradition of bed time stories going since they were babies. Both of them love good Middle Grade and YA books like Percy Jackson, Artemis Fowle, His Dark Materials and Harry Potter and after reading several with them I thought it would be fun to make up my own story. I wanted to write something my younger son would find fun and fast paced with the strong female characters my older daughter could relate to… The Monster Squad was the result of that inspiration!
Christian Page
A future book I’m writing is called The Unseen… it is still in the early concept and outlining stage but I can already tell it will be darker and aged up vs. The Monster Squad – it will be truly YA whereas the Monster Squad is more a bridge audience for tweens and early teens. It will still feature humor and action but the writing will have an older appeal to it - - - closer to Buffy The Vampire Slayer than the Monster Squad which is probably a bit more Goonies. The story is about a 17 year old girl, Willow Freeman, who the reader discovers has died on page 1 but her story and that of the twin sister she never knew is just beginning. While I really like the characters, world and story of the Monster Squad (especially Kevin Wallis, my favorite side kick in the book), I think getting a bit darker will be fun and The Unseen will have a definite spooky vibe and older edge to it. I'm also putting the finishing touches on the Monster Squad Book 2, titled Jekyll & Hyde. Book 2 continues the adventures of Blaine, Dash, Shelley, Drake, Vickie and Kevin as they head to Europe to track down the evil Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. There we meet some new monsters including mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll and the brutish fiend, Mr. Hyde, along with Canadian pop-star and ageless youth, Dorian Grey, among other assorted baddies.
Christian Page
My biggest piece of advice is keep plugging away. It’s hard as a first time writer. I pitched probably 60 or 70 agents and felt good getting a 5% positive response rate on the work… but rejection can be tough. But end of the day, if you keep a good attitude, keep plugging away and be open about feedback on your work it will only net in a better story… from where I “thought” I was done with the manuscript to where it ended up is probably a minimum of 50% different… but it is also much better. The process is tough but it will make your story better and you can only learn from it for the future.
Christian Page
Telling stories and making people smile. That’s really what it’s all about to me. If I can give people a good time with my stories and help inspire kids to learn more, I feel good about what I have done.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more