Amy asked Jennifer E. Smith:

Hi Jennifer! Can I just start off by saying I LOVED The Geography of You & Me!!! <3 I really enjoyed the characters and found the storyline a breath of fresh air. My question is this: How did you start writing and stick with your story? I really want to become a writer and have had a particular idea for a story on my mind for quite some time now. The problem is that I do not know where to start :( Thanks, Amy x

Jennifer E. Smith Thank you so much for the kind words -- I'm so glad to hear you loved the book. As for starting a story, I think the trick is just to dive in, because you never know exactly where the beginning will turn out to be. Sometimes, you'll discover that the second chapter should actually be the first, or that the perfect scene to start the book is actually fifty pages in, and everything that came before it was just an exercise in clearing your throat. But throat clearing is important too, and you often need to do that before finding your way into the story. So just start writing, and have faith that the exact right moment or the perfect first sentence will reveal itself as you go. I've found that it takes the pressure off to know you can always figure it out later on. In the meantime, just get some words down on the page and go from there. I hope this helps, and good luck with your writing!

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