There is a period in every writer's life where they are between discovering the world of reading and writing their first published piece. For some, it may be ten years, or twenty, or fifty. The beauty of being a writer is that you can start whenever. Some ages might be a little more difficult and teens are still not widely published, but that it another article all together.

For me, the space between learning how much books could offer me, and getting my first book published, was six busy years. This period in my life cannot be ignored. For those in-between years are so precious and valuable to a writer, whether they know it at the time or not.

It is the time when a writer is building a creative mind and gathering resources. They are discovering the qualities in books that they like best. For writers create books that they want to read. I never get far in writing something (longer than twenty pages) if I do not enjoy it. A piece has to be something that I would want to read myself.

In addition to reading to gather creativity and develop tastes, life continues to go on. Even at sixteen, I know that life is the best source for plot ideas, characters, scene schemes, and everything else that makes up a great story. Writers are sponges; they soak up anything around them. I always warn my friends: “Don't be surprised if a part of you shows up in one of my stories one day. Just don't hate me. I am a writer; I can't help it.”

I believe that one of the greatest influences that any writer will draw from, are the books they read in the years between discovery and writing. For now, I'll just baptize them 'the refuge years.' When you are reading, you are learning what kinds of books you like, what character types you find fascinating, what genres you feel at home in. It is so much easier, and rewarding, to create a book that you yourself would want to read; a book you can believe in. Reading during the refuge years could be considered the training wheels of a book bicycle.

From the time I finally learned how to read, well into my third grade year, books became my refuge. Stories were so handy. If I was angry, sad, or just tired of the real world, all I had to do was pick up a book. Instantly I was in another world where I could help the characters with their problems, instead of having to concentrate on my own.

When it came to choosing my escape route, my favorite “path” was Fantasy. I wasn't picky. Just as long as it wasn't boring and had a whole other world, I was happy. The ability to create other worlds has always fascinated me. That is one of the keys to what first started me writing. I wanted to create a world that the audience would love; that they would want to escape to as well.

During my refuge years, I read so many books that I couldn't possibly recount them all. However, the key ones I can remember. They are books that every Fantasy fan should or has read. Some may seem a little obscure; however, they were influential in my own development.

• The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
• The Bracken Trilogy: The Bridge, Crown and Jewel, and The Two Collars by Jeri Massi
• The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Adventures with the Heroes by Catharine Sellew
• The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
• Song of the Wanderer by Bruce Coville
• Beauty by Robin McKinley
• The Rope Trick by Lloyd Alexander
• Redwall by Brian Jacques

I am sure there were more, but those are the ones that stick in my mind. That's the bad thing about being a sponge. Sometimes you just can't remember whose overflow you soaked up from.

How did these books influence me? Well, it was almost like they were teaching me. While I was reading them, I was learning how the authors created believable characters, plots, and worlds. Combined with writing practice, the books were training me to become a Fantasy author. It was like I was their apprentice, and I think I still am, even though I have self-published a book of my own. I can only hope that one day I will be a master like my mentors.

If you are a parent and notice that your child has an interest in writing, or even just a love of reading, be sure to encourage them. Their first fruits of literary labor won't be award-winning novels or publishable short stories. However, if you give them helpful words of approval, not too obvious, then it may inspire them to write more. With practice and a little time, they might one day be the author of a classic or become a dare-deviling news reporter.

Now as I think about it, I wrote my first short story when I was eleven years old. I was going through my 'horse-crazy' stage. (Sound familiar to anyone?) The story was five pages long and told the tale of Darcy, a horseback riding girl and her friends, and their adventure with horse thieves. When I was finished typing it up on our family computer, I took it to my mother and let her read it.

All right, now I know that it wasn't the greatest of stories. In fact, I would die of embarrassment if anyone was ever to read it again. Still, I remember my mother giving me encouragement and advice in my endeavor. We found books on writing at our local library and looked through them. After that short story, I decided that I wanted to be a third-grade teacher, so writing was left out to dry. That phase lasted about two years. Can you guess what I went back to after that?

The answer is, of course, writing. The seeds that one short story, a mother's love, and a Fantasy film masterpiece had planted within my creative nature had sprouted. Everything that I had learned in my refuge years started to take shape and now I have some visible fruits of my writing labor. Yet if it those seeds hadn't been planted – if I had never read a Fantasy story, if my family hadn't encouraged me, or I had never tried writing in the first place – then I might have no avenue in which to exercise my creative abilities. In fact, I might not be a writer at all. Scary thought.

So if you are a parent/mentor of a creative child, please help them in any way you can. It might not seem like it now, but it will pay off. If you are an author, look back and see what you can pull from those years to help in your endeavors. If you are living the refuge years now, try to gather and learn all you can. Don't rush past them. When you do make the switch, you will find this time of your creative life, the refuge years, invaluable.

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Meg Davis

To find out more about Pax by Meg Davis visit http://www.booklocker.com/books/1459.html.