Jefferson alumni, Meagan Spooner, and fellow novelist Cristin Terrill visited the library on Friday March 7 during A and B blocks of eighth period to discuss their novels “Skylark” and “All Our Yesterdays” as well as answer the questions of Jefferson’s aspiring writers.

Both Spooner and Terrill, having finished their debut novels within the last two years, gave some advice about future careers in writing, such as how to get inspired on a certain topic and how to effectively write a novel from start to finish. Effectively tackling all the questions that were thrown their way, the two authors wittily described their literary lifestyles and writing processes.

“To be honest, I didn’t have any specific goals in mind when I signed up, I just thought it might be an interesting change in 8th periods from what I normally do,” sophomore Ava Lakmazaheri said. “And as it turns out I did like hearing about their books, especially the plot of the time travelling one. And even though I’m not planning a career in writing, I enjoyed hearing about their writing styles.”

In “All Our Yesterdays,” Terrill’s debut novel, a girl has to go back in time in order to kill a man she once cared deeply for in order to alter the future and save the world from a terrible fate that it is currently stuck in. Inspired by the Terminator, Terrill chose to play around with the roles of the characters in the movie, wondering whether the “terminator” could have been a teenage girl.

While Terrill’s novel takes place in a more realistic setting, Spooner’s novel “Skylark” is centered in a society in which all the technology is powered by magic, unlike the electricity that powers our technology today. As a result, a young girl who has magic is needed as a source of renewable energy, and in a desperate attempt to avoid this fate, escapes her city in a way no one has in over a hundred years.

“I enjoyed reading the novel Skylark because it was a unique story that isn’t the typical wizard or vampire stories that you seem to see everywhere today,” junior Shirley Burt said. “The fresh idea and incredible writing made me speed through the book and finish it in a day – I just couldn’t put it down.”

Providing valuable insight into their writing methods, many Jefferson students who attended and asked questions were inspired to begin writing and following their advice. The authors encouraged students to find their own methods when writing and recommended setting a daily word count in order to begin writing, and progressively increasing the word count once you sit down and realize how much you enjoy the task.

“I was more of a fiction and fantasy reader,” sophomore Jennifer Song said. “But after today’s event, I am definitely going to be looking into the sci-fi books written by both Meagan Spooner and Cristin Terrill.”