T. A. Barron enjoys hiking on mountain trails in Colorado with his family. Fortunately for the rest of us, he also keeps writing well-loved and best-selling fantasy novels. Since his first novel appeared in 1990, Barron has published more than twenty books. The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy and the Lost Years of Merlin epic are among his widely-known works.

In addition to traveling, writing, and spending time with family, Barron takes an active role in administering the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. Each year, the prize honors twenty-five outstanding young leaders who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet.

“Every year, I am one of the final judges,” explains Barron. “I have been fortunate enough to meet many of these dynamic, public-spirited young people. They have so much courage and compassion and high ideals. They give me hope for a better world!”

Becoming a Writer

The probability of becoming a successful author is very small. After working hard for many years, Barron broke into publishing with a novel, foregoing the usual short story path into fantasy or science fiction publishing. How exactly does one achieve that?

“My first manuscript, which I wrote when I was in my twenties, had a great reception: It was rejected by thirty-two different publishers! (Often very rudely.)”

“I had written it while traveling solo around the world with my backpack, exploring marvelous places like the Himalayas, Siberia, rural Japan, Scandinavia, and East Africa. Yet despite all that good inspiration, and all my high hopes, my book was rejected by everyone. As much as that hurt, I knew I needed to find some way to laugh. So I took all those rejection letters and put them on the wall of my bathroom, right next to the toilet. Just to give them all the dignity they deserved.”

Seven years later, Barron gathered the courage to write again. He still had creative musings, and still dreamed of becoming a writer. “I realized that writing must be very important to me—to my soul. That part of me that would wither up and die if I didn’t try again. So I quit my job and wrote a new novel, inspired by the birth of our first child.”

Barron showed the manuscript to Madeleine L’Engle. She liked it, and sent it to an editor. “That started my career,” says Barron. “The editor, Patricia Lee Gauch, liked the book, called Heartlight, and published it. She has been my editor for over twenty years. And we’ve done more than twenty books together.”

Barron’s Creative Writing Process

T. A. Barron is one of the remaining rare breed of writers that begins longhand. “Writing is a strange, mysterious process,” he muses. “But I do know it requires a special, personal chemistry. I always write the first draft with a blue felt pen and a pad of paper, because that’s a good chemistry for me.”

He explains the rest of his writing process this way. “After more than twenty years, I still don’t know how it really works. Once the manuscript is ready—a good first draft but still far from finished—I transfer it to a Microsoft Word document. Then I do six or seven complete rewrites. Last of all, I do some careful, delicate editing—marking up the printed copy with my friendly blue pen.”

Overcoming Writer’s Block

According to Barron, “Writer’s block certainly exists. Everyone I know faces this problem. The question is how to deal with it. Creativity requires nurturing. For me, a block means I am too close to the writing. I need some distance, some perspective. So I put down my pen and go out to nature. I go for a walk with my dogs or a run on a mountain trail, and almost always, a new idea comes.”

T. A. Barron’s felt-tipped pen is currently at work on the Merlin’s Dragon trilogy (or the family is out hiking). The third book in the series was published in the Fall of 2010. T. A. Barron travels a lot, and his appearance schedule can be found at the T. A. Barron website.