This month’s Ink Splat Author Interview features Ryan James Black, author of The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham.

In our interview, Ryan gives us the scoop on his delightfully spooky novel, shares how he creates vivid, cinematic settings, and offers strategies for writerly research.

You can learn more about Ryan and his work here: ryanjamesblack.com

Writing Challenge

Create a Cinematic Scene
In his interview, Ryan James Black talks about how he creates vivid, sensory-rich settings that immerse readers in the world of his novel. How might you create a setting that comes alive through sound, sight, and smell?

Try this: Think of a time when you experienced sensory immersion in a place. It doesn’t have to be a spooky location (though it can be if you’d like to give that a try!) You can also be immersed in a sensory landscape when you feel many other ways: such as delighted at a candy factory, filled with wonder standing next to a stormy sea, or thrilled while watching a fireworks show.

Once you come up with your location, list all the sensory details you can think of: sight, sound, smell, texture, and where possible, taste. All of these will add up to create the “feeling” of the place. Then, create a scene where a character experiences the setting. Perhaps they walk through following their curiosity, or they stand quietly to take it all in, or have a specific experience that allows them to explore.

Play with the possibilities and if you end up with a scene you’d like to share, we hope you will! Did you know that as an Inklings member, you can submit your creative writing on our Inkwell app to share with an audience of enthusiastic readers? You can ask for revision feedback on a work in progress, or submit a finished piece and hear back from readers about what they loved.

Join us and share your writing on the Inkwell! 

Tell us a bit about yourself and about The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham in particular. What sparked the idea for your book or kicked off your writing process?

Hi! I’m Ryan James Black, a Children’s writer from Manitoba, Canada, where I live with my wife and two kids. The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham is my debut middle grade novel, about a boy and his dog versus a hungry darkness monster in WW2 era London. I got the initial idea for this story after listening to a History podcast about the Blitz. The idea of a city entirely blacked-out at night struck me as the perfect setting for a bunch of misfit characters and a monster! 

What was your research process like — what sources or archives did you lean on most, and were there any surprises or dead ends you encountered? 

My research process was pretty intensive. I scoured the internet countless times, reading about WW2 timelines, scrutinizing maps and pictures, and learning about life in London during the timeframe of my book. I took some liberties and interspersed some fantastical elements, but I tried to stay true to most historical facts. I was mostly surprised by the frequency of bombings during this time, and the fact that people were able to adapt and keep on living their lives.

One quality we noticed in your writing is your ability to create vivid, almost cinematic imagery. How do you approach world-building so readers can see and feel the time period?

Thank you! I enjoy stories with rich settings, where the setting has unique properties and almost feels like another character. I feel like London during the Blitz is that kind of setting. I want my readers to be able to smell the smoke, hear the howling air raid sirens, feel the drifting ashes falling like snow. I approach world-building by putting myself there, imagining how it looks, sounds, smells. Then I try to put that on the page.

Were there any moments during your writing process when you felt stuck or uncertain about where to go next? What strategies helped you keep going?

I always feel uncertain where to go next. But that is what’s so magical. I follow my gut and just keep writing. Sometimes I have to scrap several days worth of hard work because something isn’t working, and that can be crushing, but the trick is to not let it stop me. That’s it. Keep writing. I can always fix what’s on the page, but I can’t fix a blank page.

What does your revision process look like? Do you have any revision strategies that we might try in our writing?

My revision process looks like a bunch of distempered racoons in a sack full of malfunctioning fire alarms. It’s best not to acknowledge it.

What’s your next project?

My next project is a contemporary, spooky middle grade story, about the most haunted town in the world three weeks after all the ghosts have inexplicably gone missing. It’s a whodunnit with ghosts and magic and witches inspired by my love of Halloween.