A. B. Poranek: Don’t Look Back When You’re Drafting
A. B. Poranek grew up in Canada but spent her summers in the Polish countryside, reading under apple trees and helping care for her grandfather’s chickens. Her love of animals led her to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine, though she never stopped writing along the way. Her first novel, Where the Dark Stands Still, is an ode to Poland’s wild woodlands, wilder folktales, and the girls who were raised by them. Follow her on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
A. B. Poranek
Photo by Monika Kaczmarczyk
In this post, Poranek discusses how a simple text to friends helped shape her YA fantasy novel, Where the Dark Stands Still, her hope for readers, and more!
Name: A. B. Poranek
Literary agent: Victoria Marini at High Line Literary Collective
Book title: Where the Dark Stands Still
Publisher: Simon & Schuster McElderry (U.S.), Penguin Random House (U.K.)
Release date: February 27, 2024
Genre/category: YA Fantasy
Elevator pitch for the book: A girl with dangerous magic makes a risky bargain with a demon to be free of her monstrous power in this young adult fantasy perfect for fans of An Enchantment of Ravens and House of Salt and Sorrows.
Bookshop | Amazon
[WD uses affiliate links.]
What prompted you to write this book?
I had written a few books before WTDSS that went nowhere, and I remember sitting in my bedroom and texting my friends in desperation, trying to come up with a new concept. I had explored a similar type of story in a previous manuscript, but while I loved the idea, the execution never felt right. It was this cutesy, fluffy, cottagecore book. I suddenly texted my friends saying, “What if I turned this into a horror?” and it all spiraled from there.
As I worked on the concept, I saw the perfect opportunity to pay homage to my favorite Polish fairytales, and the Slavic mythology aspect came organically as a result of that, since there’s overlap between Slavic mythology and Polish culture—especially when it comes to old countryside superstitions. It was a case of all the puzzle pieces clicking into place at once.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I wrote WTDSS in a frenzy of two months—once I had the concept, everything basically flew out of me onto a Word document. I’m a discovery writer, so a lot of things in my books tend to move around and evolve during the process, especially the characters. I had a good gut feeling about this book from the very beginning; I was convinced it was “the one.” And it was! Once it was done, it went through a beta read and a single edit round, and I signed with my agent about four months later in November. My agent and I did another major edit together and the book was sold within a year of being written.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
One of the biggest surprises was just how difficult it is to find a title for your book! WTDSS went through several different titles (it was actually queried under the simple title Liska & the Leszy) before we settled on this one. And I actually came up with the idea for the title without it being a phrase in the book! I sent it to my editors, and everyone loved it, so I had to incorporate it into the text after the fact, which was … an interesting challenge. But I’m really happy with the result. I think it’s one of my favorite scenes in the entire book now.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I think characters are always my biggest surprise. I always start with a specific concept or archetype in mind, but they tend to develop a life of their own as I write them and always end up going in unexpected directions. Two of the biggest character surprises that came about in draft two were Liska becoming a healer (she was just a farm girl for a while!) and the Leszy gaining most of his snarky personality.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
There is a very specific dark, eerie quality that Polish fairytales tend to have, where whimsy and horror intertwine: men trapped on moons and fern flowers guarded by monsters and glass mountains nobody can climb. I hope I managed to convey that.
I hope readers come away a little haunted, a little sad, and a little in love with the world and the characters. But most of all, I hope they finish the book having learned a bit about Polish culture and folklore.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
It might be a little cliché, but one thing I learned is that the worst thing you can do is stop writing. Every book you write, even if it does not get published, helps you improve your craft. And this also applies to drafts. Don’t look back when you’re drafting—just keep on writing. Even if you think it’s bad. Skip over scenes if you must, or leave placeholders, but just. Keep. Writing. You can fix everything in the next draft. What matters is you have a blueprint to work from.
With a growing catalog of instructional writing videos available instantly, we have writing instruction on everything from improving your craft to getting published and finding an audience. New videos are added every month!