Editing Tamora Pierce (section)

===Writing process===
On her homepage, Pierce states she gets most ideas from things she stumbles upon. Her concept of magic as a tapestry of threads comes from her experiences in crocheting, and in her world, all mages are somehow based on British naturalist [[David Attenborough]] after watching his nature documentaries. [[Fantasy literature|Fantasy novels]] and [[Arthurian legend]] were the base of the worlds she thought up as a girl, and later she added contemporary issues like youth crime and [[cholera]] outbreaks in [[Africa]]. In general, Pierce states: "The best way to prepare to have ideas when you need them is to listen to and encourage your obsessions."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tamora-pierce.com/faq.htm#Ideas|title=Frequently Asked Questions - Tamora Pierce|website=tamora-pierce.com|access-date=27 April 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420081516/http://www.tamora-pierce.com/faq.htm#Ideas|archive-date=20 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://readergirlz.com/issue200912.html |title=Book Buzz |work=readergirlz |date=December 2009 |access-date=27 April 2018 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730145912/http://www.readergirlz.com/issue200912.html|archive-date=2016-07-30}}</ref>

Pierce draws on elements of people and animals around her for inspiration. The character of Alanna is loosely based on Pierce's sister.<ref name="bio">{{cite web | url = http://www.tamora-pierce.com/bio.html | title = Tamora Pierce Biography | access-date = 2013-08-15 | last = Pierce | first = Tamora | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613183932/http://www.tamora-pierce.com/bio.html | archive-date = 2013-06-13 }}</ref> Thayet's appearance is based on a friend of Pierce's. Beka's pigeon friends in ''Provost's Dog'' are all based on actual pigeons of Pierce's acquaintance.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Terrier|last = Pierce|first = Tamora|publisher = Random House|year = 2006|isbn = 9781439518830|location = New York}}</ref>

Pierce first started writing to escape from the drama of her parents' divorce. She wrote [[fan fiction]] based on her favorite stories, imitating them closely.<ref name="bio" /> Pierce says she decided to write her stories about strong female characters because she noticed a lack of them in the books she read when she was young.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/iconography-tamora-pierce-and-all-the-feminist-fantasy-heroines-you-could-want | title = Iconography: Tamora Pierce and All the Feminist Fantasy Heroines You Could Want | access-date = 2019-12-16 | first = Chally | last = Kacelnik | date = 27 December 2010 | work = [[Bitch (magazine)|bitch]] | publisher = bitch media<!--non-capitalization intentional--> | archive-date = 2021-01-23 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210123073853/https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/iconography-tamora-pierce-and-all-the-feminist-fantasy-heroines-you-could-want | url-status = dead }}</ref>