On Wednesday, March 20, Arizona-based author Dusti Bowling visited Dartmouth Middle School, showing students pictures and videos of creatures that live in Arizona, including Mojave rattlesnakes, foot-long centipedes, giant hairy scorpions and tarantulas, which serve as inspiration for her books.

During her visit, Bowling said she often asks herself “what is the worst thing I can do to my characters,” such as face-planting into a spiky cholla plant, to make a story more exciting while also developing characters into “better, braver, stronger people.”

During the event, students learned the importance of asking lots of questions, doing deep research and nurturing creativity by letting minds wander. Bowling discussed the importance of boredom, which she said has led her toward the sparks that have inspired her books

Bowling also said that it’s important to read a lot of books, which she said “increases your creativity and attention span and even decreases anxiety.”

Bowling has written several books for middle schoolers, including “Across the Desert,” “The Canyon’s Edge” and “Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus,” which are also featured on the middle schoolers’ summer reading list and independent reading book clubs during the school year.

Many of Bowling’s stories have come from personal experiences, including her newest book, “The Beat I Drum,” which features a protagonist with Tourette syndrome learning to play the drums. This character is inspired by one of her daughters, who has Tourette syndrome, after Bowling noticed there weren’t many fiction books featuring characters with Tourette syndrome.

Bowling pointed out that this was an important lesson for students, saying, “If you can’t find the story you want to read, you should write it.”