Brandon Mull always wanted to write children's books.

In high school, Mull used to enjoy making up stories for neighborhood children and said he always seems to have stories in his head. It seemed only logical to write them down. Little did Mull know that his first published story would become a bestselling novel that has sold more than 20,000 copies to date.

Mull wrote the children's fantasy novel "Fablehaven." The book follows the adventures of a brother and sister who discover that their grandparents are the caretakers of a preserve for endangered mythical creatures.

Last week Mull launched a nine-city book tour by doing presentations for students in the Ogden, Davis, Granite and Alpine School districts. The theme of Mull's presentation was "Imagination can take you places." On Sept. 13, Mull visited students at Meadowbrook Elementary School, 700 N. 325 West in Bountiful.

Mull started his presentation by answering questions about himself. He showed pictures of himself as a child, told students it took five months to write "Fablehaven" and shared his most embarrassing moment.

"As an author you can take (embarrassing) moments and mix them with your imagination to come up with stories," he said.

Several students then participated in an imagination exercise. Three students come up to the stage and pretended they were explorers on a new planet. What did it look like? What were the creatures like and were they friendly?

Exercises like this help stimulate creativity. Mull said. He told students two main ways to improve their imaginations. The first is reading.

The second is to create, whether it be writing, building, coloring or even acting in a play.

Mull also told students five secrets to becoming an author: (1) have lots of experiences; (2) exercise your imagination and create stories; (3) read a lot — try to read every day; (4) write stories and share them with others; and (5) Find a publisher and never give up.

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E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com