Alicia Thompson, 25, author of Psych Major Syndrome, is a graduate student in creative writing at the University of South Florida. She says she chose USF's program mainly to be close to home. She grew up in Valrico, graduated from King High School in Tampa and earned her bachelor's degree from New College in Sarasota. She now lives in Riverview with her husband, Ryan Guy, a student and musician who plays bass in the indie rock band Maybe Foreign. - USF's program doesn't offer a concentration in young adult writing. But, Thompson says, "I'm amazed so many people want to write it. All these people in my fiction workshop say, 'I want to try YA.' It's an exploding genre." What was it like writing your first novel? It's my first published novel. I used to like to write romance novels because I liked to read books like that. I've always liked books for teens, so it was really natural for me to write. I was working on my psychology thesis at the same time I was writing it, and in comparison it was a lot of fun. What was the inspiration for the book? I was in my last year at New College studying psychology. I was struck by how competitive everyone was. Everyone was really stressed and worried about conferences and grad school. I was surrounded by people who were really neurotic. At some point I thought it'd be interesting to have a reality show to show how crazy psych majors are. Would you say you and Leigh Nolan are alike? If so, how? We were really alike, but as I kept drafting the book became less autobiographical. I prefer that because it's always dangerous to have your first novel be too autobiographical. I think we're a lot alike in the quirks she has - I had a Gremlin, too, that I loved. Also, we think a lot alike. Whenever you're in Leigh's head, you're definitely in my head. One big way we're not alike is Leigh's a lot more indecisive than me and she definitely lies a lot more than I do. Why would you recommend Psych Major Syndrome to young readers? I was really interested in college in high school. When I was 14, I couldn't wait to be independent and be on my own. It's such a cool time of your life. It's a really exciting period of your life and there's not enough books out there about this time in your life. You're not an adult yet, however there's a lot more responsibility on you. It gives you more chances to get in trouble, but also to have a lot of life-changing experiences. Are you working on any novels or do you have any ideas for a future novel? I'm working on a book right now about a girl with an eating disorder. It's set in high school. It's more about feeling like you're alone and you don't have anyone who's going through what you are. The second project is I'm working on a four-book series on young gymnasts that actually just got sold and the books will be published in 2012. When did you start writing? I started writing in first grade. I tried writing several romance novels in high school and it didn't totally click with me. I was an adolescent writing about adults, now I'm an adult writing about adolescents. Not sure what that says about me. What advice would you give to young writers? Honestly, it really is to just write. Keep writing and write a lot. There have been times in my life when I'm really busy and it's hard to find time to write. It's easy to go three months and not have written anything, and you could've had a third of a novel. Sit down and put words on paper. See what you've written as a very malleable thing, you can play with it later. Also, you're always told writing isn't a viable career. There are ways to make a living as a writer, so don't be afraid to be a writer.If you goAlicia Thompson will appear at the Times Festival of Reading Saturday at USF St. Petersburg, 2 p.m., Davis Hall 105.