In 1993, she was named "Member of the Year" by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. In 1996, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Professional Writers Hall of Fame.
1) I recently decided that I wanted to write and illustrate a book for children. My main problem is wondering where to start. I feel that I have a solid idea, but I become paralyzed when I actually try to write. What would you suggest a first time author do to overcome those fears? Thank You.
Feeling "paralyzed" when you try to write means that your left brain is overriding your right brain. Your logical side is saying, "This is a ridiculous idea. I can't write a book."
One way to get around this is to approach writing in a playful manner. Don't think, "Oh my gosh, I'm writing a book." Play with the story idea. Singsong the lines. Play a "what if" game with the main character:
What if Jamie opened the door to her bedroom and found a forest instead of the hallway? Play pretend. What happened next? Become 9 year old Jamie in her fantasy world.
"Clustering" is a way of unlocking your right brain, the creative side. I've used it many times and have taught it to my students. The idea is simple. Take a word or phrase--perhaps the good idea you've come up with--and quickly jot down everything that pops into your mind.
Scribble all over the page. Do NOT stop to think or analyze or read what you have written so far. That is your left brain trying to limit you again.
Keep brainstorming for a minute or two. The subconscious brain makes all kinds of connections that will amaze you.
Once I wrote "peanut butter" while clustering the word "lonely." Where did THAT come from? When I'm home alone for dinner, I often eat a peanut butter sandwich. Bingo. Story idea: A latchkey child who lives on peanut butter sandwiches.
While using this technique with students to develop a main character for a story, we went from a very stilted, ordinary girl to a girl whose socks never match, who can't go into a shop without secretly trying to steal something, and who is embarrassed because her nose is always runny.
The students were amazed by the vivid character they'd created--all by clustering. Try it. Children's books are playful, therefore the writing of them should be, too.
2) How long and what did you teach before you became a full-time author? How long were you writing before you became a published author?
I taught elementary school in Denver for two years before taking a year off to write full time. In that year I wrote two young adult novels which were published several years later.
I also taught "Writing for Children" at Amarillo College, and wrote a column on the same topic for BYLINE Magazine, so it was necessary for me to keep up with the market.
I started writing "seriously" in 1982, and sold my first novel in 1985. Since then, I've sold another 30+ books. I'm glad for the time I spent in the classroom since I now do author visits in the schools.
3) Where did you get the inspiration for the Ghost Twins series?
Ghost Twins was an idea pitched to me by the publisher, Scholastic. I'd already "proven myself" by showing them I could write fast and deliver when they pitched ideas.
The GT premise was simply: "Two kids, twins, and their dog. All are ghosts." I created the characters, the setting, and the plots for each book. I'm very proud of the eight books in the series and, according to the mail I receive, I have a very loyal following of Ghost Twins fans.
4) To pursue an agent or not...that is my question! How important--if it was important at all--was having an agent when you were starting out in this business? Now that you have dozens of books and dozens of magazine articles published, has your view/need for an agent changed?
So many houses are now closed to people like me -- as-yet unpublished, aspiring children's picture book authors. (YA and MG authors stand a better chance, it seems, of having their unsolicited mss. read.) Having an agent might open some doors...
What would you recommend as a course of action?
Starting out, it was important for me to have an agent. That was my goal one summer while doing my round of writing conferences--to find an agent. And I did--through networking.
I sent her two completed novels. It's important to have a body of work to show an agent. Some writers try to get an agent before they have much to offer.
Within six months, the agent placed my first novel. The other book sold soon after. I stayed with her for eight years and eight novels, then decided that I needed to work with an agent who specialized in children's books, so moved on to an agency in New York.
You imply that, after having sold so many books, I might not need an agent. The opposite is true. Contracts today are much more complicated than they were even ten years ago. It's more than just having an agent to negotiate nice advances. There are also pages of subsidiary rights--electronic rights, bookclubs, foreign sales, dramatic rights, etc. I need someone to look after all these things, and negotiate the best percentages for me.
You also make an interesting point about YA and MG authors standing a better chance. I've always encouraged my students to write novels instead of picture books. I think it's terribly difficult to place a picture book, and some agents won't take on PB authors for that reason.
I think some writers start out thinking they can write a picture book because it's short, therefore easier to write than a novel. Not true. I think it's much harder to write and sell a PB than a novel.
5) While waiting for my agent to sell my first book, I'm having trouble getting focused on something new, although I have several ideas. I'm afraid to get deeply involved in something new and have to stop and rewrite the sold book. When you first started writing, did you ever have such a problem? If so, how did you handle it?
I have that problem every day. :> One thing I've been forced to learn is how to change gears mid-stream. When I was writing Ghost Twins, I often had to read the copy-edited ms. of one title while reading the galleys of another, while writing yet another. And in between--believe it or not--I was writing the Monster of the Month Club Quartet, Home for the Howl-idays, and rewriting Princess Nevermore.
It's much easier to stay focused on one project at a time, but life isn't always that coordinated. This week I discovered a teacher from one of my chapter books walking and talking in the middle grade novel I'm writing. Gee, I wonder how HE got in there? :> I had to go back and change his name to the correct one.
Dive into a new project and don't worry about when and if revisions are coming on something else. You might even finish another book before they arrive. If not, just put the book-in- progress on the shelf and get re-acquainted with the other project. You can do it.
6) Which is more difficult for you, writing picture books or novels?
Definitely picture books. A writer's goal should be to take all those elements that make a 200 page novel great: a terrific character, inventive plot, conflict, tension, suspense, and a fast pace--and put them into a 5 to 10 page manuscript.
What you leave out is just as important as what you put in. You have to tell part of a story and let the illustrations tell the rest. Hard for me to leave *out* all those details and descriptions I learned to put *in* as a novelist.
My newest picture book, Dear Dr. Sillybear, was rewritten countless times in an effort to leave OUT details, and, since it's humor, to get the wording exactly right to make the jokes work. I actually spent more time working on that 7 page manuscript than I spent writing some of my novels.
7) Your "Mommies" and "Daddies" books have as much poetry in them as prose. Is studying poetry helpful for picture book writers?
Absolutely. I took a poetry class at a local university a few years ago to help me write picture books. What I noticed is that it helped me write more visually in my longer books, too.
I prefer writing in rhythm rather than in rhyme, which is why the stanzas are varied in Mommies and Daddies. I'm currently experimenting with different ways of telling a complete story in rhythm.
8) How do you switch between the different kinds of books you write? Do you change your writer's "voice" with each book?
I find it relatively easy to click into the voice of a 15 year old or a 12 year old. However, when I'm working on chapter books with younger characters, it's more difficult for me to find the right voice. The solution is to spend time around 8 to 9 year olds, listening, until a character comes to you.
I'm attempting completely different voices for a few new middle grade projects I'm working on. I think a writer needs to do this so that his/her books do not all sound alike. It's easy to fall back on what you've done before, but difficult to project yourself into a new persona.
9) What carries an ongoing series like Ghost Twins; is it the concept the series is based on, the characters, or the plots?
I think character is the driving force that makes a reader want to pick up book two of a series, etc. The reader has to care about the characters enough to want to spend more time with them.
10) What's the best piece of advice you got when you were starting out as a writer?
I was once in a critique group with an adult novelist. She "made" me keep working on the opening of a young adult novel until it was just right.
Her advice? Stretch yourself. Go beyond the easy solution to the story's conflict. Toss aside the first ideas that come to you and dig deeper into the psyche of your character.
Don't settle for the ordinary. Press on to find the extraordinary elements of your story. Granted, all this takes more time and thought and energy, but the end result will be uniquely yours. Plus, it won't sound all-too-familiar to a tired editor who's seen the same characters and plots many, many times.
And with that, I heartily pass on her advice. :>
Questions and answers from Author/Poet/Columnist Charles Ghigna (aka "Father Goose").
Questions and answers from legendary author Lois Lowry.
Questions and answers from the Nonfiction writing team Mary Bowman-Kruhm
& Claudine G.
Wirths .
Click Here To Return To Our Home Page