Photo by Doug Dundas (cropped to fit YARN format)

When she was little, Jennifer Donnelly never wanted to go to Disneyland. Instead, she wanted to step back in time and live in history. Since scientists haven’t figured out how to travel through time just yet, Jennifer has decided to–lucky for us!–write novels set in the past instead.

Her first novel, “The Tea Rose,” is an epic 19th-century novel for all ages. Then came her first young adult novel, “A Northern Light,” which was awarded Britain’s Carnegie Medal, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Fiction and a Michael L. Printz Honor. Since then, she has finished the The Tea Rose trilogy with “The Winter Rose” and “The Wild Rose,” and written another YA novel, “Revolution,” which has been longlisted for Britain’s Carnegie Medal. She has also written a picture book titled “Humble Pie.”

YARN is so pleased to have the chance to talk to this wonderful author. To learn more, check out her website, facebook her, or follow her on twitter.

Writing Process

YARN: What does your writing process consist of, from the idea to publication?  Do you outline, draft, revise?  What is your favorite part it?  Your least favorite?

JD: Something grabs me and won’t let go. In “A Northern Light,” it was Grace Brown’s voice, coming through her letters to Chester Gillette. In “Revolution,” it was an article in The New York Times that showed a tiny dried heart in a glass urn. These things stir up really strong emotion in me, and I have to deal with that emotion the only way I know how—by writing a story.

I start to think how what I’m feeling might turn into a story. Who will tell it? And how? Slowly, the characters and the storyline come. I start to read about the period in which the story’s set. And I outline obsessively—scene by scene by scene, so I can see how the plot lies on the paper. I love it all, and I hate it all—depending on the day and how the work is going!

YARN: Have you ever felt “stuck” in your writing?  What advice can you give teens who might be struggling with writing assignments and need to get unstuck before the due date?

JD: Yes, I have felt stuck. I’m usually stuck! I’m stuck more than I’m unstuck. But I don’t really believe in writer’s block. Being stuck is part of writing. It’s part of doing good work whether you’re a novelist, a software engineer, a musician, whatever. Being stuck means you need to push harder to progress. For me, it usually means I haven’t got my story right yet and I need to do more thinking, questioning and plotting. Or maybe I don’t know my characters and their motivations well enough.

When I’m stuck, I get away from my computer screen, pull out big sheets of paper and start writing questions to myself about the story. What’s wrong? Why is this character doing this? Why is this section flat? And answers usually start coming. Or I draw the arc of the story. The intersecting lines of the plot. Something about the act of physically writing—on paper with a pen—helps me think better. It helps me pick up the trail when it’s gone cold.

YARN: Your books call for lots of authenticating details, from what’s in a century-old kitchen to what Parisian streets your characters wander through.  How much research is “enough” before you start the first draft?  Do you continue to research as you write?

JD: No amount of research is enough. If there were no such things as deadlines, I’d still be researching for “Revolution”! I research before I start, as I’m working, when I’m editing and proofreading, and right up until my editor says, “Give it here! Now!”

YARN: And where do you do your research?  How do you start?

JD: For “Revolution,” I started with big historical surveys of the period. For example, Simon Schama’s “Citizens,” or Carlyle on the French revolution. I plundered their bibliographies and footnotes for other titles to read. I went deeper and read primary sources—diaries, memoirs, letters. I traveled to Paris several times, visiting places with significance for my story. I looked up old maps of the city in archives. Visited museums to see art and artifacts of the late 18^th century. Hung out in the Palais Royal, the Picpus Cemetery, on the banks of the river, watching and listening to Parisians to absorb their gestures and expressions. Soaking in every possible thing that could help make my story more authentic.

YARN: How is planning a trilogy different from planning a single-volume novel?  Are they two different beasts when it comes to the actual writing?

JD: You’re giving me an awful lot of credit by assuming I plan anything! These ideas get me and I’m off. The planning is usually retroactive.

Your Books

YARN: In “Revolution,” the main character Andi is a super-smart teen who’s deeply into music, and has all sort of esoteric knowledge about classical composers, rock bands, and musical composition.  Was this something you had to research, or are you as into music as Andi?  Were you as a teen as well?

JD: Both. I love music and always have, but I’m not a musician and had to do a great deal of research to understand Andi, to know what she knows. I read a lot—especially work by the wonderful music critic Alex Ross—and I talked with musicians.

When I was a teenager, I took what I listened to for granted. Now I’m simply gobsmacked by the talent that creates albums like “Wish You Were Here” or “In Rainbows.”

YARN: You’ve also published 3 adult novels.  Do you find writing for young adults different than writing for adults?  Do you see yourself continuing to write for both audiences?

JD: Not so much. My adult books have racier scenes and saltier language, and follow the characters into adulthood—those are the main differences. I’m still very concerned, in both categories, to hook the reader and keep her reading. I definitely see myself continuing to write for both audiences.

YARN: We’ve never interviewed a Printz Award nominee before.  What was it like being nominated for “A Northern Light”?  Did you have champagne?  Rocky road ice cream?  Also, did it freak you out about writing future books?

JD: It was wonderful to be nominated for ANL, but I don’t recall guzzling champagne or scarfing ice cream. I had an baby at the time. I think I answered the phone in a sleep-deprivation daze, thanked the lovely woman on the other end for her great news, and staggered off to puree some carrots. And no, it didn’t freak me out about future books. It’s a very nice thing, a big compliment on the work—not a voodoo curse!

YARN: Where do you come across your ideas for historical characters and their stories?  “A Northern Light” is based on a real-life event, for instance—how did you find out about it, and how did it become fiction for you?

JD: I really don’t get my ideas; they get me. I found about ANL’s real life event—which was the murder of a young pregnant woman named Grace Brown by Chester Gillette, the father of her child—by reading Theodore Dreiser’s “An American Tragedy” and then several non-fiction accounts of the case. The story became fiction for me because Grace haunted me. Her death broke my heart. I had to rewrite history. I had to have something good come from Grace’s death—and that something good was my main character, Mattie Gokey. Grace Brown loses her life in Big Moose Lake, but she helps Mattie find hers.

On YA and Other Books

YARN: Quick!  Name 3 YA novels you’ve loved.  No self-censoring!

JD: “The Hunger Games” (counting them as one!), “Will Grayson, Will Grayson” and “Octavian Nothing:Traitor to the Nation.”

YARN: On your FAQ page, you mention that you’ve always read a mixture of “mass and class,” which is awesome (us, too!), but except for Steven King, you mostly list “class” books as faves.  What are some of your fave “mass” books?

JD: “A Woman of Substance” is another mass market book that I adore. I just read “The Lightening Thief” and loved it. I love the “Wimpy Kid” books, too.

YARN: Thanks so much for answering all our questions!  We eagerly await your next YA novel!!

Jennifer Donnelly lives in the Hudson Valley with her family.  She grew up in New York State, in Lewis and Westchester counties, and attended the University of Rochester where she double-majored in English Literature and European History.

Her first young adult novel, “A Northern Light,” was awarded Britain’s Carnegie Medal, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Fiction and a Michael L. Printz Honor. Her second, “Revolution,” has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, awarded an Odyssey Honor by the American Library Association, and named Young Adult Book of the Year by the American Booksellers Association.

She has also written a picture book for children titled “Humble Pie,” and a series of historical novels for grown-ups which includes “The Tea Rose,” “The Winter Rose,” and “The Wild Rose.”

When you think of psychological thrillers in contemporary YA

Writing Process

YARN: What does your writing process consist of, from the idea to publication?  Do you outline, draft, revise?  What is your favorite part it?  Your least favorite?

GG: I get an idea and I write the first paragraph.  I can’t seem to go forward until that paragraph is perfect.  I rewrite that paragraph as many times as it take.  (“Shattering Glass” took fifty something times.)  Once I have the opening nailed I can go on.  I don’t rewrite as much as I go from then on.  I just want that first draft down.  When the first draft is written I revise a couple of times.  And then it’s off to my editor.  My editor will tell you that she gets my copy in a pretty rough condition.  Once I get my looooooong editor letter I revise again.  The initial editor generated revision is wider in scope usually and I work in long (12 and 15 hours at a time) spurts.  Once that revision is done I revise again on my own and send back.  Then there are usually a few more revisions before publication but they are spot type not wide in scope as the first was.

My favorite part is the first editor generated revision.  My least favorite part is slugging my way through the middle of the first draft.

YARN: Have you ever felt “stuck” in your writing?  What advice can you give teens who might be struggling with writing assignments and need to get unstuck before the due date?

GG: Nothing very creative or exciting.  Just sit in front of the computer and slug it out.  I do the Hemingway thing of stopping in the middle of a chapter, paragraph, sentence so that I know I can pick up and finish that sentence tomorrow.  Once the sentence is finished, the paragraph kinds of comes, etc.  Stopping at the end of a chapter is kind of death to me.

YARN: On your website, you talk about being “paralyzed” before writing “What Happened to Cass McBride?” That sounds a lot like writer’s block, which our reader-writers struggle with all the time.  Could you tell us a little more about what caused your paralysis, and how you managed to write your way out of it?

GG: I had someone toxic in my ear at the time and those words paralyzed my writing.  I had to really grab myself by the metaphorical shoulder and give myself a good shake.  There’s a Zen saying that about a fish that sinks deep to avoid the rushing water and I used that idea to just not let myself hear that toxic voice anymore and get back to writing.

YARN: You are known for writing page-turning YA thrillers like “Cass McBride,” but you also wrote a middle-grade book called “Breath of the Dragon,” about a young Thai girl.  Was there anything different for you about the writing of these books?

GG: You’ll hate this but no, not really.  I just sort of live in the book while I write, and that was just a different story to live in at the time.

YARN: Was there anything different or special for you about writing your latest novel, “Dark Song”?

GG: It was a different kind of pacing for me.  I like to start out of the gate really fast and this one needed another kind of approach.  A slower start to make Ames more believable.  So I got impatient a few times and wanted to get to that back section where she meets the bad boy.

Your Books

YARN: When we think of Gail Giles the words “psychological character study” come to mind. Why are the darker tendencies of adolescent thought and action as important as the lighter? Is it dangerous to discuss this side of the human mind in YA or just necessary? If so why?

GG: I just like to know why people that go wrong go that way.  Are they born with that predelection or does something happen to twist them?  What they do doesn’t interest me nearly as much as why they do them.  If we know why, can we stop ourselves from acting out dark behaviors?

YARN: On your website you recall how “Shattering Glass” had problems that made you put it away for a year. What made you come back? Why was it so important  for you to tell this particular story?

GG: I wrote myself into a corner and couldn’t figure a way out of a plot problem, so I stopped.  I was also sick of all my characters.  Finally after a year or so something happened.  I don’t even remember what, but it made me realize that I was missing a key element in Lance’s character and that was my answer.  I had been concentrating on plot not character.  Or concentrating on major characters and ignoring minor ones.  And the “on” button was pushed.  The bullying element was the important element of this book for me and the whole father’s theme.

YARN: Though relatively short, at 128 pages, “Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters” incites a mountain of thought and speculation with the many possible conclusions a reader can draw from its ending. How does your experience as an educator inform your writing of books for young readers? Do you ever make brevity a goal in order to attract reluctant readers?

GG: Yes and no.  I just like to be able to make a book a lean, mean fighting machine.  Some of my favorite books, the ones that leave me breathless, are short.  They leave me wanting more. I want people talking about what could have happened rather than–she should have stopped at……

On YA and Other Books

YARN: What books influenced you the most as a child? Is there one that altered your perception of what writing could/should be?

GG: “The Lord of the Flies”—a page turner.  He has the audacity to kill off major characters.  It doesn’t end well for everyone.  The ending is kind of up in the air, but it’s not unfinished—it does have a conclusion.  It has everything a book should.  I love it.

“The Old Man and the Sea”—more contemplative.  I understand why some students hate it, but it’s a jewel.

YARN: A new trend has been slowly brewing in YA. Writers are returning to their previous works, choosing a minor character they would like to explore more, and writing a new novel about him/her. Some examples include “The Piper’s Son” by Melina Marchett (Tom was a minor character in “Saving Francesca”); “Lemonade Mouth” by Mark Peter Hughes (Wen was a minor character in “i am the wallpaper”); and Sonya Sones’s forthcoming novel.) If you could choose one of your characters to write a new novel about, who would it be and why?

GG:  Maybe Katie from “Playing in Traffic.”  She felt so betrayed by her brother and yet her brother just watched and in fact urged a girl to kill herself.  He’s going to need his little sister’s comfort.  What’s going to happen with them?

YARN: If you could describe young adult literature to a person unacquainted with the genre in only one sentence, what would you say?

GG: It’s got everything adult lit has only it’s better.

YARN: In discussing “Playing in Traffic” you note that you write dark material in part to allow readers to, “Read about the road that leads to oblivion, but take another.” As a former educator and a YA author, how do you feel about the recent controversy about YA literature being too dark (“Darkness Too Visible”)?

GG: It’s a bit vapid.

Thanks, Gail!  Good Luck with “Dark Song”!

About Gail in her own words: “I was BOI which mean Born on the Island.  Of Galveston.  Which is only important to people in Galveston.  But I was born during a hurricane which is kind of  a fun factoid.  When I was three I moved across the big bridge to LaMarque where I finished growing up.  I went East to school.  East Texas. To Stephen F. Austin University where I got degrees in Speech, Drama and English.  I taught school for 20 years in Angleton High School and then started moving.  To Chicago and Indiana and Fairbanks, Alaska and Anchorage and then back to the great state of Texas.  I have three dogs and one cat.  One husband.  One son and two terrific grandsons.

YARN is thrilled to offer our readers an end of summer treat: an interview with Dorothy Hearst, author of The Wolf Chronicles Trilogy. It’s been said, by the legendary author Jean Auel, no less! that Hearst is doing for wolves what “Watership Down” did for bunnies. That’s some pretty heavy praise indeed.

YARN: In “Promise of the Wolves,” you introduce readers to a world 14,000 years ago in which you write in the voice of mixed-blood wolf-pup Kaala. Though first person, readers will agree that Kaala is all wolf. How did you create the voice of a young wolf experiencing uniquely animal-like behavior like hunting, in addition to complicated social interactions with other wolves and ravens, while avoiding a completely anthropomorphic Disney-esque character?

DH: I worked really hard to get this right.  If I had been completely true to how a wolf perceives the world, it would have been confusing and distracting for the humans who would read the book, because it would seem so strange for scent to be the primary sense and for everything to be seen from wolf height. However if I made the wolves seem like people in fur suits, the book would lose much of its power and authenticity.  So I had to strike a balance.

Before I was a writer, I was an actor.  One of the things I learned as an actor was that in order to portray a character who was very different from me, I couldn’t just look at the character from the outside.  I had to imagine what it would be like if I really were that character.  What would I, Dorothy, be like if I’d grown up in castle 400 years ago?  How would I react to that environment and the limitations and opportunities offered by that situation?  I used that technique to imagine what I would be like if I were a wolf.

YARN: The Wolf Chronicles Trilogy reveals a wolf hierarchy that is complex, volatile and fiercely overseen by the Great Wolves. What was your inspiration for the Great Wolves and the rules that govern the wolves of Wide Valley? Were some of these rules based on your research and observation of actual wolf packs?

DH: The Greatwolves are VERY loosely based on Dire Wolves, though Dire Wolves were smaller than my Greatwolves and there’s nothing to indicate that they were particularly fierce.   One of the great things about writing about an extinct species is that no one really knows much about their behavior. The Greatwolves’ actions and attitudes come entirely from my imagination, and are based on human behavior, rather than wolf.  I wanted characters that were corrupted by power and driven by the fear of losing that power, because I think such motivations are extremely dangerous in humans.  So I created the Greatwolves and their rules. The behavior of Kaala and her pack are based on observed wolf behaviors.

YARN: In the past, you’ve mentioned that Kaala’s story was originally envisioned as a single novel? Were there any special challenges in making The Wolf Chronicles a trilogy?

DH: Yes, because I originally thought I was writing one book, I wrote myself into a few corners that I had to find my way out of when I wrote the second book.  It was a real challenge. It taught me to be a much better writer because every time I ran into an obstacle in the story, I had to write my way around it.  For example, I gave more of the story away in the first book than I would have if I’d known I was writing a trilogy. That forced me to add more layers to the rest of the trilogy.

YARN: Without giving too much of “Secrets of the Wolves” away, Kaala is intent on keeping her promise to watch over humans, to maintain “Balance–how all creatures are part of the wold and must not destroy that which they depend upon to survive.” In what ways do you think animals remind humans to keep balance today?

DH: It was not that long ago that we lived not so differently from the way animals live now.  We’ve forgotten that, which makes us think we are different and makes us forget that we are dependent upon the natural world.  We need animals to remind us of that.  One of the reasons I think that dogs are so important is because they are animals that we cherish and take into our homes.  If we can take our love of dogs, and transfer that love to their wild wolf cousins and to the rest of the natural world, we can stop seeing nature as the Other and start seeing it as part of ourselves and worthy to be saved.

Writing Process:

YARN: What does your writing process consist of, from the idea to publication?  Do you outline, draft, revise?  What is your favorite part?  Your least favorite?

Photo courtesy of Dorothy Hearst.

DH: I start by doing some free writing. I just get whatever ideas I have onto paper (or computer).  Then I might write a scene or two. Then I outline.  I use big pieces of paper and colored pens to make giant flowcharts and then transfer the outline to the computer. Then, once I’ve outlined, I start putting scenes together and writing new ones.  Then the story usually takes me away from the outline, and so I create a new outline and start writing from that one until the writing takes me away from it and I start all over again.  Once I’ve written something, I revise, revise, and revise some more.

I love free writing and drawing my outline on giant pieces of paper, but I think my favorite part is when it all comes together into a scene.  There’s a point at which the story takes on a life of its own, and all the work I’ve done starts looking like real writing.  I also really like the revision process, since it allows me to add depth and shadings to the work.

My least favorite part is when all my storylines get tangled up in each other, and I have to untangle them.

YARN: Have you ever felt “stuck” in your writing?  What advice can you give teens who might be struggling with writing assignments and need to get unstuck before the due date?

DH: Many, many times.  Every writer does. There are two ways to deal with being stuck.  One is to keep writing.  The other is to stop writing and do something to rest your brain.  One of the things I’m still trying to learn when to do which.  Sometimes you just have to keep powering through, to just write something.  Get words on paper, even they are terrible.  Writing terrible stuff is one of the most important parts of the process, and often I will give myself permission to write the worst stuff I can for half an hour, and that frees me up.  Other times, I just have to take a walk, or play with a dog, or read a book I like.  When my brain is resting , the story then works itself out.  So you really have to try both.

YARN: Before becoming an author, you were an acquisitions editor at Jossey-Bass. How does your experience as an editor inform your writing?

DH: Even though I edited nonfiction, I learned how to craft a story and to create an arc of the story. But the most important thing I learned is that writing is work, and the more you work, the better your writing gets.  I edited so many wonderful, talented, smart authors, and I saw how their early drafts were flawed and how they worked until they were really good.  They were so professional about their writing, and I carried that with me when I became a writer.

The other thing I took with me was the importance of always keeping the reader in mind.  It was the key thing I told the authors I edited, and I always think of how my reader will experience my books as I’m writing them.

YARN: Do you have any advice for teens who aspire to be writers in the future?

DH: I echo the advice of many others who say read as many books as you can, and just keep writing. I  think it’s important to add one more thing:  don’t be afraid to write many, many pages of terrible stuff to get to the good stuff.  In order to get a 350 page book, I write about 3500 pages of bad stuff.  A novelist I know who has been writing for 30 years writes 8 times as many pages as end up in her book.  I think people get discouraged when their writing isn’t good after the first, second or ninth draft.  Sometimes it takes a really long time to get it right  Persistence in the face of frustration is one of the most valuable tools a writer can use.

On Other Reading:

YARN: In your essay for YARN, “How I Went from Hating Research to Loving It,” you detail the many techniques you used to learn more about wolves, ravens, and even 14,000 year old botany! Is there a book you discovered while searching for information about wolves that you might be able to direct some of your wolf-enthusiast fans to while they’re waiting for the final installment in your trilogy?

DH: Everyone who is interested in wolves should read “Of Wolves and Men” by Barry Lopez.  It’s been around for about 30 years and is still an amazingly relevant exploration of the relationship between wolves and people.  There’s a great book called “The Truth About Dogs” by Stephen Budiansky that talks about the evolution of the dog.  “The Mind of the Raven” by Bernd Heinrich is a wonderful raven book as is “In the Company of Crows and Ravens” by John M. Marzluff, Paul R. Ehrlich and Tony Angell.  Temple Grandin’s “Animals in Transation” is wonderful for anyone who wants to understand how animals think, and Meg Olmert’s “Made for Each Other” is a wonderful exploration of the human-animal bond. There’s also a book called “Dogs Make us Human” by Art Wolfe  and Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson coming out in September.  Here’s a link to a list of books on my website.

Longevity is difficult to attain and maintain

YARN is thrilled to bring our readers an interview with Sonya, AND three poems from her newest novel. For even more Sonya follow her on Twitter, visit her author website, and “Like” her Facebook page.

Writing Process:

YARN: What does your writing process consist of, from the idea to publication? Do you outline, draft, revise? What is your favorite part? Your least favorite?

SS: I begin by noodling around, writing a few poems. There’s usually an “aha!” moment, when my character introduces herself to me, and I begin hearing her voice. Then I look for a story to tell about her.

But, with the book I’m writing right now, I decided to try something different—to write a loose outline before I even begin. So far, this seems to be going really well. Instead of feeling like I’m wandering around blindfolded, in a long dark tunnel, I feel like I’m skipping through a sun-filled meadow. Not really. But I do feel a lot less stressed, because for once I actually know where I’m going!

I love revision because it’s so much easier to make something better, than to make something from scratch. My favorite part of writing is when my character begins to take on a life of her own, and I get the awesome sensation that she’s dictating the story to me and I’m simply writing it down. On days like that, I feel like a writing goddess. My least favorite part is when I know what I want to say, but I can’t figure out how to say it. On days like that, I feel like I’m in writing prison, serving a life sentence. But luckily, I don’t have too many days like that…

YARN: In your new book, “The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus,” your narrator confronts writer’s block while on deadline to publish a book. What advice can you give teens who might be struggling with writing assignments and need to get unstuck before a due date?

SS: A sure fire cure for writer’s block is to stop worrying about whether what you write is going to be any good or not. I always assume that what I write will be really terrible. And my own first drafts always are. But I have to write that bad version first, so that I have something that I can work on and eventually improve. You’ve got to remember that even if what you write is awful, you can revise it and keep on revising it, until what you’ve written is good. Maybe even great! Believe that, and your writer’s block will be history.

YARN: You’re known for writing in verse, but we’re sure you know lots of prose writers. From what you’ve gathered, is there anything markedly different about writing novels in verse rather than prose? Have you ever tried a novel in prose?

SS: I’ve never tried to write a novel in prose. The idea sort of scares me. But that’s exactly why I will try it someday—I like to push myself to my limits.

I think the biggest difference between writing a prose novel and writing a novel in verse, is that in a prose novel there’s a lot more padding, a lot more description, a lot more detail. In a novel in verse everything needs to be stripped down to its barest essentials. And with poetry, you’ve got to think about how the words look on the page, too, which you don’t have to consider when you’re writing a novel. So that adds another layer of difficulty to the process.

YARN: Wow, you’ve also been a film editor! Since storytelling is so important for that art as well, can you tell us a little bit about how being a film editor has informed your writing?

SS: Oddly enough, it turns out that being a film editor was the perfect training ground for becoming a poet. Because when I’m writing a poem, I’m dealing with the very same issues that I dealt with when I was editing a scene. Only I’m using images in poems, instead of images on film, to tell my stories. All the techniques I learned as a film editor, about how long to hold on a certain shot, and whether to go in for a closer look, or to observe a situation from the distance, everything I learned about how to manipulate the viewers’ emotions with the rhythm of a scene, all of that helps me to make my poetry as rich and as emotionally charged as it possibly can be.

Your Books:

YARN: You’ve written a number of YA novels, but you just published an adult novel, “The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus.” What’s it like to transition between writing adult and YA novels? Do you ever want to put a warning on your adult books for your teen readers or their parents?

SS: The transition between writing novels for teens and writing for grownups was a smooth one. I’d written four novels for teens, and thought it might be fun to write a book in the voice of someone closer to my own age. The only difference between the book for adults and the books for teens is the age of my main character.

And I’ve been delighted to hear from a bunch of teens who say that even though “The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus” is about an older character, they like it just as much as my other books. Maybe that’s because they can relate so well to the character’s teenage daughter.

Have I felt the need to put any warnings on my books? Hmmm…not yet. But maybe I should start! Something like: WARNING: THIS BOOK MIGHT MAKE YOU CRY.

YARN: “Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy” was inspired by an extremely personal poem you wrote as assignment for a poetry class you took at UCLA. How often do personal experiences inform your writing?

SS: “Stop Pretending” was my only autobiographical book. But everything that has ever happened to me, informs the poems I write. I may not always be writing about experiences that I’ve actually had, but I’m always writing about feelings that I’ve had.

YARN: “What My Mother Doesn’t Know” showcases young love.  Sophie experiences a rather physical-attraction-based fling and then finds a true connection with a boy for whom her attraction grows along with her appreciation of him as a friend. Why was it important for you to show Sophie experiencing both of these types of relationships?

SS: I wanted to help the homely guys of the world get dates! I’m only half-kidding…I guess I wanted my readers to stay open to the idea of love coming in all sorts of different  packages—sometimes even in surprise packages.

YARN: “What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know” picks up Sophie and Murphy’s story, giving it a second chapter. Is there another character you’ve written that you would enjoy revisiting and writing about again?

SS: Funny you should ask! That’s exactly what I am doing! There was a minor character in “One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies” named Colette. When I began writing the young adult novel I’m working on now, I realized that Colette would make the perfect “star” of this story. It’s been fascinating getting to know her better, because it turns out that she’s a big fat liar. So I never know if what she’s telling me about herself is true…or not.

YA:

YARN: What YA writers do you think aren’t getting enough attention these days?

SS: All the authors who are writing novels that have no vampires, werewolves, zombies or unicorns in them.

YARN: What poets/poems would you recommend to a reluctant poetry reader?

SS: On my website, there’s a huge list of novels in verse.  This would be a great place to start—especially with “Make Lemonade” by Virginia Euwer Wolff, and “Home of the Brave” by Katherine Applegate.

And, to give you an idea of what my new book is like, here are a few from “The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus”:

Christmas in Cleveland

The four of us have gathered
to watch the “world premiere”
of the video montage
that Michael made for my mother.

There’s baby Samantha,
lying on her back in her crib—
floating on her little sheepskin cloud,
crowing along with her mobile’s tinkling song,
gazing up at its spinning pastel birds,
her arms flapping away
as if she wants to join them.

There’s Samantha dressed as Tinker Bell,
trick-or-treating for the very first time.
She runs up all the front walks
chanting, “Twick or tweet! Twick or tweet!”
But as soon as each door opens,
she clams up and buries her face in my skirt.

Photo courtesy of micala (flickr.com).

There’s Samantha doing a puppet show.
Wolf puppet says, “Hi!”
Bunny puppet says, “Hi! Hi!”
Wolf puppet says, “Hi! Hi! Hi!”
Bunny puppet says, “The end.”
Sam says, “Now I’ll do another one!”

And there she is, having a tea party
with Monkey, Wendy, Tess, and Laura,
sipping chocolate milk from teensy china cups
and nibbling on tiny pink cupcakes.

I glance over at my daughter,
all grown up now,
who raises an eyebrow and says,
“Did you bake those cupcakes for us?”
“Yes.”
“And you made those place cards, too,
with our names all spelled out in glitter?”
“Uh huh.”
“Even that place card for Monkey?”
“Yeah…”

“Mom,” Sam says, shaking her head,
“you were out of control!”

But then
she flops down next to me on the couch
and gives me a bone-crushing hug.

Graduation Day Snapshot

Even as I click the shutter
to capture this moment forever—

Photo courtesy of David McKim (flickr.com).

Samantha’s swirling blue curtain
of robes,

her classic square hat
tipped at a rakish angle,

her hair cascading down from beneath it
like a shining brunette waterfall,

the glimmer in her eyes
so full of future…

Even as I click
the shutter

I can almost hear
her daughter saying,

“Wow! Look how cute mom
was when she was my age…”

And I can almost hear
her daughter saying,

“Omigod! Look at Grandma’s
weird old-fashioned hairstyle…”

To the One-Pound Bag of Oreos I Just Bought:

Photo courtesy of cartel82 (flickr.com).

It’s so sad
to think

that just moments
from now

you
will be gone

and I’ll
be a cow.

Sonya Sones is a multiple-award winning writer, and in particular writer of one of the American Library Association’s list of “The Top 100 Most Banned Books of the Decade!” for her second novel, “What My Mother Doesn’t Know.”  (To find out why, please see page 46.)

She was born in Boston and overprotected in the nearby suburb of Newton.  Before becoming a poet, Sonya was a struggling poet. She was also an animator, a baby clothes mogul, and taught filmmaking at Harvard University. Then, she moved to L.A. to work as Martin Scorsese’s personal assistant—but was soon fired, because she was lousy at bringing coffee.

Sonya went on to work as the still photographer, a production assistant on a Woody Allen movie, and a film editor.  Eventually, Sonya gave up showbiz to become a young adult novelist. Her books have been highly successful, despite the fact that there are no vampires in them:

All of her novels are in verse–so cool!  Her first, “Stop Pretending,” received a Christopher Award and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.  See above about her second infamous novel.  Her third novel, “One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies,” received a Cuffie Award from Publisher’s Weekly—for the Best Book Title of the Year.  And her fourth novel, “What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know,” received the “Omigod, Having A Mother Who Writes Teen Novels Is SO Embarrassing Award,” from her fourteen-year-old daughter Ava.

Sonya newest book, “Hunchback,” her first novel for “grownups,” leapt onto Los Angeles Times Bestsellers List three weeks after publication. It’s a coming of middle-age story about learning to grow old disgracefully…but there’s a teenage character in it, too, so she hopes it will appeal to all ages.

Robert Frost once remarked that, “Poetry begins in delight and ends in wisdom.”

For more on this poetess visit her wonderful website (where she is hosting a National Poetry Month Contest inspired by the It Gets Better Project), read through the inspiring, touching poems and stories submitted by fans of “I Don’t Want to Be Crazy” at You Make Me Feel Less Alone, and immerse yourself in our National Poetry Month themed interview with Samantha below.  Poems-in-progress by Samantha follow the interview.

Writing Process

YARN: What does your writing process consist of, from the idea to publication?  Do you outline, draft, revise?  What is your favorite part of the process?  Your least favorite?

SS: I usually have an idea and sit with it for a while. I’ll do some brainstorming and a bit of writing at my own pace. But the real work usually begins when I am under contract with my editor and have a due date. For my first book, “I Don’t Want to Be Crazy,” I didn’t need to do too much outlining since it was a memoir. For my second book, “You Are Not Here,” I tried fiction for the first time. I was pretty nervous, so I did quite a bit of outlining beforehand. I am working on a new novel right now and it’s a story about amnesia. I only have the beginning outlined and am thinking about just seeing where the writing takes me. As for revising, I revise over and over again as I write. And then when I get notes from my editor, I do additional revising. I’m not sure if I have a favorite part of the process, but I do love holding the initial draft printed out for the first time. I love how heavy it feels. Least favorite part would have to be struggling with distractions as I write.

YARN: Have you ever felt “stuck” in your writing?  What advice can you give teens who might be struggling with writing assignments and need to get unstuck before a due date?

SS: I often feel stuck. When that happens, I try to move on to a different part that seems more manageable. For me it’s very hard to sit still and focus while I write–especially since I spend all week at my day job as a children’s book editor. So it’s really important for me not to lose momentum if I’m in the zone. The other thing I will do when I feel stuck or overwhelmed is to free-write. It takes the pressure off because I tell myself that what I am about to write doesn’t have to be perfect…or even good. Then I just write. I don’t even stop to correct spelling or to punctuate. I do that for a few minutes and see what happens. I may even write “Uhhhhh I don’t know what i am doing.” But inevitably, there will be something in there–even one word–that will inspire me to keep going.

YARN: What are the technical differences between structuring a novel in verse as opposed to a novel in prose?

SS: I’m not sure if they are all that different. I am working on my first prose novel now. It doesn’t seem that different at this early stage. When I outlined and worked on my first two verse books, I thought of each poem as a moment. I see my new prose book in the same way—as a collection of moments. One thing that I immediately noticed when I started my new book was that my sentences were pretty choppy and I had almost no paragraph breaks. I’m trying to work on that as I go. But at the same time, I don’t want to lock myself into any conventions.

YARN: On a related note, what is different about reading and/or writing a novel in verse, as opposed to a collection of poems that might be related?  What is similar?

SS: I think it’s all about the flow when it comes to a novel in verse versus a collection of poems. That’s why in “I Don’t Want to Be Crazy” and “You Are Not Here” the poems run together—as opposed to each poem starting on a new page. I want my readers to savor my writing, but I also want them turning the pages to find out what’s going to happen next. With a collection of poems I think the experience is more about sitting with one poem and digesting it for a while.

YARN: Being an editor of children’s books yourself, how do you approach editing your own material?

SS: I’m usually able to edit most effectively once I’ve gotten some space from the work. It could be a few days or even a week. While editing, I try to keep an eye out for phrases that my readers could easily finish on their own. For example: “cold as ice” or “thin as a rail.” Or words like “fun.” I think phrases and words like that prevent the reader from really being engaged.

Your Books

YARN: What are your literary influences in the coming-of-age genre?

SS: I love to read memoirs and I sought out many of them while I was writing both “I Don’t Want to Be Crazy” and “You Are Not Here.” I really enjoy reading/hearing true stories—maybe even more than fiction. My favorite way to go to bed is to listen to either “This American Life” or “The Moth”—free podcasts of people telling incredible true stories. In fact, a story on “This American Life” inspired my latest book.  Other influences include:

“The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls

“Blackbird” by Jennifer Lauck

“Girl, Interrupted” by Susanna Kaysen

YARN: New writers are often told to write what they know. In “I Don’t Want to Be Crazy” you write about your most intimate feelings and fears, even conflicts with parents and boyfriends. Do you have any advice for our teen reader-writers who might be trying to figure out how to write about personal material for a public audience?

SS: I think the key part of the question is “personal material for a public audience.” For me, writing is solitary business. It’s me and a notebook/pen/computer in my house, a café, or library. It’s me and the words. So when I was writing “I Don’t Want to Be Crazy,” it still felt very private. As the book got closer to being finished and eventually published, the fact that I was putting myself out there became more real. But for the most part, I knew that what I was doing was going to help people, and I just had to take a deep breath and remind myself of that. As for advice, I’d say, start with writing for yourself. Do what pleases and interests you. Let the public part be secondary—or not a part of your process at all. But if you do put your work out there and feel uncomfortable, just remember that by telling your story you are possibly helping someone else feel less alone.

YARN: In “You Are Not Here” Brian takes Annaleah to see a Francis Bacon exhibit. In specific one painting is described, entitled Study after Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X 1953. Why did you choose this piece?

SS: A lot of the details from “You Are Not Here” came from my own experiences. In “You Are Not Here,” Brian is a composite of several guys that I’ve dated. Some of the things that happen between Brian and Annaleah have—at least in part—actually happened in my life. Lots of things turned out like that. I had an interesting dream one night, and bits of it became a dream Annaleah had. Also, I was reading Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar” while writing “You Are Not Here” and that made it into the book as well. Same goes for a Francis Bacon art exhibit I saw while writing “You Are Not Here.” I had a postcard of the painting mentioned above on my desk and that’s where the idea came from. And thinking about going to the Metropolitan Museum in New York City also gave me the idea to create the scene that takes place in the Egyptian Wing—one of my favorite parts of the book. To read a blog post I did on this subject click here.

YARN: So often, grief is considered an emotion for the old, and most novels and memoirs about grief target an aging audience. Part of what makes “You Are Not Here” so striking is its portrait of a teen’s perspective on grief. Do you feel that the grieving process is different for young people, particularly if they are grieving someone who died young?

SS: It’s hard to compare. Everyone—regardless of age—experiences loss differently. But I do think that there would be commonalities between teens and adults. The one thing that intrigues me, however, is how very small children process grief. I wonder what it would feel like to grieve a loss without much knowledge or experience to draw from.

On YA and Other Books

YARN: What poets/poems would you recommend to a reluctant poetry reader?

SS: I would suggest starting with Ellen Hopkins, Sonya Sones, and Steven Herrick for YA. Other poets I’d recommend are Erica Jong, Louise Glück, Dorothy Parker, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton. And those are just the women… It’s a long list.

YARN: David Levithan, a YA novelist himself, is your editor. How cool is that? Were you a fan of his writing before you began working together?

SS: I think when David and I started working together in about 2004 his main credit was Rock Star Editor. Since then he can also add the title of Rock Star Author. It’s amazing working with him and being a part of the community that he’s created. I adore his writing and think that his instincts as an editor are right on. If he told me that walking through Times Square in a chicken suit would help my writing, I’m pretty sure I’d do it.

YARN: Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration for your 2011 National Poetry Month contest?

SS: This year I was particularly inspired by the efforts of Dan Savage (the well known sex columnist) and the It Gets Better project. Sparked by incidents of LGTB kids being bullied and committing suicide, Dan Savage created the It Gets Better campaign of video diaries from LGTB and straight people who are speaking about how life gets better after those wretched teenage years. The It Gets Better project perfectly ties into the blog I run www.youmakemefeellessalone.blogspot.com. It’s a place for people to post poems and prose about mental illness and other things that they are struggling with. The mission statement is: Your words are powerful. Your words can help people. Share them.

So, this year I’ve put out the call for submissions about how dealing with issues like mental illness, addiction, sexuality, and relationships GETS BETTER! Winners will receive a prize pack of books–several of them in verse. Check out this link to learn more about It Gets Better as well as the prizes and guidelines for the Poetry Contest.

YARN: Thank you, Samantha, for answering all our questions, and for your lovely poems…..

And without further ado, here are Samantha Schutz’s poems in progress:

SS: Here’s an alternate poem for Brian’s burial scene from “You Are Not Here.” It was never included because, technically, this tradition is practiced by Jewish people—and Brian’s family wasn’t Jewish.

The priest invites those that are interested
to shovel a bit of earth on top of the casket.
One by one, people dig the shovel
into the mound of earth and rocks
beside Brian’s grave.
For the second time today
I hear the sound of metal
scraping against rocks.
Then each person lifts
and tosses.

photo © 2008 James Jordan | more info (via: Wylio)
Dirt and rocks land on top of Brian,
on top of Brian’s casket,
with a thud.

Over
and over
and over.

That sound is the only thing I can hear.
It echoes in my ears.
Why can’t people be more gentle?

For the first time since Marissa came to get me,
I let go of her hand.
I step forward
and reach my hand into a mound of dirt.
It is reddish and coarse.
I softly release it over Brian’s casket
and step back in line with the others.
My palm is covered in red grains.
It is also under my nails.
I don’t want to wipe it away.
I wonder how long I can go
without washing my hands.

SS: This is something I wrote that was never included in “I Don’t Want to Be Crazy.”

Epilogue
My therapist asked me
when the last time I had a panic attack was.
Silence.
I couldn’t remember.
I managed to think back
about a month, to a time
when I was anxious in a bar.
But that was it.
Just anxious.
Not a panic attack.
Not the sweating and the racing and the fear
of passing out or dying.
Just anxious.
Just uncomfortable.
My therapist and I
had been going on like that for a while.
I could go weeks, even months
without an attack that resembled
what I had been through before.

photo © 2009 Steve Hardy | more info (via: Wylio)
But there was a disconnect.
I couldn’t believe
that things really were different
since I still lived my life
like I had an anxiety disorder.
I was still reluctant to go out too much.
I never stayed out very late.
I avoided crowded places
and sometimes worried
that I would start screaming
or do something embarrassing in a public place.
But there I was, sitting in the shrink’s chair,
realizing that I had gone
from several panic attacks a day
to not even one a month.
I had gone from weekly therapy,
to monthly visits.

But somehow that wasn’t enough.
I needed concrete proof that I was better.
I needed to quantify it.
So I got out my journals
and started reading.
I did a lot of laughing
at my high school self.
I stressed over petty fights with friends–
people I now had no contact with.
I freaked out about bad grades
and even worse haircuts.
I obsessed about boys and wrote
detailed accounts of make-out sessions.

I also did a lot of crying
because my college journals were painful–
sometimes I could only read one page a night.
I felt badly for myself—
a self that now seemed so foreign.
All I wanted to do was comfort her
and tell her that in a few years
things were going to be different, better.

Copyright Samantha Schutz, 2011

Samantha Schutz is a children’s book editor in New York City. She is the author of “I Don’t Want to Be Crazy” and “You Are Not Here.” She is currently working on her third book. You can learn more about her and her work at www.samanthaschutz.net.

Debut authors in YA have a difficult job

His first YA novel, out in paperback on February 22, will be followed by his sophomore YA effort “My Life, The Theater, and Other Tragedies,” out in May 2011–and YARN will have an excerpt of that novel for you this spring!  And if that is not enough Zadoff for you, he just signed a book deal for a 3rd novel, has a tumblr blog, is a renowned writing coach, and was kind enough to answer some of our questions below.

Writing Process:
YARN: What does your writing process consist of, from the idea to publication?  Do you outline, draft, revise?  What is your favorite part?  Your least favorite?

AZ: First, I listen.  A character begins to speak.  He (or she) surprises me because I’ve never met him before.  He tells me about his life. Things are bad.  He has complaints. He wants something so badly that he feels he’ll die if he doesn’t get it.  He’s pissed off because it’s not going the way he wants it to go. He’s often funny because he’s so angry.

I write down what he says.  I ask him questions about his world.  I invite him to speak.  I try to be a good listener.

This is the beginning of the story for me.

A good example is the beginning of “Food, Girls and Other Things I Can’t Have.”  Andrew is speaking, giving the reader a little overview of his life. That’s what it’s like in my head when I start a project.

There is a long process that happens after this.  I ask myself a series of questions about structure, the story goes from general to specific. I work towards a rough outline. I hit critical mass at some point and it’s time to dive into the draft.  There are worries and doubts and distractions.  I get into my head.  I try to force the idea. I try to write well.

It never works. I surrender again.

When I get lost, I go back to the starting point.  I go back to the voice of a character who wants something so badly he feels he’ll die if he doesn’t get it. He knows the story better than I do.

I trust him.

YARN: Your other career appears to be as a writing coach.  What does a writing coach do?  How did you get into coaching?

AZ: It took me more than ten years to understand the process I described above.  How do you write a story? What is a story? What are the pitfalls along the way? How do you stay on track? How do you finish? How do you approach a rewrite?  How do you know when you’re finished?

I spent years writing and trying to figure that out. I had some good teachers along the way (and some bad ones).  I did critique groups.   I got a lot of notes.

But I never had the support, guidance, and overview of the process that I needed. Not until very late.

As a writing coach, I give other writers what I didn’t get: guidance, support, encouragement.  A way of approaching story that is simple, organic, and very exciting.  A way of working that allows the authentic voice to emerge.  A series of questions and free writing exercises that invites the imagination to play.  I’m a collaborator who doesn’t judge, doesn’t try to influence the process, but only helps to facilitate it.

To put it another way, if you want to work out, you can read a book about it, do it yourself, take a class… or you can hire a trainer.  I’m a creative trainer.

YARN: You mention that as a coach you ask questions to help authors set their story free. Does anyone serve this purpose for you as you write?

AZ: Yes. I need this!  I need help.  I’m still learning how to be a writer. I’m always learning. World-class musicians have teachers, opera singers and rock stars go to voice coaches, professional athletes have coaching staffs and sports psychologists.  What makes me think I can do this alone?

I get a lot of inspiration from Stephen Pressfield who wrote “The War of Art.” I don’t know him personally, but his work and way of thinking about making art has been invaluable to me.  Likewise with Viki King who wrote “How to Write a Movie in 21 Days—The Inner Movie Method.”  I know Viki, and she understands something very deep about the creative process.

I have a great collaboration going with Elizabeth Law, my publisher and editor at Egmont-USA.  We did “Food, Girls” together, and “My Life, the Theater and Other Tragedies” is coming out in May. Now I’m working on my third novel with her.

I also have a small group of fellow writers and filmmakers around me who are brilliant at helping me when I get bogged down.

YARN: Any coaching tips for YARN teen readers who have writing assignments for school that they don’t feel inspired to write?  How do you get un-stuck?

AZ: In my experience, there are two things that cause me to get stuck on an assignment:

1. I don’t understand the assignment.  I have to step back and ask myself if I really know what I’m being asked to do.  Am I clear on the actual assignment? If you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s nearly impossible to do it, right?  Often I find I need clarity on the assignment or the way to approach it.  That’s when it’s time to ask for help.
2. I’m afraid of looking bad, making a mistake, doing it wrong.  To this I say, surrender writing well and dive in to writing badly!  It’s a process, not a result.  You get better by doing it, whether “it” is academic writing, creative writing, or a love letter.

YARN: In “Food, Girls” Andy notes that “people don’t jump up and down when you write a story.” At YARN, we believe that people should, and we’re trying to change that…one story at a time. How do you inspire teens to stick to writing even though the going might be tough? What general lifestyle advice do you have for teens who want to be writers?

photo © 2009 David Goehring | more info (via: Wylio)
AZ: I like your attitude, YARN!

Here’s an interesting story about writing and lifestyle. When I was younger and wanted to write, I’d stay up all night, wait for inspiration, look for inspiration in certain, shall we say, less than inspiring ways.  When I got serious about my writing later in life, I started to go to bed early.  This is because I learned that I write best in the mornings, and if I was going to be fresh for the morning, I had to start the night before.

I’m not telling you to go to bed early. I’m saying that I started to create a safe zone around my writing time.  It was precious to me, and I wanted to protect it. Writing is about consistency and repetition. It’s like learning to be a fighter pilot.  From the outside, it seems romantic and adventurous.  But to become a pilot, you have to log hundreds of hours in the air. Take off, landing. Take off, landing.  That’s what the writer’s life is to me.  You have to log a lot of time in the chair.  So whether you write ten minutes or ten hours a day, respect the time, protect it, and keep yourself in shape for your creativity.

Finally, about inspiration.  The idea messed me up a lot when I was starting out. I thought you had to be inspired to write. Big mistake.

I found that inspiration happens because you’re writing. Inspiration is not the spark plug that starts the car, it’s the turbocharger that kicks in when you’re already driving.   Your job is to write. Some days you’ll be inspired, some you won’t. But when you are, you’ll already have a pen in your hand.

Books:
YARN: Your novels so far have dealt with issues from your own life–”Food, Girls” was, at least partly, about what it’s like to be a fat boy in high school (a theme to which you also devote a non-fiction memoir, “Hungry”), and your next novel “My Life, the Theater and Other Tragedies” (coming in April), would appear to use real-life material from your own days in the theater (for YARN readers who might not know, Mr. Zadoff has a degree in theater from Harvard).  Were these conscious choices you made as a writer—like, you sat down and said, I want to write about a kid who had some of the same issues as me in high school..?  How do you “fictionalize” material from your own life?

AZ: It’s all me.  It’s never conscious.

Here’s the paradox: I write characters who are not like me all the time.

I’m not a mother, but I wrote the mother in “Food, Girls.” I was never a ten-year-old girl, but I wrote the sister.  These characters have emotional truth for me.

Someone once said that when we dream, we are all the characters in the dream, not just the main character. After all, the dream is coming from my head.  It’s the same for writing stories.  I have to have a deep relationship and understanding of every character in my story–the hero, the villain, the guy on the bus picking his nose whom the hero glances at but never talks to.  They’re all me, just different aspects of me. (I’m not admitting to picking my nose, but it may have happened once or twice.)

YARN: Can you see yourself writing about a teen who is nothing like you?  (We know you signed a deal for a third novel with Egmont.  Can you give us a clue about that protagonist?)

AZ: I think I answered this above, and I’m pleading the fifth when it comes to the new novel.

YARN: Your writing is hilarious.  In fact, “Food, Girls,” won the 2010 Sid Fleischman Humor Award from SCBWI (and a particular favorite scene of Kerri’s involves an unexpected poetic moment on the football field that had her giggling for hours).  Does the humor come naturally to you (i.e. you are just generally blessed with the aptitude for making people laugh), or is it something you have to work for?

AZ: Thank you!  When I was preparing my Fleischman Award speech, I wrote three instructions to myself on a piece of paper.

1. Don’t try to be funny.
2. Tell the truth.
3. Try to be funny.

Funny for me is a certain angle.  I’m basically a sad person.  My heroes are often sad, angry, or very nervous. There’s something that happens when you take those negative emotions and turn them 15 degrees to the right.  They become funny.

Is it natural? I think so.  But like any talent, it can be developed through practice.

Honestly, I don’t know how to write funny stories. There are people who can tell you what comedy is and how to write it, but I’m not one of them.

I once tried to write a funny screenplay.  I sat down and said, “I’m going to write a comedy now. A big Hollywood comedy.”

Nothing.  Misery.  A tumbleweed blew across my living room floor.

I can’t write a comedy. I can only write a story.

For me, funny arises from attitude and detail.  “My Life, the Theater, and Other Tragedies” is about a boy whose father died tragically two years before, and he becomes a techie and goes up to the catwalk in the theater and hides from the world.  Is there anything funny about that scenario?  Not really.

Except when he’s up there, scared, shy, and hurting, he starts to think, “How do I go to the bathroom? I’m twenty-five feet in the air. Where do you pee on a catwalk?  I can’t just let it fly.  Maybe I should pee in a bottle. Wait, I’m already a freak. Do I really want to be a freak who pees in a bottle? That’s Hunchback of Notre Dame crazy. I’m not ready for that.”

Suddenly it’s funny.

YARN: We can’t resist another question about your  trademark humor—The main character of “Food, Girls,” has an amazing sense of humor about his plight as a fat teenager. While struggling with your own weight, did you have this type of perspective? Were you able to laugh at yourself and find humor in painful situations?

AZ: No!  I wish I were nearly as funny back then. To be honest, I have to tell you that being fat is a lot funnier now that I’m not.  I felt enormous shame about my weight and secret eating when I was a kid.  I’m writing about those issues now with a foundation of fifteen years of recovery.

But herein lies one the secret reasons for my writing.  The message at the heart of my books is: You’re not as bad as you think you are. Everyone feels different, everyone fears there might be something wrong with them. Feeling different doesn’t make you a freak; it makes you human.

I wish I’d known this then, so I write about it now.

Sometimes I still struggle with this as an adult. So maybe I’m telling myself.

YARN: “Food, Girls” never fully resolves the food issue for Andy’s family. We get a sense that all members of his family, including little sister Jessica, will have ongoing, less than healthy relationship issues with food. This choice speaks to the extreme difficulty of overcoming an emotional dependency on food. What advice do you give for teens fighting this battle?

AZ: They might read my memoir “Hungry: Lessons Learned on the Journey from Fat to Thin.” It’s the story of my journey with my own food issues.  But I can sum up the book in two words: Get help.

The eating problem was much more than I could deal with on my own.  I don’t mean to scare people, but if you have an eating disorder like I did, it gets worse over time.  Even if it gets better for a while, it gets worse again.  I wasted a lot of years trying to manage my condition through diet and exercise.  I thought I could control it if I only had more willpower, if I tried harder, if I tried different things, if I found the right diet.

It was a lie.  In my case, I had a serious food issue that was akin to a drug addiction with food.  If you know people with drug or alcohol addiction, maybe you know what works to arrest the disease.  I did something like that.  I admitted I couldn’t handle it on my own.  I got into a recovery community.  I got help on all fronts—emotional, spiritual, and physical.

You may not have a serious disorder like me, but if you’re struggling on any level, you don’t have to do it alone.

If I could go back and talk to the 15-year-old me, I’d say, “Tell someone you trust about what you’re doing with food and the feelings you’re having about yourself.  A counselor, a therapist, a doctor, a friend, someone in your religious community, even your parents. Don’t let it be a secret. Hope comes from sharing this with others.”

YARN: As a coach of one sort, what do you think about the coaching style of the Coach in “Food, Girls”?

AZ: His intentions were good, but his approach left much to be desired.

On YA and Other Reading:
YARN: What are your top five must read books for an aspiring writer?

AZ: I’m a terrible person to ask this question to because I don’t have a top five.  My answer: Just read.

I always read writers who moved me.  It’s probably no surprise that I ended up in YA because I was never interested in intellectual or formal experimentation, especially not for its own sake.  I was drawn to emotion, to writers who made me feel something.

I was inspired by different kinds of writers at different times in my life.  From my days in the theater, it was Shakespeare and Chekhov. In college, it was Raymond Carver, Harold Brodkey, a ton of poets. I read the “Norton Anthology of Poetry” like a bible. Back in high school it was Salinger, Hemingway, even Carson McCullers.  I have good taste and terrible taste at the same time.  Today I still read because I want to be moved.  When I find an author who can do that, I read that author. I’m not picky about whether it’s a “classic” or not.

That’s my advice.  Find writers who move you, then look more closely to understand how they’re doing it.  What are the mechanics behind it?

YARN: What writers, or novels, are you jealous of—you read their work and think, “why didn’t I write this”?

AZ: When it comes to YA, I always give the same answer: “The Higher Power of Lucky” by Susan Patron.  When I read Susan’s book, it took my breath away.  Simple, beautiful, funny, heartbreaking.  She tells the truth in an amazing and specific way.  That’s my idea of great writing. Here’s the cool thing: I got to meet Susan Patron and act like a fanboy!

YARN: Do you believe there is uncharted territory or any territory that has been trailed too much in YA?

photo © 2007 D’Arcy Norman | more info (via: Wylio)
AZ: I’m going to go out on a limb and say we need more vampires and werewolves. And call me sentimental, but where are the mummies?  There are not enough mummies for my taste.  If you can fall in love with something covered in fur, why not something covered in bandages?

YARN: Thanks, Allen.  This was fun.  Good luck with the paperback release, and we’re looking forward to having you back on our pages in April.

Allen Zadoff grew up in Massachusetts, and by way of Tokyo and other cool places, came to settle in Los Angeles.  He is the author of the memoir “Hungry,” about his own journey from fat to thin.  His hilarious novel “Food, Girls…” is about Andrew Zansky, a fat teen whose idea of good time is Model UN, who is mysteriously taken under the wing of the BMOC.  It’s a funny but also moving take on the plight of one of high school’s once invisible men.  Allen is also a writing coach, helping all sorts of aspiring writers realize their dreams of completing stories and books.  Find out more about him here.

On your books:

YARN: Any juicy tid-bits you can reveal about “Blank Confession,” coming out in November?  Or about “The Big Crunch,” coming out in January?

PH: First, these two books are about as different from each other as any two books I’ve written.

“Blank Confession” is a crime novel about a kid named Shayne who walks into a police station and confesses to a murder.  It is also about Shayne’s undersized, over-dressed, big-mouthed Haitian-American friend.

“The Big Crunch” is a hyper-realistic contemporary love story with no vampires.

YARN: You tend to write about  Big Themes in many of your novels–starting a new religion (“Godless”), murder (“Blank Confession”), “a theory concerning the end of the universe” (“The Big Crunch”), the future of the USSA in 2076 (“Rash”)….we could go on….  Would you say these themes generate your novels, or do you start with characters (or stories) that find these themes on their own?  Also, regardless of where you start, where do the themes come from–books you read, articles in newspapers, things you see that piss you off?

PH: All of the above.  This might be kind of boring, but I’m mostly interested in genre and the way it intersects with story structure, literary style, and technique.  One of the reasons I love YA is that it allows me to cross genre boundaries, and play around with different structures and techniques.

Every book has a different genesis.  In “Mr. Was,” I started with some dream images that became scenes; the characters and plot came much later.  “Hole in the Sky” evolved from a recurring childhood fantasy, and was largely inspired by the physical landscape of the Grand Canyon.  “Godless” sprang from an attempt to write an archetypical coming-of-age story; the religion element was incidental to the story.  “Invisible” is purely character-driven.  “Rash” began as a series of sociological observations, so in that case theme was the predominant driver.  In “Blank Confession,” I wanted to write a Western novel in a contemporary urban setting—it’s an homage to both Jack Schaefer, who wrote “Shane,” and Elmore Leonard.

YARN: What’s it like to transition between writing adult and YA novels?  Do you ever want to put a warning on your adult books for your teen readers or their parents?

PH: Yeah, I sometimes worry about younger readers who read my adult work.  Not because I think it will “hurt” them, but because I think it will disappoint them.  I’m afraid they’ll find my adult books boring, and the style of humor won’t work for them.  The writing itself is not that different for me.

YARN: After so long writing (mostly) realistic contemporary fiction for teens, what inspired your forthcoming “The Klaatu Diskos,” a sci-fi trilogy?

PH: My first YA novel, “Mr. Was” (1996), is a time travel story, and in fact can be regarded as the prequel to “The Klaatu Diskos.”  My third YA novel, “Hole in the Sky” (2001), is near-future apocalyptic sci-fi.  In 2006 I published “Rash,” a dystopian sci-fi novel.  “The Klaatu Diskos” feels to me like a natural progression.  I’m now working on a book about magic.

YARN: Without Cliff Noting your own novel, can you give us any insights into why you chose to have Kelleigh read “Moby-Dick” in “How to Steal a Car”?

PH: “Moby-Dick” just felt right to me.  It’s funny and complicated and conflicted and more than a little self-destructive—just like Kelleigh.  “Moby-Dick” was not well-received upon its publication.  It was perceived as little more than an instruction manual and travelogue at first, but readers kept going back to it.  Which is my hope for “How to Steal a Car.” 

YARN: “Sweetblood” is just as much about diabetes as it is about vampires. How did you achieve this balance?  Where did the connection come from?

PH: There’s a long answer to that, which I wrote about here.  Here’s the short answer: I began writing “Sweetblood” in 1978, and came up with the diabetes-vampirism theory.  I set the book aside for several years.  In 1984, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and became interested in the book again.  But it wasn’t working, so I set it aside again.  In the late 1990s, when I began writing novels with teen protagonists, I saw how the book might take shape as a YA novel, so I wrote it.

YARN: There seems to be a theme of mental instability in many of your novels. Shin in “Godless” becomes obsessed with the tenets he helped create for Jason’s religion and Doug in “Invisible” tries and fails to suppress a horrid memory. Why do you think you’re attracted to this theme?

PH: Shin and Doug are essentially the same character with different histories.  As to your larger question, I’m interested in how people overcome problems, and problems of perception, information processing, and self-control (which we all experience to some degree) are among the most fascinating of the challenges we face as humans.  I just like to write about people who are messed up.

On your writing process:

YARN: What is your favorite part of the writing process? Least favorite?  Why?

PH: It depends on how you define “the writing process.”  I love the writing itself.  I enjoy meeting readers.  The business part of it is a pain.  All those things are part of the creative process, as I see it.

YARN: Let us clarify—Of course all the things you mention are part of the creative process, but we meant something a bit more nuts and bolts.  For instance, do you prefer drafting or revising?  Outlining?  Daydreaming?  (You’re probably getting the picture…)

PH: It all kind of squooshes together for me, so it’s hard for me to say one part or another is my favorite.  Let me give you an example.  This morning I was working on a new scene for “Klaatu Diskos.”  I wrote a few paragraphs, then revised them, then stared out the window for maybe twenty minutes, reread what I’d written, deleted one of the paragraphs, laid down on my office sofa and thought about how the scene worked to move the plot forward, fell asleep, woke up and opened document that serves as my outline (It’s a mess!), made a minor structural change, then heavily revised the opening of an earlier chapter that was connected (plotwise) to the scene I’d started this morning.  I then did about an hour of online research, went back and added about ten lines to that scene, reread what I’d written, and made a few more changes.  It would be unusual for me to write more than a page or two without rereading and revising, and because I am incapable of following a real outline, my “outline” consists mostly of what I’ve already written, and ideas about directions a story might take.

Some novelists dream/think about a book for weeks or months (or years), do a bunch of research, create an outline, write a draft of their novel, then revise and polish.  I’ve never worked that way, although I sometimes wish I did.  My looser, back-and-forth approach can be maddeningly inefficient at times—as on those days when I end up deleting hours of work after writing myself into a blind alley.  Still, it took me many years to find a “system” that worked for me, so I’m sticking with it.

I guess you could say that my favorite part of writing is all of it.

YARN: We think your tips for writers are just great.  But we also wonder:  Since so many of YARN’s readers are teens who struggle with writing assignments in school–any tips for those suffering from writer’s block?  What do you do when you have a deadline and you’re “stuck”?

PH: I never sit and stare at a blank page.  I tried that for, like, twenty years.  It doesn’t work.  When I get stuck, I work on something else for a while, even if it’s something I know will never see print.  Keep the fingers moving.  It will come.

YARN: You are especially good at avoiding clichés in your writing.  Do you have any advice for aspiring writers on how to avoid such pitfalls?

PH: The first thing is to learn to recognize clichés when they sneak up on you.  It’s harder than it sounds.  But once you learn to see them, it’s a simple matter to eliminate or modify them.  Really, you just have to make the effort—on every page.

On Other Things YA:

YARN: Censorship has long plagued the world of YA literature—and continues, even today! For just one recent example: Ellen Hopkins was uninvited from the 2011 Teen Lit Festival in Texas because of the graphic nature of her writing.  The event was ultimately cancelled, but before it was, you and many other invited authors withdrew from the festival (Go you, we say!).  Also, you commented on this unfortunate event in your blog.  Any further thoughts on why does censorship still exists in today’s YA world?

PH: People are afraid of things that might harm their children.  Books are powerful.  Books are dangerous.  You will never convince a “book banner” that books are harmless, because he knows that’s not true.  The best strategy, I think, is to try to convince parents that the benefits of reading widely and courageously far outweigh the perils of doing so.

YARN: In your blog, you mention two instances where something similar happened to you, and you did nothing.  What would you do now, and why?

PH: Communicate.  Make noise.  Write.  Because it’s what I know how to do.

YARN: Who are you reading these days?  Any YA authors you think are underappreciated, and we ought to know about?

PH: There is a lot of good stuff out there right now.  It’s a great time to be reading YA.  The selection is enormous.  Don’t be picky—dive in!

YARN: Why do you believe YA is now more popular than ever before?

PH: J.R.R. Tolkien.  Phillip Pullman.  J.K. Rowling.

YARN: Thank you, Pete!

Photo courtesy of Patty Nason.

YARN editors were thrilled to interview Malinda Lo, the brilliant and witty author of “Ash.” If you haven’t yet had a chance to read “Ash,” (which you definitely should) it’s the Cinderella story retold with a fairy/lesbian twist. Malinda’s prose recreates an ancient world, where fairies dominate the forests alongside farming villages, and carriages carrying want-to-be-princesses clatter down cobbled streets leading to the castle. When you read “Ash,” you travel into the world of the fairytale with all five senses.

“Ash” is is a nominee for the Andre Norton Award, was a finalist for the 2010 William C. Morris Award, and was a Kirkus Best Young Adult Novel of 2009. Prior to writing “Ash,” Malinda worked in publishing, as an entertainment reporter for AfterEllen.com, and earned Masters degrees from both Harvard and Stanford. “Huntress,” Malinda’s second book is due out in April of 2011. Malinda also blogs regularly.

On “Ash”

YARN: Many fairy tales and folk legends carry a message for young boys and girls about how they are expected to behave in society and the consequences if they fail.  American children grow up to idolize Disney princesses who win their prince with a beautiful face and a charming song. Your blog notes the many versions of Cinderella which served as research when you wrote “Ash.” What specific choices did you make while writing Ash’s character to make her different from the Cinderellas of the past?

ML: A tongue-in-cheek but accurate list: (1) She does not talk to animals; (2) she does not sing while cleaning the house; (3) she is not a blonde; (4) she does not fall in love with the prince.

More seriously, I didn’t really think too much about how Ash should be different from other Cinderellas. I actually tried to find the common threads among those different versions. The one thing that is true across all Cinderellas is that she is a young girl who loses both of her parents. That’s where Ash’s character began.

YARN: You mention on your blog that the first version of the novel had Ash fall for the prince. Was Sidhean present in that version of the story? How did the fairy conflict evolve within your tale and what research made you first consider using the magic of a powerful and seductive fairy instead of a plump, maternal fairy godmother?

ML: Yes, Sidhean was present in the first draft. All of the main characters were present in the first draft.

When I began my research for the book, I knew that I wanted a fairy in it, but at the time I didn’t know much about fairy folklore. I was an anthropology graduate student, so I began to read 19th century folklore about fairies in Ireland and England. That folklore leads directly to a concept of fairies as powerful and seductive supernatural creatures. The plump, maternal fairy godmother is a much more recent development.

My decision to make the fairy a male instead of female was probably my first big choice in terms of differentiating my version of Cinderella from others. I’m pretty sure I chose to make Sidhean male because I liked the idea that fairies shared traits with vampires, and I was a big fan of Spike on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Sidhean started out as a Spike-like figure, but he did change and evolve as I got to know him. (For example, he is not as funny as Spike.)

YARN: What role do fairy tales have in defining our ideas of love and companionship? Do you see “Ash” as an important step in reclaiming and redefining those ideals?

ML: This is such a complex question, and I encourage readers who are interested in exploring this further to check out Marina Warner’s “From the Beast to the Blonde,” as well as Jack Zipes’ numerous analyses of fairy tales.

Briefly, I’m sure that many readers can think of fairy tales in which the main female character is saved by a prince, or is rewarded for being good by marrying a prince. This does underscore both heteronormativity and class hierarchy; in other words, a girl should marry a rich man. But I do want to point out that fairy tales can actually be very complicated things, and there are different ways to interpret them.

I think that “Ash” is part of a long history of women reclaiming stories for themselves, and of queer women writing themselves into stories. “Ash” hasn’t even been out for a year yet, so I can’t predict how important it will be in the long run. But I’m happy to be part of that history.

YARN: You’ve noted that the point of the novel is that “Ash” falls in love, not that it’s with a woman.  Can you explain why this is a significant distinction?

ML: If the novel were about Ash falling in love with a woman for the first time, it would be a coming-out story. A coming-out story typically involves dealing with homophobia, facing others who don’t accept one’s sexual orientation, and learning to accept oneself. (I’m generalizing here!) The main point is: In a coming-out story, homophobia usually exists.

I say that “Ash”s about falling in love, period, because there is no homophobia in Ash’s world. The gender of Ash’s love interest is irrelevant. She doesn’t have to come out, because it’s totally normal for her to fall in love with a woman. It is very much a fairy tale, especially for queer readers.

YARN: Can you tell us a little about “Huntress” which is being published in Spring 2011?

ML: “Huntress” is set in the same world as “Ash,” but several centuries earlier, so there are no crossover characters. It is about the origin of the first huntress in the kingdom, and it’s fantasy. I think of it as a hero’s quest, except with two girls as the main characters. And there’s adventure and weapons and romance and lesbians!

On Writing

YARN: You mention on your blog that when beginning a book, you try to write 1500 words a day. Is this only when you’re working on a new project? Do you write everyday, even when not working on a novel or editorial piece? Do you keep a journal or diary?

ML: The 1500 words/day goal is only for when I’m writing a rough draft, when the point is to just get the story out on the page. I have to keep moving forward during this stage, and having that word count goal helps me to do that.

I don’t write fiction every day. Although I do write emails, blog posts, etc., daily; and I have noticed that if I don’t work on fiction a couple of days a week at least, I start to get antsy. That’s a fairly recent development, though.

I do keep a journal. I actually keep two: one for writing about my current novel, the other for writing about anything. One is basically more personal than the other.

YARN: How much does outlining and research play a role in your writing process prior to drafting a novel?

Huge! I love to research and I do a lot of it before I start. The research really helps me to conceptualize the story and the characters. I have to write outlines for my publisher, but I would write an outline even if I didn’t have to. I like to plan out the story in advance. That doesn’t mean the finished book is just like the outline, but it’s a great pre-first draft draft.

YARN: Can you tell us a bit about your revision process? Does your editor see your first draft? How much time does revision take? Any advice for our teen writers about revision?

ML: I think of the first draft I write as a rough draft. Nobody sees that except me! (The very idea of it horrifies me!) I clean it up a bit before I send what I call the first draft to my agent and editor. Revision can take a long, long time, but I suspect it varies depending on the book. I worked on “Ash” for eight years, but I had a day job at the time, and I wasn’t working under contract (i.e., with deadlines) the whole time. I worked on “Huntress” for one and a half years.

I like to encourage all writers to not think of revision as a horrible thing. Revision is really the most important part of writing because this is where stories begin to sing. This is where you shape the story, hone the characters, and sharpen your prose. Revision is writing.

YARN: As a career writer in many forms, there must have been one point at which you had a piece that either you didn’t want to write, or the writing didn’t come easy. Any advice to our teen writers who might be facing writer’s block?

ML: I think there are a few different kinds of writer’s block, and in order to deal with it successfully, you have to figure out which one you’re facing. Here are some different types:

1. I don’t wanna write this crappy report! — This is the kind of writer’s block I encountered when I had to write articles about subjects I was just tired of (e.g. reality television). However, I was a working writer and I had deadlines, and if I didn’t write the article I wouldn’t get paid. So in this case, the only solution is to suck it up and write the thing. The sooner you write it, the sooner it’ll be done. (This kind of writer’s block often afflicts students forced to write academic papers on topics they didn’t choose.)

2. I have no idea what to write! — I used to have this kind of block, and I think it stems from liking the idea of writing, but not actually having written enough. If you’re stumped as to what to write, you might be a beginning writer. The solution here is to grab some of those writing books that have exercises, and do them. Just write about whatever. Also, keep a notebook where you can note down ideas. The more you write (and the more ideas you jot down), the less you will have this problem. These days, I have the opposite problem: There are way too many things I want to write!

3. I’m totally stuck in this scene and don’t know what to write next! — I deal with this a lot myself. The thing that works for me is taking a break from writing by doing some sort of physical activity: exercise, yard work, painting, whatever. Just stop thinking about the place where you’re stuck and let your subconscious do the work. At some point, the solution will float to the surface.

On Reading

YARN: After reading “Ash,” and while waiting for “Huntress,” are there any YA books you would recommend to our readers?

ML: “Beauty” by Robin McKinley – My favorite retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

“Rampant” by Diana Peterfreund – A group of girls fight killer unicorns. Seriously awesome! And the sequel, “Ascendant,” comes out this October. I even blurbed it I loved it so much.

“Silver Phoenix” by Cindy Pon – An Asian-inspired fantasy adventure with mouth-watering food descriptions and fantastic magical creatures.

YARN: A while back, you wrote an article for AfterEllen.com about the evolution of LGBT young adult fiction. How do you see the genre continuing to evolve? Are we moving in the right direction?

ML: I think that publishing is still on the track I noted in that article: moving away from typical coming-out stories and including more LGBT secondary characters. Personally, I’d love to see more books about lesbian/bisexual teen girls (there still seem to be more books about gay boys than girls), and I’d like to see more LGBT teens in genre fiction (fantasy, science fiction). I have high hopes!

YARN:  Thanks, Malinda, and good luck with “Huntress”!  We can’t wait!

Asha hurried through the aisle of pulsating washers and whirling dryers. The machines sang like a choir of middle-aged American ladies, but she ignored them. She was headed for the table marked “Give-Aways.”

The laundry room could have been a refuge if it hadn’t been for the other, darker room beside it, which housed the apartment building’s incinerator. There was no telling when the huge creature would come to life, roaring, snarling, devouring trash that came hurtling down chutes from the apartments above. Even when the incinerator was silent, the pitch-black room stank of scorched rubber and melting plastic.

“Keep away from that machine,” Ma warned the girls. For once, Asha found it easy to obey.

Ma mistrusted the laundry machines, too. She and the other Indian women in the building scrubbed their laundry by hand and then took it up to the roof, where they pegged it to lines.

The colors of the discarded quilt had faded into a soft pattern of pastels that smelled faintly of lemons and soap. Asha grabbed it and dashed past the incinerator. The apartment upstairs smelled of stale spices from yesterday’s cooking. Asha threw open her window, climbed onto the fire escape, and closed the curtains tightly behind her.

One ladder led down to the next floor and the next, and another led up and up, as high as the roof, where her mother and sister were collecting laundry.  Asha arranged the quilt in a corner and sat cross-legged on it. The autumn afternoon was fading quickly. Wispy, rose-colored clouds floated behind tall buildings, and sparrows swooped and called to each other. Far below, children screamed as they played tag.

Like a deep-sea diver coming to the surface, Asha drew in a long, deep breath. Then, she opened a small notebook and began writing. Words were springing up inside of her; she’d been waiting all day to spill them across the page.

“Osh!” a voice called from inside. “Ma wants you!”

Asha sighed. “Coming!” she answered.

“Were you out on that fire escape again?” her sister asked. “She’ll find you sooner or later. She always does.”

“No,” Asha answered, lifting her chin. “Not this time.”

Rita shrugged. “I’ll cover for you,” she said. “But be careful. Come on.”

On the roof, Ma was removing clothespins from the line. “Where were you?” she asked Asha, frowning.

Asha shrugged. “Rita found me,” she said.

Ma shook her head and went back to work. The girls began to fold a sheet, stepping together to make the corners meet, backing away to stretch it taut again.

A neighbor approached them, another Indian woman who lived down the hall. Asha nudged Rita, and the sisters ducked behind the one sari still floating on the line. This woman liked to pull them aside and ask what the fighting had been about the night before. Flinging the sari out of her way, she surveyed the girls. First, she held Rita’s chin and swiveled it from side to side, like she was checking a mango for bruises. “This one’s a good girl,” she told Ma. “You’ll have no trouble with her.” Then she pinched Asha’s cheek. Hard. “But this one …? Sly. I’d keep my eye on her if she were mine.”

With Ma’s back to her, Asha picked up one of the laundry baskets and escaped. It was chilly on her balcony. She wrapped the quilt around her shoulders and watched the sparrows dance against the darkening sky.

Inside the apartment, a door slammed shut. “Where’s your sister now?” she heard Ma ask.

“I don’t know, Ma,” came Rita’s dutiful answer.

Ma’s sigh drifted out to the fire escape. “That girl always wants to be alone.”

She was right. Asha pursued solitude with a measured desperation, like a hungry tiger stalking a rare delicacy. In India, when she was six, she’d crawled behind a sofa with her books and crayons. Her grandmother had pulled her out, dusted her off, and scolded her. Next she’d escaped to the flat, low-walled roof, but her aunts had convinced Ma that she would fall. The servants were instructed to padlock the door. When they came to America, she’d discovered the park, a wide, grassy field studded with shady, empty benches. But Ma forbade the girls to leave the building alone. Then, about two weeks later, Asha claimed the fire escape.

Her sister’s frantic whisper found her in the darkness. “Dinnertime, Osh! Hurry!”

Baba was already eating, and Ma was heaping rice and curry on their plates. As usual, she was muttering under her breath, and Asha caught a phrase or two as she took her seat at the table: “Sending half his paycheck to his mother. What does that leave for us?”

“We have enough!” shouted Baba. “That fellow on the eighth floor can’t even find a job — I found one as soon as we came to this godforsaken country.

Ma turned, wooden spoon jabbing the air like a sword. “Some job! Hardly pays enough to put food on the table.”

“Enough!” Baba said, slamming his hand on the table. “Money, money, money. YOU wanted to come to America, remember? I have a good mind to go home. With or without you.”

“Did you girls hear that?” Ma asked. She put one hand to her throat, and Asha saw her fingers tremble. “Tell him, Rita, to stop talking like this. Tell him how much it upsets you.”

Rita looked at her father, who sat glowering at the head of the table. “Baba —” she whispered, but she couldn’t finish.

Asha saw the steam rising from the rice, the spices sizzling in the pan on the stove, the red chili peppers her sister was slowly removing from her plate. With one last swig of water, she stood up. “I’m done,” she announced. She had mastered the skill of gulping balls of rice after only one or two chews. She could even swallow a chili pepper without flinching.

She hurried to her fire escape, where cold, still air greeted her and cooled her cheeks. A neon sign across the street made the colors of the quilt glow beneath her knees. Asha pulled out her pencil and notebook and began to write.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Asha dropped the window with a bang. Ma was holding the notebook in one hand and the quilt in the other. “Where did you get this … dirty blanket?”

“It’s mine,” Asha said. “Give it back.”

“Is this what you’re learning in America? How to dishonor me with crooked answers? I asked where you found this. Answer me!”

Asha took a step forward, and then stopped. “In the laundry room,” she muttered.

“And you brought it here? Full of other people’s germs? I’m getting rid of it right now.”  Ma gathered up the quilt and headed for the kitchen.

“No!” Asha cried, running after her mother.

Ma was opening the incinerator door in the kitchen wall.

“Stop!” Asha shouted, trying to grab the quilt.

Rita joined her. “Stop, Ma!” she yelled.

The tug-of-war continued. Then, with a sudden burst of strength, Ma yanked the quilt out of the girls’ hands and stuffed it down the chute. Asha groped for it, but it was too late. The incinerator consumed Ma’s offering without a sound.

The three of them stood for a moment, breathing heavily. Then Asha looked around, remembering her notebook. She spotted it on the floor, picked it up, and brushed it off. It was full of words she had woven together, words that made pictures glow in her mind each time she read them. “Did you read this?” she asked her mother, holding it between them, a last token of parley.

Something in her voice made Ma take a step back. She turned to her older daughter. “I have to find out why she’s becoming so sly, don’t I?”

“You shouldn’t have read it,” Rita said quietly.

Even then, Ma didn’t meet Asha’s eyes. For a moment, she glanced around the room fearfully, like a child in a crowd of strangers. Then, she sat down, gathered up the loose end of her sari, and pulled it over her head.

Asha cradled her notebook in both hands. It was too late for this one – the words inside were captured. But in the top drawer of her desk a new notebook waited, full of blank, cool pages that would shelter the sentences to come. Opening the door in the wall once again, Asha tossed the old notebook inside. It tumbled and banged down the sides of the chute, as if her words were shouting their last defiance, like zealots refusing to recant.

When she could no longer hear the roar of the fire, Asha walked to where Ma was sitting. Gently, she fingered a bit of the soft, faded cloth of the sari, admiring the ease of her mother’s ancient escape.

A Brief Q&A with Mitali Perkins

YARN is thrilled to be featuring “Fire Escape” by Mitali Perkins. Mitali’s books, such as “Secret Keeper,” “Monsoon Summer,” and “First Daughter, Extreme American Makeover” shed light on the experience of a teen living between two cultures. Mitali has a gift for transporting her readers into worlds so vividly realized that the settings are tactile, the colors are vivid, and the private thoughts of the main characters resonate in the reader’s mind days after the book is completed. “Bamboo People” is Mitali’s most recent novel and has received much critical acclaim including being a Junior Library Guild Selection and being nominated for ALA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults.

YARN: Today’s teens are constantly tethered to technology. Cellphones, computers, ipods… “The Fire-Escape” points out the importance of quiet and time for reflection. How do you point out the importance of quiet reflective time for young aspiring writers to whom being alone is almost a foreign concept?

MP: It’s not just teens who are tethered to technology, that’s for sure. I’m addicted myself. It feels a bit hypocritical to give advice here, but I’ll share what I do to build in quiet reflective time.

I start each day with prayer and writing in my journal. Sundays are screen and plug free for the most part, and I take at least 2 overnight retreats a year on my own to read, write, and be silent. I back away from technology in the summer and winter, too, and stay more connected in the fall and spring, when I’m also interacting more in real life via school visits.

Solitude is an absolute must if we’re to give our imaginations space to flourish and create good stories.

YARN: What advice might you give young people who are considering writing across the lines of culture?

MP: If you’re an “outsider” to the culture, do your homework. Listen, do research, love someone deeply who belongs to that culture. Let it be read by people of a different class and/or culture than yours and receive their critique. Consider whether the story wouldn’t be better served if written by an “insider,” and have the grace to let it go. Or to wait on it.

The other part of the equation is power. If you’re perceived as a powerful outsider thanks to race and/or class and/or gender, your story is going to be told and heard differently. Are you going to commandeer space on the shelves and displace a story that could be told by a less powerful “insider”? Or is there room in the global library both for your version and hers?

On the other hand, I don’t believe in setting up some kind of “right-ethnic-credentials” apartheid in stories. Who gets to decide who writes for whom, anyway? We’re all essentially outsiders when we write fiction, right? Otherwise, we’d be writing memoir. Let’s represent lots of races and cultures in our stories as the setting and plot demand.

Bottom line—cross cultures boldly, but humbly.

YARN: Teens today are barraged by a slew of images of people who are considered to be important and perfect. How do you encourage young people to ignore the faces on the book covers and the television screen long enough to believe that the stories they have to tell are valid and important?

MP: Even though our culture is saturated with celebrity worship, I think we’re all still on the hunt for heroes. Real heroes. That’s what story offers — the chance to know and root for characters who, though flawed, still strive to be and do good.

Life gets interesting when we study nuance of character, focus on the undercurrents in conversation, explore the stuff that happens under the waterline of the human psyche, and fiction does that so well.

Stories, written and verbal, also hand more power to the imagination of the hearer and reader than stories in a movie or television show. The reader gets to picture the characters and setting, and be in charge of the timing of story consumption. I like the fact that control is shared, don’t you?

Your Books:

“Boy Toy”:

YARN: “Boy Toy” is an amazingly difficult novel to describe in terms of plot. However, it seems like Josh’s main issue is not so much the actual sexual abuse but the memory of it.  Could you elaborate on the fine line between the two, and what you were thinking about this distinction as you wrote?

BL: I have always said that “Boy Toy” is not a book about abuse—it’s a book about baggage. It’s about figuring out how to deal with the stuff in your past and somehow move on. That’s the distinction I drew in my own mind as I was writing the book. The book isn’t about Josh dealing with being abused—it’s about Josh ADMITTING he was abused. That’s his triumph—letting go of his own guilt and accepting that he was powerless as a child.

“Fanboy and Goth Girl”:

YARN: “Sandman” by Neil Gaiman is referenced countless times in “Goth Girl Rising.”  With all the comics out there, what made you reference “Sandman” so often?  For those of us who haven’t read it, can you say a little something about its significance?  Also, when you think about Kyra, what other books do you thinks she’s into?

BL: I knew that Kyra would be obsessed with “Sandman” much in the way that Fanboy was obsessed with Bendis, so it made sense to reference it heavily. About halfway through writing “Goth Girl Rising,” I decided to re-read the entire “Sandman” series and it was really weird how many parallels to my story I found in there. I hadn’t read “Sandman” since the original monthly series ended in the early nineties, so it was like reading it again for the first time.

I think “Sandman” is significant because it really was in the vanguard as comics transitioned from kids’ stuff to “stuff for everyone.” If you read the series at one go, you can see how the comic book industry was changing and maturing, with Gaiman’s work at the forefront of that movement.

I don’t see Kyra as a big reader, to be honest with you. She’s a much more casual reader than anything else. There are certain comic books—“Sandman,” “Optic Nerve,” some manga—that she would be obsessed with, but she’s not likely to have her nose buried in a book at any random moment in time. That’s Fanboy.

YARN: As a young female I (Lourdes) was highly empowered when reading “Goth Girl Rising.” Kyra touches upon topics I do not see much in YA, and she declaims them all. Girls always feel this pressure to “upgrade” physically, like in “Girl, 15, Charming but Insane”—when I read that, I remember wondering why anyone would stuff her bra with bags of soup (the minestrone variety, if I remember rightly. I suppose it was for humor. I did enjoy the moment when when they popped, though).  Some girls might realize there is no need for this kind of thing in the end, but the thought always seems to be there. Kyra dislikes such thinking. So, my question is: How do you know what teen girls think about? How is it possible to create such a realistic female when being a male writer? Was it more difficult, or easier, to write a female narrator than your male narrators?

BL: You know, when it comes to knowing what teen girls think, it’s really just a matter of paying attention. I’ve always have a lot of female friends, and I just listen to them. When you actually listen to people, you come to understand their fears, their concerns, their desires. So when it came time to write Kyra, I felt like I had a pretty good notion of what it’s like to be a girl today—the social pressures, the cultural forces, stuff like that. And then you just add in the insecurity that comes with being a teenager—regardless of your sex—and I felt like I had a good handle on it. If the e-mails I’m getting from teen girls are any indication, I did a pretty good job at it, which is very gratifying.

I thought that writing Kyra would be tougher than writing Fanboy or Josh or Kross, but in truth, it was a piece of cake. I invented Kyra, after all—there’s no one in the world who knows her as well as I do. I just sat down, said to myself, “OK, now I’m Kyra—what am I thinking?” and the book exploded out of me.

“Hero Type”:

YARN: In “Hero,” Kevin realizes that his purpose is to open people’s minds, but ironically, sometimes Kevin himself is rather closed-minded about opposing opinions—this is such a great way to trust your readers and make Kevin a complex character.  But were you ever worried that readers with political leanings more like Kevin’s nemesis Riordan would stop reading the book?

BL: I gave that a little thought, but not much. I wrote “Hero Type” from a fairly angry place. I was angry about the sort of brain-dead way our culture approaches public issues and politics, and I didn’t care if I made people who disagreed with me angry. After all, they had already made me angry, so turnabout is fair play!

What I’ve discovered, much to my pleasure, is that the kids reading “Hero Type” have never really thought much about the issues Kross gets into in the book, so this is sort of their introduction to it all. So I hope that down the road when some brain-dead reactionary tries to convince them that it’s OK to censor, it’s OK to block speech, that they will respond, “Oh, hell no it isn’t!”

YARN: Do you see yourself staying in Brookdale much longer, with SAMMPark and the Spermling, and all the other great recurring themes and characters you’ve built there?

BL: Oh, I’ll definitely be returning to Brookdale. Right now I’m working on a bunch of projects that take me outside of Brookdale, but that won’t last forever. There are at least another half dozen or so books set in Brookdale, including companion books to “Boy Toy” and “Hero Type,” as well as a book that starts in Brookdale and then becomes a weird sort of road trip movie. So, yeah, I’ll be back. You haven’t seen the last of that place!

YARN: There’s a very interesting strain of voyeurism in your books—Fan Boy drawing Dina, Kevin with his videotapes of Leah, and Josh with his tapes of his psychiatric sessions.  Writers always have themes like this in their writing careers, and this seems to be one of yours.  Can you say a little bit about where it comes from, and what brings you back to explore the theme with different characters, in different ways?

BL: Wow. I never really thought about it until you brought it up in that context. You could probably even say Kyra is a bit voyeuristic in “Goth Girl Rising,” following Fanboy around and watching him from a distance.

I’m not sure where it comes from. I think that growing up I always felt like a bit of an outsider, so my characters tend to be outcasts who look in on the rest of the world from an external vantage point. They don’t feel like they can participate directly, so they watch instead. And a big part of my stories is that moment when the characters decide to stop watching and instead take action: Fanboy accepting his sister, Josh finally connecting with Rachel, Kross going to California, Kyra admitting she loves Fanboy.  “Wolverine: Worst Day Ever” is probably the most literal iteration of this theme, with Eric invisible for all intents and purposes, but finally risking his life at the end to help Wolverine.

Other people’s books:

YARN: You’ve had experience writing in multiple genres—several YA novels, and for the middle school set, the graphic novel “Archvillian” and its sequel, as well as the comic “Wolverine: Worst Day Ever.” Have you noticed any differences between YA and Middle Grade? Are there things you can get away with in one that you can not in the other? Also, would you ever consider writing an adult book or picture book?

BL: First of all, “Archvillain” isn’t a graphic novel—it’s a prose novel. Just wanted to clear that up.

The differences between YA and middle grade are really differences of language. You obviously want to steer clear of cursing in middle grade, but you also want to modulate your vocabulary for an audience that doesn’t have as highly developed a sense of language. You don’t want to frustrate a middle grade reader with words that are just beyond his or her development.

Content-wise, you can do anything in YA. Anything at all. But with middle grade, while you can tackle pretty much any topic, you want to do so with a bit more circumspection and discretion. I think I could have written a middle grade version of “Boy Toy,” for example, but it would have been done very differently, with less explicit moments and more left to the imagination.

YARN: Oops, our bad.  Sorry about “Wolverine.”  Next question!  What writers do you admire that you think have guts?

BL: I think David Levithan has guts—he’s ego-less as a writer, which is something I really admire, especially since I’m such a control freak. His ability to collaborate just blows me away. Pete Hautmann has guts—I love the way he tackles really huge issues with fearless humor. And I think Chris Crutcher and Terry Trueman are great examples of writers with guts.

YARN: Have you ever read a book and wished you wrote it instead?

BL: Oh, sure—plenty of them! Pete Hautmann’s “Godless” is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I wish I’d written it. “Going Bovine” by Libba Bray.  “The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay” by Michael Chabon. Those are just a few books I wish I’d written.

YARN: Thanks for all these great answers, Barry.  Can’t wait for your next book.