Run, Spot, Run
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Run, Spot, Run
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Here are a few questions I've gotten asked during school visits or gotten in the mail from kids. Please remember. These are my answers. That doesn't mean they're the only answers. They're just the right answers for me.
I took a stab at illustrating my own picture book, many years ago, when I wrote "Willie Wiggle Worm" (see below).
Table of Contents
What made you want to be a writer?I think "wanting to be a writer" might be something you're born with, but something it sometimes takes a while to discover. I was always an avid reader. In junior high, I began to think about "being a writer," and went on to write for both my high school and college newspapers, yearbooks, and literary magazines. But I didn't publish my first book until I was 39. Back to Top
How old were you when you started?I didn't feel as if I could write a book when I was younger. I didn't believe I had anything to say yet that was important enough to make a book. So I wrote newspaper and magazine articles and short stories for a long time. I was first published in a national magazine when i was 16. It was a poem called "Huzzards" in a Presbyterian youth magazine called "Hiway." Back to Top
Where do you get your ideas?Sometimes it feels as though ideas are bombarding me from all sides. That's one reason why I, like most other writers, think it's so funny when someone comes up and says, "I have a great idea. I'll let you write it and we'll do a book and split the money." No, no, no! Let me give you the idea and you write it. That's what I want to say. Every time I read a new book or open a newspaper or watch TV or talk to people or travel or surf the Internet, I run into new ideas. Back to Top
Where do you work//how do you write your stories?I write newspaper articles directly on the computer. I'm writing this directly on the computer. But when I'm writing fiction, I usually write it long hand on a yellow legal pad. I find the speed of my handwriting is more in synch with the speed of my thinking when it comes to fiction. The keyboard is too fast. And things written on the keyboard look too finished -- as if they have to be that way and can't be changed. Which isn't true, of course. There's very little writing, especially initial writing when you're first getting it down, that can't be improved by rewriting. I work in a little alcove of my living room, at a custom-made desk that just fits the space. I have a bulletin board over my desk where I tack up pictures relating to the book project I'm currently working on. When I look out my window, I see lots of grass and trees, the house across the street, and a bird feeder (that needs to be refilled). Behind me are several shelves full of reference books and next to me are both color inkjet and black-and-white laser printers. I also keep a lot of music CDs handy, so I can relax by listening to Linda Ronstadt or Michael Ball or some of my other favorite singers. Back to Top
What were your favorite books as a kid? your favorite authors?I loved Edward Eager's "Half Magic," all the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, and "Follow my Leader," a book about Seeing Eye dogs. As for authors, that's easy. My all-time favorite author is Jim Kjelgaard, who wrote many, many wonderful dog books, like "Big Red" and "Stormy" and "Lion Hound." He is the author I dreamed of "being like." Someday, I wanted to have a whole string of dog books, just like Jim Kjelgaard. I'm still working on that dream. CLICK HERE TO SEE MY TOP 10 DOG BOOK AUTHORS. Back to Top
What is your favorite book of all the books you've written?I actually agree with the standard author's answer on this one: the book I'm working on right now! Back to Top
What did you want to be when you grew up?A veterinarian. When I went to nursing school in the 1970s, it was actually with the hope of being a veterinary nurse, although I never ended up applying for that kind of job. (Although I did work as a veterinary receptionist and an SCPA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) shelter technician before I went to nursing school.) After I became a registered nurse, I found working with people was fun, too! Back to Top
Have you ever gotten any rejections?You can't imagine how many rejections I've gotten and still get. Some are form letters. Some are friendly personal notes. Some hurt more than others. But getting rejections is a big part of being a working writer. Back to Top
How long does it take to write a book? Have you ever written any books that haven't been published? Have you ever written any books you haven't finished?It probably takes a year to six months to write a middle grade novel, but other parts of life keep interfering, so it often ends up taking longer. A picture book can only take a day or two to write, but then it gets revised and rewritten again and again, until it either gets bought or you give up on it. And sure, I've written plenty of books that haven't been published. Yet. Most anything that I felt was strong enough to be a book in the first place, I'm not likely to ever give up on. I have one middle grade novel, "Maggie Mazoo," now in its third complete-from-scratch rewrite, that is older than my youngest son. As for finishing books, well, that's what separates the "real" writers from the wannabes. When I began writing books, I wrote a few chapters (one to three) of quite a few different potential books. And then I quit. It was easier writing the beginning chapters where you promise lots of great things to come. It's much harder when you write the later chapters and have to make all those promises pay off. These days, I seldom, if ever, start a book project that I don't eventually finish. Back to Top
Are there any books out there -- by other authors -- that you wish you had written?Absolutely. Probably hundreds! But the ones that spring to mind are Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" and Gary Paulsen's "Hatchet" (and "Dogsong" and "Woodsong.") Back to Top
What are your favorite ways to "waste time"?Too bad there's no Olympic medal for time wasting. I'd be sure to take the gold! I've always loved to watch TV and go to the movies. I guess my guilty pleasure is the soap opera, "All My Children," that I've watched since 1972. I also seem to spend more than my share of time staring off into space, although perhaps that's an important part of a writer's life. And my husband definitely thinks I spend too much time on the phone. Back to Top
What advice would you give kids who want to be authors?I guess first I'd suggest they forget about being authors and try just wanting to write. And writing. Because that, of course, is what makes anybody a writer -- simply writing. But the most important advice about the writing dream is the same advice you have to follow for any dream. NEVER GIVE UP. Don't let rejection discourage you, don't let anybody tell you you can't do it, and don't stop believing in yourself and your stories. I guarantee there is somebody out here who wants to hear them. Back to Top
To see the whole story of "Willie Wiggle Worm," click here.
Back to contentsCopyright © 2000, Marty Crisp. All rights reserved.
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