INTERVIEW FOR DEB:

CAROL:  Thanks, Deb for this opportunity to chat with you about writing for kids.  I see that your theme is “Celebrate the Power of Story.”  Could you share with us what that means to you – specifically was there any point in time when that phrase and your talent for writing clicked together?

DEB: For me, story is truly everywhere, and in everything. That’s something to celebrate. And one of the greatest celebrations in story is the power it gives us to step outside of ourselves no matter how shy we are. This really clicked for me following a storytelling residency in which some particularly shy students stepped forward and took part in a performance. It was something they really wanted to do, and the story they helped me tell gave them “story power” In that moment being shy didn’t keep them from telling a story. I know what that’s like. I am a very shy person, and yet when I tell a story that shyness fades into the background and the story takes over. The first picture book I wrote was inspired by this, and started shortly after a performance. It was wonderful to realize that I could tell a story onto paper.

CAROL:  One of the things I admire about your career, Deb, is your experience as a professional storyteller. I know you use storytelling in educational settings to teach writing and encourage literacy, but what has the experience meant for you as a writer?

DEB: Being a storyteller has become extremely useful in the revision process for me. I actually practice telling my picture books—out loud—to the 30 or so imaginary children who live in my house. I tell that story as if in an actual performance. I want many of the picture books I write to be read aloud useable for teachers and librarians, in a story time setting.

CAROL: You’ve worked in the public library system, too, Deb. What could you share with our audience about that experience; specifically how did it affect you as a children’s writer?

DEB: When I first started writing I knew I wanted to be like authors like Jane Yolen, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Writers who explored story in many forms. Picture books, easy readers, middle grade novels, retellings of folk and fairytales. That inspired me to do the same. And, I saw first hand, day after day, the power a book has to touch kids lives.

 I also knew that I wanted to share anything I learned along the way. The community of writers I had the opportunity to meet during my time working in a library setting, highlighted the best of the best. I met people who loved to share their work, their knowledge, their passion for books, and bringing kids and reading together.

CAROL:  You write in a number of genres – picture book, poetry, MG, YA. What do you love best about each genre? What do you find most challenging about each?

DEB: Picture Books—I love the potential in the story that I know it will have, and all the different directions I can let my imagination run in, in order to find and develop a new story idea. I love knowing that someday, a teacher, a librarian, a parent will be sitting down to share that story.  The most challenging thing part for me is getting past the first draft. I often have to battle an internal editor who is telling me “that story is going no where”.

Poetry-I love how a short poem can tell a story, with beginning, middle and end. I love humour in poetry as well, those funny, twist turny, laugh out loud endings you find in the works of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky. That’s what I like to write. For me the most challenging is finding the rhyme! And finding it and using it in a way that does not bend the lines away from the story. But, in the end, it always comes together and is worth the work.

MG-I don’t write as much MG as the other genre’s, but for me it is what you can do with humour, and voice. The most difficult for me is the same as picture books, getting past that horrid first draft and digging back in for a revision.

YA-I love the spectrum of YA writing. Humour, paranormal, urban fantasy, deep gritty realistic. Young adults are as complicated and diverse as the genre and it makes sense that they have all this to chose from.   I love that there is so much that can be explored when writing YA, and that there are kids out there who need the books we write, whether it is to escape with a fantasy or know they are not alone. The hardest part of writing it, is letting go, being fearless and just writing what I know the character wants to say, who they want to be, trusting that what I am writing is worth reading.

CAROL:  So many publishers are situated in the US. As a Canadian writer, what sort of unique problems do you encounter with submitting and how do you handle them? Specifically, I’m thinking about the postage issue and SASE’s, but perhaps there are other things you’ve encountered that you could share with our audience.

DEB: Generally speaking I haven’t encountered any difficulties, even with postage. I go to order my US postage for SASE from the US postal services website.  And, with many publishers going the route of “if you don’t here from us by”, having postage isn’t required. And, in this day of e-mail, there is a lot of communication that can take place via computers, so distance is not an issue, whether for working with an editor or agent. 

CAROL:  Could you share a little with us about your writing day and how you find motivation and inspiration?

DEB: My writing day starts fairly early in the morning, usually at seven. I settle down in front on my lap top with my coffee (which I am desperately trying to keep decaf!), and my email check and answer, catch up with blogs I subscribe to, and Live Journal friends. From there I work on my weekly five. The five things I set out to do each Monday, related to my writing. And beyond that I write, or work on writing related “things” at every opportunity. Including weekends and holidays!

My motivation and inspiration comes from the writers I work with, the kids I work with, and the potential readers of my future books. And from the stories themselves, there are so many stories waiting to be told, it’s wonderful to be able to dip into that well, take out an idea and start working on a new book. I love it!

CAROL:  What has been your greatest joy in writing for kids?

I have a many, actually. But one that stands out is the other writers I have met on this journey. Writers of material for children and young adults are caring and sharing individuals who love the kids they write for, love their jobs—it’s great coming to office with them, and great knowing that I am working with people who are as passionate about writing for kids as I am.

CAROL:  If you had only one piece of advice for writers, what would that be?

To follow a quote from the incredibly talented and amazing Jane Yolen. “Love the writing, love the writing, love the writing….the rest will follow.”

CAROL:  What advice do you have for kids who want to write?

Trust yourselves.  You have stories within you that we want to read, so please write them, no matter how horrible those first words are. Just trust yourselves and put it on paper, you can fix it later.

Find a place to send your work, ask your teacher, your librarian, your parents. There are all kinds of places for you to send your writing if that is what you want to do!

CAROL:  What advice do you have for teachers who want to inspire their students to write?

Oral story is a terrific springboard into getting students to rewrite, retell, and help build their confidence in their writing abilities, and just getting them to put words on paper. Check out the books of Margaret Read MacDonald for easy to learn stories for the classroom. She wrote one of her first books, Twenty Tellable Tales , specifically for busy teachers and librarians friends who wanted to use oral story but just did not feel they had the time to learn, or the ability to tell. 

Play writing games, if you don’t already. It’s amazing what kids get writing and doing, once writing becomes play. One of the best books I’ve used for this is, The Power of Story: Teaching Through Storytelling, by Rives Collins and Pamela J. Cooper.

CAROL:  Thanks so much, Deb. You are always a delight.

 DEB: Thanks, Carol! This was fun.