AUTHOR FACT SHEET

(These are questions I've been asked over the years.)

WHAT MADE ME WANT TO BE A WRITER?

Although I've grown out of it, I was always shy talking to people face-to-face. Writing is a way to talk to people without having to look at them.

I am probably a frustrated actress! I like to entertain and teach children. Writing is one way to do this.

I have a lot to say. When a person speaks, people can forget what they have said. They remember the message better by reading it, and if they don't understand the first time, they can read it again.

For me, a sheet of blank paper needs something on it, either words or pictures. After all, this is what most paper is for, isn't it?

Since I loved to read, I knew more about words than anything else. I believe that if you have a special talent for something, you must try to develop that talent.

WHERE I GET IDEAS

Ideas just pop into my head!

I may see, hear, or read something to capture my attention.

I may think of a different angle for a certain story.

Ideas sometimes come from dreams.

Certain events from my childhood may jiggle my memory.

And my own children have given me more ideas than I can use.

Sometimes I play a game with myself called "What if?"

I have made up stories for children while baby sitting. Where they come from may depend on the child or what we were discussing.

I question everything I see or hear. I've concentrated on reading and writing for so long that I automatically look for story material.

I often find ideas by "clustering" or "webbing." Just jot down any word that comes into your mind, then add another word that the first one reminds you of, etc.. It's also called free association.

IS IT HARD TO WRITE?

Sometimes it is very hard to write. Most of the time I just sit and stare at the paper (or my monitor these days).

If I'm having trouble getting thoughts to come, I may leave that work for something else and return to it later.

I might work on poetry, or what I call junk writing--silly word games or nonsense rhymes. Things you might not want anyone else to see!

Sometimes that's all it takes to get the idea flowing, to get from word #1 to word #2, from sentence or paragraph to the next one.

TIME IT TAKES ME TO WRITE A BOOK

It took a long time to write The Haunted Igloo (5 or 6 years). That was because we moved from one state to another, and I had to put the book aside to do other things. It was always hard to pick up the writing after that. Then I spent another couple of years revising and submitting it to publishers. I took a lot of notes and did a lot of reading--I have a 3-page bibliography.

Some writers can pump out 2 - 3 books a year, but I can't. However, with my later books the time was about 18 months from idea to final draft.

I have heard you should write your story down as fast as you can, mistakes and all, that you can re-write it later. It's very difficult for me to work that way.

First, I re-read my previous day's work, which helps me pick up the story again.

If I can't get started, I often re-type a couple of paragraphs from yesterday's work.

Here's a trick to make it easier to get started the next day:
When you stop writing for the day, stop in the middle of a sentence. You'll finish that sentence when you sit down to work again . . . and just keep on writing.

DEVELOPMENT OF MY STORIES

Some characters arrive almost fully developed. I will often "interview" my characters, or play "20 Questions."

I begin writing to see if there's a story at all with these people. The first draft is more like an outline, or a long synopsis.

About a third or half way through, if I'm having trouble, I stop to outline. That way I can see the direction the story is taking.

I write in scenes. I want something specific to happen in a story and will need scenes to dramatize this. I make a few notes as to which scene to write first.

I get the first paragraph down any old way I can. I know I'll probably revise it a number of times anyway, but the important thing is to get something down on paper.

I love writing dialogue! Nothing happens until your people are talking with each other. Without dialogue, it's just words without feeling or meaning.

I set up a working plan:

1) Decide approximately the total number of words the story will have, and divide this number into chapters. Within these chapters, plan about 2 - 3 scenes. I analyzed the children's book Frozen Fire (by James Houston) to get my chapter lengths, etc.

2) Think along the lines of cause and effect: If this happens, what will happen next? What would I do if I were this person?

3) After finishing the first draft, and before re-writing, I check the interest level and readability, using charts by Rudolph Flesch (often found in some word processing programs).

HELPFUL HINTS

Use foreshadowing and chapter hooks.

Vary sentence lengths.

Use many personal nouns and pronouns to create human interest.

Use strong verbs. Avoid passive writing. Instead of saying She was going to do something, just say that she did it.

Be specific: Instead of a bird singing, how about a yellow canary? Instead of a "vase of cut flowers," say a bowl of fresh daisies.

Create pictures by using all five senses, in the same sentence or paragraph, if possible. That makes your story come alive.

Limit those exclamation points!!!! (Editors call them Bangs!) More than one is too many, and you risk losing the emphasis you meant the reader to see. Unfortunately, too many Bangs is one of my major faults, and that's one reason for having someone else read your story after it's finished.

NEVER let someone read your story while you're writing it, and don't even discuss it. This goes for writing or critique groups, too. My reason for saying this (which many professional writers agree with) is that your particular story is coming from your own experiences. You may not even realize it, but you are using bits and pieces of thoughts and emotions buried in your subconscious mind. These emotions will add life to your work, especially if it's written from your most painful emotions.

Your story is in YOUR mind, not someone else's, and if someone makes a remark or suggestion for a change, that can throw off your whole creative process. I've had people disagree with me on this, but I stand my ground on the issue. My advice is DON'T.

Watch those cliches! He may be dead as a doornail, but the expression is overworked. See if you can come up with your own phrases.

EARLY WRITING LESSONS

I don't recall many writing exercises in my early grades. I do recall spelling lists. I was more aware of studying grammar and punctuation in high school. (We had to diagram sentences in English classes, and I hated that!) It was hard for me to remember the relationships between nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. I learned most of what I know today by reading and making a conscious effort to learn.

I learned to read in first grade with the famous Dick and Jane series. I loved those! When I was young, I had my favorite stories in a book called Big, Big Story Book. Some of the stories were: Black Beauty, Heidi, Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn, Little Women, and many many more.

In high school, I enjoyed all the hard books that most of the other kids hated: The Odyssey of Homer, Giants in the Earth, East Wind, West Wind, and The Tale of Two Cities. I was eating words those days as one might eat gumdrops, and I even devoured a 12-volume set of Zane Grey westerns!