Interview With Holly Black
Lee Wind had an interesting interview with Holly Black up at I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I read? last week. Instead of asking her to describe a "typical" work day, he asked her to describe a "perfect writing day." The difference is subtle, but I think meaningful because, as Black said, perfect writing days almost never happen. He also asked her to describe the difference between how she approaches writing middle grade vs. YA fiction. A good question, which she answered by saying that she tries to remember what it was like to be at the appropriate age herself.
The answer was interesting to me, anyway, because I don't think I do that. I think that, for the most part, I identify with young people of the appropriate age whom I've known as an adult.
In addition to speaking at next month's SCBWI Summer Conference, Holly Black will be appearing this fall at the Connecticut Children's Book Fair.
2 Comments:
When I was working on my MG mystery, I was surrounded by tween boys on a regular basis. That really helped me get into my MC's attitude, I think. For this YA I'm working in, which is less light, the MC is a 15 or 16 year old girl, and I'm trying to remember what that was like, internally/emotionally. In both cases, though, I had/have to push these characters beyond what I felt/past the risks I would take. I was pretty sheltered & content when I was young. :)
Hey, thanks for your kind words. Holly was such a pleasure to interview, and I learned so much from it as well!
Namaste,
Lee
Post a Comment
<< Home