Frequently Asked Questions
Thanks
again for hosting me in your schools.
Teachers often hand me questions from kids and ask if I could
answer them by e-mail. The groups of questions aren't marked
by school. Ive grouped similar questions.
questions you may have that I've not already answered
on this page.
How long did
it take you to finish your first book?
17 years! [
Top
of Page ]
Do you have
trouble with your first draft?
Yes. I have trouble with EVERYTHING! But I also have lots of
fun, and the fun makes the trouble worthwhile. I dont
think of the challenges as trouble as much as I
think of them as a part of the writing process. [
Top
of Page ]
Do
you like publishing?
I love being published. Even though I enjoy writing, the writing
process, and expressing my creativity, I would not write books
only for my own enjoyment. I wouldnt write a book just
for me. I like to share my stories with others like you. [
Top
of Page ]
How
many days does it take to complete a book?
The fastest book I wrote took only about 60 days. The slowest
book took----whats 17 x 365? (But of course, I wasnt
working every day all that time.) Now I think I could have a
book ready in 2-3 years. [
Top
of Page ]
Do
you like writing books? What is your favorite part about being
an author?
The excitement of the first inspiration, the idea that starts
a new book. I also love it when Im in the flow,
when Im writing fast and everything is working, the characters
are alive and Im not worried about anything or struggling
with anything
just going with the ideas. Thats lots
of fun. [
Top
of Page ]
What
encouraged you to be an author?
I was looking for a way to be creative, to encourage
my own growth, and do something that would make me feel good,
make me happy. I had always enjoyed writing letters, so I thought
maybe I could be a writer. So
I tried it. It took
a long time. I had lots of failures and rejections along the
way, but also received lots of encouragement from my wonderful
husband, writing friends, and later, from agents and editors.
[ Top
of Page ]
When
did you first start writing books?
When I was 33 years old. Before that I taught E.S.L. (and loved
that, too.) [
Top
of Page ]
How
many years have you been an author?
Ive been writing books, stories, articles,
and television scripts for 30 years. [
Top
of Page ]
Do
you like being an author?
Yes. I like the work that leads to being an author. I enjoy
my associations and friendships with other authors, and love
my contacts with kids and educators that are possible because
Ive written books for you to read. [
Top
of Page ]
How
many books have you published?
Nine of my books have been published. [
Top
of Page ]
How
many books have you written?
I dont really know. Ive written many more than the
nine that have been published. The first books I wrote werent
as good as the ones I write now. I was learning. The books werent
published because they werent good enough. Im still
learning, but Ive learned a lot, and my stories now are
better than they used to be. I think the novel Im working
on right now will be published. Im excited about it. Its
called RIP. [
Top
of Page ]
Do
you like verbs?
No one has ever asked me that before! Finding the very best
most wonderful awesome verb to paint the picture I want my reader
to see is fun for me. How could I ever tell a story without
verbs? Yes, yes. I do like verbs. [
Top
of Page ]
How
much is the maximum verbs you have put in a paragraph?
Whoa! I have no idea. I put as few as possible and as few words
as possible for the paragraph to read well and say what it needs
to say. [
Top
of Page ]
When
you first start, how many verbs in a sentence?
Again, I dont think about how many verbs I use because
the number isnt as important as achieving the effect I
want. When I first start, I often write a whole string of words
(sometimes verbs, sometimes not) something like this: Ramon
shuffled / crept / crawled / inched / scooted / slid / across
the soggy floor. At that moment, I dont know which
verb I like best, so I put down everything that comes to mind.
Later I go back and choose the best word, or sometimes add more,
then choose at an even later time. [
Top
of Page ]
You
paint a picture in my head with all those neat verb words.
Comment from Mary. Thats whats important! Thanks!
[ Top
of Page ]
Is
it hard to think of ideas to write about?
No, not any more. When I was in school and had to write an assignment,
it was often hard for me to think of ideas to write about, or
what to say once I had an idea. Now its never a problem.
Ideas come to me now as fast as popcorn pops in a skillet. [
Top
of Page ]
How
do you get the idea for the book?
Ill tell you about getting the idea for a book that I
havent written yet. I was reading a menu in a Mexican
restaurant. Besides food, the menu had a few interesting historical
facts about the area. One fact: under the main street of that
town there are 17 miles of old tunnels. BINGO! Just that fast,
I had an idea for a new novel. The main character is a girl
from Ireland who has come to this place in the 1800s with her
father, mother, and twin sister, but their brother didnt
make it to the ship in time. They left, not knowing what happened
to Michael. All this
ideas for the whole story came to
me in an instant, but Ive only written a few scenes. I
want to write that story when I finish the one Im working
on now. It will be called THE TUNNEL. [
Top
of Page ]
What
is your favorite book that you wrote?
Soaring Eagle stretched into a longer story, so my favorite
is all three books in the Santa Fe Trail Trilogy: Soaring Eagle,
White Grizzly, and Meadow Lark. [
Top
of Page ]
Was
it hard for you to become an author?
Oh yes! I had so much to learn about plotting and characterization
and pacing and so many other things. The first thing I learned
was that I didnt know much, so I took classes and learned.
Little by little, my writing became better and better. Even
so, it was ten years before anything I wrote was published.
[ Top
of Page ]
Have
you written any snake books?
Theres a snake---a rattler---in Soaring Eagle, but I havent
written an entire book about snakes. [
Top
of Page ]
How
did you write books?
First I get an idea that really really really really excites
me. Then with that inspiration, I think and scribble notes and
make webs of ideas and ask myself lots of questions like What
if
.? Or Whats this person like? What
does he want? Sometimes I write about what Im going
to write for real later on. Or I write out questions
for myself, like What would happen if
?
All that is part of planning or plotting. After I have a pretty
good idea of my characters and story, after it is plotted, then
I let myself get into the real writing--writing
action and scenes and dialogue, and thats really fun.
(By the way, thats only how I do it. There are as many
different ways of writing a book as there are writers. Some
other authors start writing and find out whats going to
happen as they write.) [
Top
of Page ]
Are
any of your books inspired by your friends of family?
No. [ Top
of Page ]
Are
any of your friends or family in your books?
A few of my characters have traits that Ive seen in a
few friends, but none of my characters are like any one person
in real life. My characters are mostly creations of my imagination.
[ Top
of Page ]
Where
do you get all of your props?
I found the rocks, took the photographs of petroglyphs and artifacts,
made some props like the bamboo flute and the leather flute
cases. Several artifacts came from the trade room at Bents
Old Fort. Some came from trading posts and book stores. Some
were gifts from friends. [
Top
of Page ]
What
do you do in your spare time?
Explore, hike, travel, snorkel in the ocean to explore an underwater
world Id never seen as a kid. I go to movies, attend live
theater, read, get together with friends, discuss books and
plays, camp in my little RV, fish, swim, eat out, get together
with friends and family, go to concerts. I like to have fun!
In fact, if I didnt have so much fun, my books might get
finished more quickly. Sometimes I play during work time
instead of spare time. You know, kind of like messing around
instead of doing your homework? [
Top
of Page ]
.
|