Sonya Sones

How did you become a writer?

I used to be an animator. And after that, I worked as a film editor. But when I became a mother, I quit. Editors worked very long hours, and I didn’t want to be away from my baby twelve hours a day. Instead, I started a hand-painted baby clothes company, which was quite successful. But after a while I wasn’t finding it creatively challenging. I looked around at my life and thought about what to do next. I loved reading to my kids more than anything else, and so I decided to try to write and illustrate books for kids. Turns out I was better at writing than illustrating, so I became a novelist. And by the time I was good enough to be published, my daughter was a teenager, and I was immersed in that world, and in memories of my own teenage years. So, I began writing novels in verse for teens.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

I learned everything I know about writing poetry from Myra Cohn Livingston. I studied with her at UCLA Extension. She set me on the path to writing my first novel in verse, Stop Pretending. Sadly, Myra passed away before it came out. But she left behind a terrific book that you can still find online: Poem-Making: Ways to Begin Writing Poetry. It’s almost as good as being a student in her class.

When and where do you write? 

I write in a lovely spot I call “my secret office”— a public place with an ocean view, comfortable chairs, shade, and a plug. I write in the mornings, and sometimes all through the day, depending on deadlines. But three or four hours a day, four or five days a week is my sweet spot. After that, I’m usually less productive.

What are you working on now? 

I am switching gears entirely, but I don’t want to talk about it yet.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

Nope. I bypass it by not worrying about how good what I write is going to be. I simply assume that what I write will really stink. And the first drafts of my poems always do. But I’ve learned that I have to write that awful version first, so that I have something that I can work on and eventually make better. I remind myself that even if what I write is terrible, I can revise it and keep on revising it, until what I’ve written is good. And it’s this attitude that helps me keep writer’s block at bay.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

“Show, don’t tell.” My poetry teacher, Myra Cohn Livingston, told me that. But for the longest time, I just couldn’t get it through my head. I felt like an idiot because it was just those three simple words…

What’s your advice to new writers?

Show, don’t tell.

I’ve finally figured out what Myra meant! Don’t tell us your character is happy, by having her say, “I’m happy.” Show us, by having her say something like: “It’s lucky I’m holding onto to his hand, or I’d float right up into the air like a balloon.” Don’t tell us your character is scared, by having her say, “I’m scared.” Show us, by having her say something like,” My heart is fluttering in my throat like a trapped bird.” Similes work great for this.

Also, don’t be afraid to write about the worst thing that ever happened to you. Don’t be afraid to be honest. And be very afraid of adjectives and adverbs. Don’t say, “She lived in a cute little house by the sea.” Say, “She lived in a cottage by the sea.” “He ran quickly down the street.” Say, “He zoomed down the street.” This will make your writing richer. Oh, and avoid clichés like the plague.

Sonya Sones has been writing young adult novels in verse for nearly twenty years. Her books have received many honors, including a Christopher Award, the Claudia Lewis Poetry Award, and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize nomination. Her novel entitled One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies earned her a Cuffie Award from Publisher’s Weekly for Best Book Title of the Year. Her novel for adults, The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus, was optioned by Michelle Pfeiffer. But the coolest honor she ever received was when her novel What My Mother Doesn’t Know landed her a spot on the American Library Association’s list of the Most Frequently Banned Authors of the 21st Century. (To find out why, see page 46.) Her latest novel, The Opposite of Innocent, was published in September, 2018, by HarperCollins, and is a Junior Library Guild selection.

Abbi Waxman

How did you become a writer?

I had always written, and was constitutionally incapable of much else.  I graduated from college with a degree in Anthropology (excellent degree for nosy people who want to stick their beaks into other people's motivations) and went into advertising. It seemed like a good choice: I spent all day writing, I could wear jeans and get drunk at lunchtime and no one cared if I swore like a long distance trucker. Perfect, really. I did that for many years, and I definitely recommend it as excellent training for any professional writer, because your work gets thrown away constantly, and you get very blasé about it. 

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

My mother was a murder mystery novelist, so she was my greatest influence, largely because I saw it being done every day. It seemed highly attainable, pleasant work, with very little risk of personal injury.

When and where do you write? 

Early mornings, in a coffee shop near my house. Ideally I go straight to work as soon as I wake up, but as I have three kids my work is often pre-empted by pretty much anything else.

What are you working on now? 

My fourth novel. I'm still in the honeymoon stage where it's going to be the greatest thing I've ever written, largely because I've barely started. It's all downhill from here.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

Yes, of course. I try to think of it not as a block but as a self-imposed period of reflection. I clearly don't know what to write next, so my brain unplugs my hands so I don't type a load of shit I'll need to throw away later. Sometimes I push through and write a load of shit anyway, and sometimes that works and sometimes it just complicates matters. I find writers block usually means I'm trying to either do too much with the story or not enough, but don't quote me. It's painful, but it's not like I'm a child soldier in Rwanda, so I try to keep things in perspective. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Wear layers. It's easy to get cold when you're sitting still.

What’s your advice to new writers?

You mean apart from wearing layers? Don't take yourself too seriously. Take the work seriously, take the time to do it everyday, but don't get all bent out of shape about being a struggling artist. If the pleasure doesn't outweigh the pain then stop, for goodness sake. Life is too short. Oh, and disconnect from the Internet; that bugger will distract the living daylights out of you.

Abbi Waxman is a writer who learned her craft writing the ultimate fiction: corporate advertising. After working for a variety of ad agencies in London and New York, she quit her paying job to raise three kids and write novels. One of those things turned out to be a lot easier than the other. She lives in Los Angeles with her daughters, three dogs, two cats, seven chickens and one very patient husband.

Deborah Hopkinson

How did you become a writer?

I’m a huge proponent of keeping your day job if you need to, but not giving up on the goal of writing full-time. My first picture book was published twenty-five years ago, but I’ve only been writing full time since 2014. Prior to that, I also worked in academic fundraising. I wrote a lotin my career—grants, speeches, press releases. All of it taught me a lot about being flexible and open to revision.  

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

I don’t usually read fiction when I’m writing fiction. And I’d have to say that my writing influences have come primarily from film. For my nonfiction, I try to pay attention to how story and context intersect. I love how Ken Burns zooms in on an individual, then backs up to provide context. And though I’ve read a ton of “craft” books, I always tend to return to Save the Catby Blake Snyder. That beat sheet has saved me several times.

When and where do you write? 

Years ago, I purchased a huge, handmade dining room table from a friend. Her ex-boyfriend had made it. Now it’s my desk. I sit under the 1970s-era dining room chandelier that was here when we purchased our house. But I can look out the back window at a bird feeder and our kitchen garden. Our two dogs keep me company. (They both appear in my forthcoming spy mystery for young readers.) My cat, Beatrix, is always creating havoc on my desk. She’s named for Beatrix Potter, about whom I wrote a picture book entitled Beatrix Potter and the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig.

What are you working on now? 

I sometimes work on more than one thing at a time, since I write picture books, historical fiction for 8-14 year olds, and nonfiction for elementary and teen readers. I’ve written three longer nonfiction books on World War II, and am just finishing a fourth, which will come out in Spring 2020. It’s entitled Refugees and Survivors: Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport. I have one more WWII book to go. When I’m not speaking to students in schools around the country, I’ll often work on picture books in the midst of long projects.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

I’m really not sure writer’s block is a real thing, at least for me. I slog through, no matter what. Sometimes I go off and take the dogs for a walk and let things jiggle around in my brain, and then I come back to the computer and slog through some more.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

My longtime editor Anne Schwartz once commented: “You have to want it more than sleep.” That’s especially true when you’re trying to write with young kids. 

What’s your advice to new writers?

Don’t listen to advice that doesn’t work for you. Not everyone can write every day, or set process and output goals (something that worked for me), or write before work, or all weekend long, or whatever. Each of us finds our own way to write. Find yours—and don’t give up.

Deborah Hopkinson has written more than fifty books for young readers, including picture books, middle grade historical fiction, and nonfiction. Her award-winning titles include Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, Apples to Oregon, and Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in WWII Denmark. Deborah’s new books include D-Day: The World War II Invasion that Changed History, Carter Reads the Newspaper, a picture book illustrated by Don Tate, and How I Became a Spy: A Mystery of WWII London. She lives near Portland, Oregon.