Coffee Date With Fellow Writers

I'm buzzing -- could be because I just had a latte with three kid-lit writers... but it's also because of the shared energy at our table.

Joyce Scharf, Alan Silberberg, Paul Bracegirdle and I got together to work up some proposals for this year's Blue Metropolis Literary Festival. Not only did we get the proposals done (more or less), but we had time to compare notes about how we do what we do. 

Joyce is working on the sequel to her YA novel, Grace and the Ice Prince. She says she works best in a quiet house: "I'm most focused when my house is empty and even the three cats are outside."

Alan and Paul do some of their writing at cafes. Alan, the author of Pond Scum, is currently hard at work on a screenplay for the Disney channel. Here's how he describes his creative process: "I worry to the point of exhaustion, then nap until moved to write." Paul, who has just finished the second novel in his Joy of Spooking trilogy, finds he is more productive at a cafe than at home: "I find if I stay at home too long, I can't produce. If I'm out in public, I feel embarrassed to be checking my e-mail or playing Scrabble."

Can you see why I had fun hanging out with these three? Hey, the sun is just peeking out after a rainy start to the day -- so it's time to do some more writing and to hang out the laundry!!