I bet you think the answer to that question is writing and books. And usually, when I get together with my friends Jane Barclay and Lori Weber, we do discuss writing and books. But to be honest, this week, we mostly discussed our kids. It's been a while since the three of us got together and so we had quite a lot of catching up to do. We also drank a bottle of red wine -- so maybe that explainswhy, when I asked Jane and Lori to give me some tips that I could include in a blog entry, they both took a, shall we say, humorous approach.
This is what Jane, whose picture book Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion will be published in fall 2009 by Tundra, had to say when I asked her where she gets her inspiration: "I keep a jar with ideas." "You do?" I asked her, reaching for my notebook so I could write that down. "No," she said, laughing. She made that up about the idea jar, which goes to show you writers are good at making things up. Personally, I quite like the idea of an idea jar -- and I just might start one and keep it on my desk.
Then I asked Lori, whose YA novel If You Live Like Me will be published this coming spring by Lobster, for some wise words about the writing life. Here's what she told me: "Why do people think that people who write know a lot about writing? I just do it for God's sake. Ideas bubble up from deep inside -- kind of like a burp!"
Can you tell from these little snippets that Jane and Lori are great company? Only next time, I'll interview them BEFORE I serve the wine!!
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Comments
The wine certainly let some ideas fly. =) I remember a mildly intoxicated scene from a Tamora Pierce book about a "spy" working. She was assuming another identity and was going to be questioned by the authorities, and knew they were going to slip some medication in her drink to make her loosen her tongue. So to prepare for this ordeal, she assumed the identity: did, thought, lived like the invented person would for hours before the encounter. The questioning went well, and this method succeeded.
Hi Sophie! The funny thing is you must have written your comment about Tamora Pierce just as I was looking through my notes on the interview I did with her. (I know because your comment arrived in my in-box while I was calling up my notes.) I love coincidences... must mean something deep. And that's interesting about the spying techniques in her story!