why i write

(click for larger image)



While I was snooping about looking for blackmail material to stick into Jeff's Birthday Scrapbook several weeks ago, I came across several books I had given him as gifts. One was a Choose Your Own Adventure book, written just for him, with illustrations scattered throughout. The other was a picture book called Constance and Eugene Meet Mad Man Malacchi, which I wrote and illustrated for him in 1989, then had custom-bound in hardcover.

Both were fun to create since they're not usually the type of writing I do. For the Choose Your Own Adventure, I bought a hardbound sketchbook from an art store and started writing; yes, I actually could write by hand in those days. For the picture book, I did my illustrations in black ink, watercolour, and pencil crayon. The picture at the top of the page is from the picture book; click to see a bigger image.

Jeff brought both to show Sara and Annie a couple weeks ago. It was the first time that Sara and Annie had seen anything I had written, and Jeff introduced the books without a great deal of fanfare, settling into the bedtime ritual as usual, with Sara nestled close beside him, Annie lying on top of his back, peering over his shoulder.

And I lay beside them, fascinated and delighted as both girls quickly immersed themselves in the stories as if the books weren't anything unusual.

"Did YOU do this?" asked Annie, turning to me suddenly in the middle of Constance. I smiled and nodded, bracing myself for whatever straightforward comment she might have.

"You're GOOD!" she said, obviously impressed, then turned back to listening to Jeff's reading.

Whew. :-)



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Then came the Choose Your Own Adventure book. I was somewhat nervous about this, since I had based the book on the idea that the reader (Jeff) found himself as part of Mervyn Peake's Titus Groan story...i.e. I was writing for an adult, not a child.

To my surprise, they got right into it. Agonizing over every choice, getting excited, tense, delighted, apprehensive, eager to turn the page. The book was too long to finish at one bedtime story sitting, so Jeff has come back to it several weeks in a row now. Each time he asks if they'd prefer something else, each time they ask to go back to my story.

And meanwhile I'm sitting quietly on the sidelines as they read the book, melting with delight they're reading my book and enjoying it so much that they forgot I wrote it. I'm also desperately wishing that they were reading a book I had specifically written for young people, of course. ("What's a 'ski bunny'?" asked Sara as she read aloud from my Choose Your Own Adventure story.)

I've decided that I have to make one for each of them, perhaps as birthday or Christmas gifts.

The experience also reminded me all over again why at heart, I'll always be a children's writer, no matter what else I write. I do enjoy writing nonfiction and get a certain satisfaction out of that, but nothing gives me as much joy as writing fiction for young people. The thought of a child or teenager reading my books and becoming so engrossed in the story that they can't bear to put it down...THAT is a large part of why I write.

Links/News:

I've set up an Urban Tapestry weblog so that Jodi, Allison and I can post news about our new CD project, Sushi and High Tea, as well as news about our upcoming gigs, con schedule, songwriting efforts, etc.

Feb/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ