Author of over 400 Books for Children and Adults
Q: How is your writing schedule different when you are at your summer home in Scotland? Do you write the same things? During the same times? J: My writing time in Scotland is dictated by where we are going… or if we are going anywhere interesting. I need to be in a quiet place with my …
Q: You have files filled with stories you haven’t finished or that haven’t been sent out in a while. What do you do with them? J: Every few months I go into my unsold files and sometimes I find a way to rewrite or remake one or two of the pieces there. Some of these …
Q: How do you concentrate on just one thing while you’re writing? J: Hahaha–I don’t. I write on something until it is done or I am done, then turn to something else. This may not be a a great way to work for all people, but it seems to work for me. Follow Up Q: So what …
Q: After all these years of typing stories, you are still not the best typists. Why is that? (Note from Heidi: I am going to leave the answer as it came to me, and then add the “JY translation.”) J: Never l;earned to typoe. The school coounelor said, “Con’t take typing. You want tp …
Q: You recently had your 427th book come out. What is your goal? And how do you have so many books? J: I just love writing. And we never counted them (my family and me) until it was clear there were over 100. And now we are all counting them religiously. Or frantically….take your …
Q: You recently rebooted the GIANTS FARM books which originally came out 30 or 40 years ago. What was that process like? J: It was both interesting and a bit terrifying for three reasons. One …illustrator Tomie DePaola, a good friend and the original illustrator had just died. Second, because I hadn’t read the books …
Q: OK, here’s a silly one. What does “Ah, fewmets!” mean? And, what is it about–where did it come from? Did you make it up? J: It’s a very old English word meaning animal droppings. I discovered it and knew I had to use it in my Pit Dragon books.* Isn’t it a great word? …
Q: What do you hope your legacy as a writer will be? What do you hope it will be? J: I hope that some child somewhere will read a book of mine and fall in love with reading. Or turn his/her life around, or become a better, kinder person for it, or just plain enjoy …
Q: Should writers have agents? J: I wouldn’t do anything without my agent. First of all, she knows the names and emails of almost every editor working today in my field(s). Second she understands contracts while I read thorough quickly and understand perhaps half. But also she is someone I can talk to about …
Q: What is your advice on writer’s block? J: Sit down at the typewriter or computer or with a blank piece of paper. Think of a word or a sentence. Use it as a starting place. Or an old story or book you love. Play around with it. I just wrote a Jewish version …