Talking Books: Children's Authors Talk about the Craft, Creativity and Process of Writing PDF
Preview Talking Books: Children's Authors Talk about the Craft, Creativity and Process of Writing
Talking Books Talking Books is a collection of interviews with some of the most important and influential of contemporary children’s writers including: Neil Ardley, Ian Beck, Helen Cresswell, Gillian Cross, Terry Deary, Berlie Doherty, Alan Durant, Brian Moses, Philip Pullman, Celia Rees, Norman Silver, Jacqueline Wilson, Benjamin Zephaniah. These writers talk about the joys and challenges, rewards and demands of the craft, creativity and process of writing for children. A fascinating insight into writers’ minds, the book will appeal to anyone with an interest in children’s books and in helping children to make the most of them. James Carter is a freelance teacher and writer. He teaches both creative writing and children’s literature on various courses at Reading University, and his published work includes poetry for children. Talking Books Children’s authors talk about the craft, creativity and process of writing James Carter London and New York First published 1999 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor and Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2001. © 1999 James Carter All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Talking books : children’s authors talk about the craft, creativity and process of writing / [edited by] James Carter. p. cm. Contents: Brian Moses – Benjamin Zephaniah – Ian Beck – Neil Ardley – Terry Deary – Helen Cresswell – Gillian Cross – Berlie Doherty – Alan Durant – Philip Pullman – Celia Rees – Norman Silver – Jacqueline Wilson. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. 1. Children’s literature, English—History and criticism—Theory, etc. 2. Authors, English—20th century—Biography. 3. Children’s literature—Authorship. I. Carter, James, 1959– . PR990.T35 1999 809'.89282—dc21 98–32051 CIP ISBN 0-415-19416-4 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-19417-2 (pbk) ISBN 0-203-02517-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-17252-3 (Glassbook Format) With all my love I dedicate this book to Sarah – my wife and very best friend. Contents Introduction: Talking about this book ix Acknowledgements xiii Brian Moses 1 ‘The Lost Angels’ / ‘Readathon Sleepathon’ / specialist subject – compiling anthologies Benjamin Zephaniah 19 ‘Civil Lies’ / specialist subject – performing poetry Ian Beck 40 Peter and the Wolf / Tom and the Island of Dinosaurs / specialist subject – illustrating text Neil Ardley 70 The Way Things Work / Eyewitness Guide No. 12: Music / specialist subject – working with editors Terry Deary 88 Bloody Scotland / Shakespeare Stories / specialist subject – series publishing Helen Cresswell 113 The Piemakers / specialist subject – writing for television: Lizzie Dripping, Moondial, The Demon Headmaster Gillian Cross 130 The Demon Headmaster / Wolf / specialist subject – libraries Berlie Doherty 145 Dear Nobody / The Snake-stone / specialist subject – writing books in school viii Contents Alan Durant 162 Mouse Party / specialist subject – writing for different ages Philip Pullman 178 Clockwork / His Dark Materials 1: Northern Lights / specialist subject – working with illustrators Celia Rees 196 Blood Sinister (Point Horror) / specialist subject – writing horror and the horror phenomenon Norman Silver 218 The Blue Horse / specialist subject – methods of research Jacqueline Wilson 232 Double Act / The Suitcase Kid / specialist subject – working with Nick Sharratt A miscellany of information on children’s books: advice on author visits / advice for adults on writing for children / annual book events and festivals / competitions – children’s own writing / competitions – adults writing for children / information centres and children’s book organisations / MA courses in Children’s Literature / magazines and journals / Northern Children’s Book Festival / ‘Readathon’ / reference texts and further reading / websites 256 Introduction Talking about this book Where do your characters come from? How long does it take to write a book? What did you read when you were a child? How did you become a writer? These are just a few of the questions that are commonly asked of children’s authors, and clearly there are no singular or definitive responses. Essentially, what Talking Books sets out to do is to show how some of our children’s authors respond to these and many other similar questions. By doing so, the authors help to demystify and demythologise something of the writing process. They reveal that creativity needs to be nurtured, that writing is a craft skill that requires much time and dedication – and most of all, that a readership comprised of children and young adults is as discerning and discriminating as its adult counterpart. Some of the writers featured here you will be familiar with already. You will have their books in your classroom or you will have shared their work with young readers. All of these writers have been chosen because they each have something unique and invaluable to contribute to this book about the craft, creativity and process of writing for children – not because they are deemed to be the very best in their field (of which there are a great many more). Collectively, their work represents the panoply that is contemporary children’s literature – including poetry, information books, picture books, short stories, novels and graphic novels, fairy tales, educational texts, stageplays as well as television dramas – and encompasses a variety of voices, styles, genres and subject matters. At the outset of this project, an eclectic list of children’s writers was drawn up, one that sought to achieve breadth and balance in terms of gender, race and genre. And whilst the first two of these categories may not have been realised, the latter certainly has. And because the implied audience for Talking Books was to be Primary and Secondary teachers, it was deemed important to choose authors that are or have been regular visitors to schools. As a result, a number of the authors here discuss how contact with their readers informs their writing.
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