Janie Baskin's acclaimed YA novel,
Paint Me a Monster has just been released in softcover! To commemorate the event, we have a Goodreads Giveaway going on right now (see the bottom of the post), and we interviewed Ms. Baskin about the writing of
Paint Me a Monster and about being an author. Check it out!
Scarlet Voyage: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Janie Baskin: Mrs. Burkham, my third grade teacher, had a class project—to
make an anthology about the seasons. Each student needed to submit at least one
poem; I submitted a dozen! I loved
poetry and Mother Goose nursery rhymes, and this was my chance to create my
own. After that, writing and drawing were
some of my favorite playmates, though I didn’t formally write stories until
high school. Each letter I wrote home
from summer camp (and I wrote every day) or a thank you note for a gift, turned
out to be a little story.
Writing
eventually took a back seat to illustrating and making art until my first
illustrated book was published. Because I was interested in writing picture
books, it seemed a natural progression to learn to write so I could both write
and illustrate.
SV: How did you begin
your writing career?
JB: As I mentioned, I was a fine artist and illustrator who
loved to write. Both fields require similar characteristics to succeed: imagination, curiosity, attention to detail,
and the willingness to work hard and be patient. After publishing as an
illustrator, the challenge to become a skilled writer and author became the
next rung to reach. I involved myself in a number of writing organizations,
including a community writing program called Off Campus Writer’s Workshop ( OCWW) and an independent critique
group. The workshop introduced us to published authors who shared their
expertise, and encouraged participants to write and submit their work for critique.
Joining The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators offered an
array of opportunities to learn more about writing and the book world. At one of the OCWW meetings I heard that Vermont
College offered an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. It was the
only school in the country that offered such a specific degree. I sent in
samples of my writing, got accepted and worked like crazy cakes to learn as
much as my brain could hold.
SV: What inspired you
to write Paint Me A Monster?
JB: Good question. What I had learned about writing is that you
just have to write- you have to start somewhere even if that start later takes a
turn in a totally different direction. My advisor told me to “write what you
know, dig deep and don’t be afraid to get messy.” I knew how fun and how hard it sometimes was
to grow up in my family. I knew about life with a sister and brother, and I
knew about going to an all girls’ school where completing homework assignments
was like scaling Mt. Everest.
These kernels and my advisor’s push to “ keep digging
deeper” inspired “Paint Me A Monster.”
SV: What is the one
message you want readers to take away from Paint
Me A Monster?
JB: It’s my hope that readers will turn the last page of Paint Me A Monster” with more compassion
and understanding than they had when they turned the first page. If I could
give my readers anything it would be the message that “you are not alone”, that
life isn’t about “doing it yourself “.
It’s a collaborative effort; and because it is, what we think may be
unworthy, or unable to change, can transform
if we’re not afraid to ask for help.
SV: How did you go
about researching and planning for writing Paint
Me A Monster?
JB: Much of the book is based on reality and then fictionalized
so the need for research was limited. When I came to something that needed to
be researched, for example, what it is a high school counselor does, and how he
might do it, I’d make a note that this information needed refining. This
allowed me to continue writing without worrying about details. It’s easy to
procrastinate during the writing process and not always so easy to return to
the emotional and mental place a scene may require.
For smaller items like the kind of car that might have been
driven in a specific year, research would have been immediate.
Sources for research included: reading the books my
protagonist and her peers might have read, consulting with Chambers of Commerce
for a variety of cities, speaking with professionals in health related fields,
consulting books about issues such as eating disorders, and child abuse, reviewing
my teaching and child development text books, and of course from thinking a lot about personal experiences and
sometimes reenacting them.
SV: Where there any
particular obstacles you encountered while writing this book?
JB: There were no particular writing obstacles; however, getting
the time line accurate was a challenge.
I did think about what effect the story might have on family members. I
was concerned that people who know my family might erroneously assign truth to parts
of the story.
SV: What is your
typical day of writing like?
JB: Before I describe my
routine, it’s important to say that much writing is done while I amble about.
Perhaps I am taking a walk, driving, or reading for pleasure. I call this
purposeful ambling. It’s the time ideas are generated, re-worked, and produce other
ideas.
I have
two basic work scenarios. In the first, I wake up early, workout, return home,
clean up (sometimes), eat something and write for about three hours. Then I
break for lunch, look at e-mail, make calls that can’t wait, then go back to
writing for three more hours.
The second scenario occurs when a brainstorm happens while
I’m sleeping. I get up, write it down, and because I am so excited, often go into
my studio and flesh out the concept. I write until there is no more to say at
the time. Then I get up and start the day.
SV: What is your
favorite YA book?
JB: The Once and Future King by T.H. White. I first read this book
when I was a freshman in high school and can still visualize Merlin, Wart
(Arthur), Guenivere and the other unique characters in their full glory. This
couldn’t happen if the writing and tale had not been so enchanting. The idea of
growing younger and turning into a fish or bird in order to learn a lesson
still astounds me. I still wish I could have Arthur’s experiences and a
Merlin-like mentor.
The five titles in the Inventors at Work! series were recently reviewed in the November/December 2014 issue of Library Media Connection.
