Award winning author, fashion plate and talented teacher, Lee Wardlaw has graced our region of the SCBWI for years. Always helpful and caring, Lee graciously agreed to answer a few questions.
When and why did you start writing for children?
In second grade. I wrote my first story at age 7 for all my friends (who were, of course, children!) to read. The main character was a little girl who looked an awful lot like me, except that she was only one-inch tall. She had 14 baby brothers and 14 baby sisters, all in diapers. She runs away from home (with her best friend, who is a grasshopper), because her mother wants help with diapering the 28 siblings. My youngest brother had just been born, so it isn't hard to figure out my inspiration for this story.
As an 'adult', I wrote my first book for kids when I was 19, in college, and doing poorly in a math class. The book was called Me + Math = Headache, and it ended up being my first published book - - eleven years later!
I never set out with the intention of 'writing for children.' It's just that all my stories came out that way. If I tried to write a story for adults, the minor characters who were children would take over, and become infinitely more interesting than the adult characters. I'm not sure why this is. I just seem to have an insight into what children are thinking, feeling, dreaming, worrying. Emotionally, psychologically, perhaps I'm still an 11-year-old girl at heart. In my head, though, I'm 40 years older. Those years of experience and growth help me to look back with a dab of detachment so I can show kids what's truly important - -and what they should just laugh off.
What is the most valuable advice you can give to a newly published writer?
Ignore your book reviews. Both the bad - - and the good. None of them will help you become a better writer. Only writing and rewriting will do that.
What is one of your favorite children’s books that you'd like to recommend?
Do you mean one of mine? Or one written by someone else? Of mine, I'd recommend my novel 101 Ways to Bug Your Teacher. I think it's the funniest book I've ever written, and therefore was the most challenging. (I might get some grumpy mail because of this statement, but here goes: Humorous books are much harder to write than serious ones.) The more challenging the book is to write, the more proud of it I am upon completing it. There are several complex subplots in this
book, too, which were equally hard to weave together. If you mean a children's book written by someone else: Wow. That's tough. Choosing a favorite book is like naming a bestest best friend. And each of my best friends is loved for what makes her HER. (Or HIM.)
So I'm going to be sneaky. I'm going to name three of my favorite children's books all in one line so that they look like just one:
OfficerBuckleandGloriabyPeggyRathmann;BenjaminandTulipbyRosemaryWells;MarthaSpeaksbySusanMeddaugh.
(And yes, they are all humorous.)
What is your favorite dessert and why?
Flourless dark chocolate lava cake served at Bouchon in Santa Barbara, CA. It sends me into a chocolate trance that is positively stupifying.
If I can't have that, I'll settle for a couple ounces of Scharffen Berger extra dark chocolate, 82% cacao. OHMYGAWD. After all, when it comes to dessert, if it ain't chocolate, why bother?
Bio:
101 Ways to Bug Author Lee Wardlaw:
#1. Ask her how many children’s books she writes a
day.
#2. Ask her when she’ll grow up and write ‘real’
books (meaning books for grown-ups).
#3. Tell her you’d write children’s books too – if you
had the time.
Lee Wardlaw *makes* time: She’s the award-winning author of 25 books for young readers, including the enormously popular novels, "101 Ways to Bug Your Teacher" and "101 Ways to Bug Your Parents". Lee also has twenty years experience presenting lively and interactive programs and classes to children, educators and aspiring writers. To learn more about Lee, her books & workshops, and 98 other ways to bug her, visit her website at www.leewardlaw.com and/or her blog: http://leewardlaw.livejournal.com
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