Guest Author: Karen Cushman

Today I welcome Newbery Award winning author Karen Cushman to the blog to tell us a bit about her writing process. Ms. Cushman is responsible for such wonderful books as The Midwife's Apprentice and Catherine, Called Birdy. Her latest novel, Will Sparrow's Road, is her first book with a male main character.

We bought our house partly because of the charming studio for me to write in. But I don’t write there.

My writing process? Here’s the short version: I don’t write every day and I don’t always write in a chair. I don’t have a set number of words or pages to do before I stop. I don’t follow anyone’s rules, and I don’t have rules of my own.

I remodeled this loft as a place for me to write in. But I don’t write there.

I believe my job is to write each day but I could write a longer post about my procrastination process: I read the newspaper, emails, writing blogs, and Google News. I eat breakfast, shower, do a load of laundry, think about dinner. I answer emails, play computer solitaire, and talk baby talk to my cat. Finally I am impatient enough with myself to sit down and work.

I write here, in this big chair in the living room, but I have to fight the cat for it

I don’t outline or make 3×5 cards, or storyboards, but I do have a story pretty well developed in my head before I start to write it. I hate facing the blank page, and I find writing the first draft by far the hardest part of the job, pulling words out of me like, Katherine Paterson says, a spider spinning a web out of her own guts. Revision is much easier.

Very early draft of my work in progress.

As I write my first draft, I go back and polish those pages and chapters that came before. Over and over. This is how I start working each day–reading over and polishing what I have already written. It’s those early chapters that establish mood and voice and I like to know these as I write on. Is the voice humorous and ironic, like Birdy? Naive but wise like Alyce? Sad and angry like Rodzina? Complaining and confrontational as are Lucy and Matilda? Or dishonest, suspicious, and vulnerable like Will Sparrow? And what have I written that might surprise me or challenge me or take me in a new direction?

Final edits on galleys of Will Sparrow’s Road. After months and months of editing, there are still corrections.

If I get stuck or blocked when I’m writing a new scene or passage, I go back to page 17 or 13 or 1, read what I’ve written, and get myself back into the story. But I must say I am always aware of writing versus editing. It’s important that I don’t write and edit at the same time. I have to know which hat I have on.

When writing, this famous author wears these.

I once despaired of my lack of routine to my editor, Dinah Stevenson, and she said, “Your process is your process. Honor it.” And it does work for me. So I recommend writers discover their own process, even if it is lack of routine, and honor it. There are no rules.

Thanks Ms. Cushman! I love hearing about how writers go about their craft.

For the final stop on the blog tour stop by Mr. Shu's blog Watch. Connect. Read. tomorrow.

Other posts form the tour this week include an interview with Kirby Larson at Kirby's Lane, about writing a male mc at Green Bean Teen Queen, and a chance to win a giveaway of Will Sparrow's Road at A Year of Reading.

I will be sharing my thoughts on Will Sparrow's Road here tomorrow as well.

Comments

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein

Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the

Shadowshaper

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older is everywhere. Best of lists. Award buzz. Blogs everywhere. It's one of those books everyone is reading and talking about. I had it on my TBR but decided I definitely needed to read it before the year was out just so I could weigh in on one of the most talked about books of 2015 if asked. It is deserving of every good thing said about it. Every. One. Sierra was looking forward to a relaxing summer break. Her plans involved hanging out with her friends and painting. They did not involve being chased by zombie like creatures and threatened by a magical power connected to her family's heritage she has never heard of. When murals begin fading all over her Brooklyn neighborhood, Sierra is perplexed. When her grandfather, who had a stroke, begins to apologize and starts repeating strange phases and insisting Sierra get the help of a boy she barely knows to help her finish her mural, Sierra is concerned but mostly about her grandfather. Then at a

The Field Guide to the North American Teeanager

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe is a book I picked up on a whim at the bookstore when it first came out. I liked the cover. I thought it had an engaging premise. I went into it with a healthy does of trepidation because the execution could have gone so terribly wrong. Fortunately, Philippe is an excellent character writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent reading about Norris's adventures in Texas and high school. High school junior Norris Kaplan's life is ruined by his mother when she takes a job that requires them to leave the only home he has ever known in Montreal, Quebec. Moving is always hard, but Norris knows for him it will be harder than it's ever been for anyone else. Norris is moving to Texas. He will be a Canadian living in Texas. Not just a Canadian. A French Canadian who speaks fluent French. And not just your average run-of-the-mill French Canadian. A black son of Haitian immigrant parents French Canadian. If Norris has

Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Search This Blog