20 questions: Drawing from real life versus making things up

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

where we answer questions about writing, reading, and author life.

(Note that we enjoy the series so much we’ve decided to just keep the questions coming!)

This month’s question:

What in your latest book is drawn from real life, and what, if anything, is made up?

Valerie Bolling

“In my RAINBOW DAYS early reader series, Zoya and her puppy, Coco, love to create art together. In THE ORANGE WALL, Zoya paints her room. When she finishes painting, she decides to… (spoiler alert) paint a mural on one of the walls. The idea for what she paints on that wall was inspired by my own experience. I enjoy walking in the woods, and so Zoya paints a scene of herself, walking in the woods with her dad and Coco.” 

– Valerie Bolling, author of RAINBOW DAYS: THE ORANGE WALL, illustrated by Kai Robinson (Scholastic, 2024)

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Candy Wellins

“A GEODUCK IS NOT A DUCK examines the very real geoduck, the world’s largest species of burrowing clams. Pronounced “gooey duck,” a made-up news crew (comprised of a talking Sea Star, giant Pacific Octopus, and Otter) is on a mission to find an actual gooey duck. A knowledgeable crab is full of real facts about geoducks that are misunderstood again and again.”

–Candy Wellins, author of A GEODUCK IS NOT A DUCK, illustraded by Ellie Peterson (Little Bigfoot, 2024)

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Margaret Chiu Greanias

In HOW THIS BOOK GOT RED, Red, a red panda, recognizes that none of the books are about her kind of panda, so she decides to write her own. In the midst of struggling with writing her story, she sees a town where red panda representation is missing: in books, in merchandise, all the way down to the doll a baby red panda holds. The idea behind this story came from my childhood growing up with very little positive Asian representation in media and books. Like the baby red panda holding the giant panda doll, the dolls I played with looked nothing like me. 

– Margaret Chiu Greanias, author of HOW THIS BOOK GOT RED, illustrated by Melissa Iwai (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2023)

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Hope Lim

“In Sourgrass, when Sofia and May venture out into the wild field, they nibble the stems of sourgrass and giggle. This scene came straight out of my kids’ preschool years. I chaperoned a field trip to a community garden located up on a grassy hill, and watching them smile under the bright sunshine in a field of sourgrass is one of my favorite memories from my kids’ preschool era. The two characters, Sofia and May, and the resolution of their story are made up. However, all the fun things Sofia and May enjoy in their yards and beyond come from real life. As a child, I played outside all the time, running through the fields and climbing mountains, and my kids also loved being in nature, always finding ways to have fun. I used these real-life memories of being outside in SOURGRASS.”

– Hope Lim, author of SOURGRASS, illustrated by Shahrzad Maydani (Beach Lane Books, 2024)

20 Questions: Motivation

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

where we answer questions about writing, reading, and author life.

This month’s question:

What motivates you to write?

“Intention. Before I start a new project, I always ask the “why” question. Why do I want to write this? Why me? Once I can answer that, usually the next question that follows is– how the heck am I going to do it?!”

– M.O. Yuksel, author of ONE WISH: Fatima al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University, illus. Mariam Quraishi (HarperCollins, 2022)

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“Deadlines! Even self-imposed ones. I need to feel that sense of panic sweep over me as the date draws closer. So I look to writing/drawing contests, critique group meetings, and conference dates as motivation to get stories down on paper. Otherwise they just float around in my head.” 

– Abi Cushman, author-illustrator of WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD: A [Not So] Serious Guide (Greenwillow Books, 2023)

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“Taking a class. When I know I’m actually PAYING to be in a class, workshop, writing retreat, or other opportunities, I’m much more consistent about doing my homework and actually writing something. I guess my dislike for wasting money is even stronger than my urge to procrastinate.”

– Carrie Finison, author of HURRY, LITTLE TORTOISE, TIME FOR SCHOOL, illus. Erin Kraan (Random House Studio, 2022)

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“A buddy! For me, writing is a practice, a daily habit. Every weekday morning, my accountability partner, Marcie, and I check in with each other at 5:25 a.m., state our creative intention, and write for at least an hour before anyone else in our house wakes up. Then we check in on our progress and celebrate it, no matter how small. “

– Kirsten W. Larson, author of THE FIRE OF STARS: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of, illus. Katherine Roy (Chronicle Books, 2023)

20 Questions: Advice for Maintaining Creativity

Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,

where we answer questions about writing, reading, and author life.

This month’s question:

What’s your best advice for maintaining your creativity?

Margaret Chiu Greanias

“Allow yourself to be messy – scribble, scrawl, sketch. I believe that trying to make everything perfect can kill creativity. My best creative work happens when I’m scribbling in an old notebook. I might write on the lines, I might not, and sometimes I even end up writing around the edges and off the page.

– Margaret Chiu Greanias, author of AMAH FARAWAY, illus. Tracy Subisak (Bloomsbury Children’s, 2022)

Carrie Finison

“It sounds counter-intuitive, but I’ve found that assigned work and deadlines can help spur my brain into “creative mode,” which I sometimes can’t achieve when I have all the time in the world and no particular reason to hurry. I’ve found that when I take a class or take on a work-for-hire assignment, and I’m forced to produce something, my brain gets right to work. Not only do I manage to finish the assignment, but I often have ideas for other work while I am at it.

— Carrie Finison, author of HURRY, LITTLE TORTOISE, TIME FOR SCHOOL!, illus. Erin Kraan (Random House Studio, 2022)

Julie Rowan-Zoch

“I draw every day. Something for myself, done in a short amount of time, without too much thought. I find it harder to pick the practice up after I’ve taken a break and so much easier to draw on a down day if I keep it up. It’s not about maintaining skills (that’s a nice benefit!) but about maintaining flow.”

– Julie Rowan-Zoch, illustrator of NOT ALL SHEEP ARE BORING! By Bobby Moynihan (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2022) 

Isabella Kung

“Read, draw or write something everyday! Whether it is directly for work or just for yourself. Creativity is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Doing something creative every day is key to maintaining my creativity, whether I feel inspired or not. Inspiration doesn’t abide by anyone’s schedule or expectation, and often comes when it is least expected. So showing up everyday helps capture it in the moment and fuels my creativity.”

– Isabella Kung, author and illustrator of NO SNOWBALL! (Orchard Books, 2022)

I fuel my creativity by doing the things that make me feel most alive—for me, that’s taking lots of nature walks, listening to new music, and playing with unfamiliar art supplies. My own creativity is also greatly inspired by witnessing the creative processes of non-bookmakers. Recent favorites: HOW TO WRITE ONE SONG by Jeff Tweedy, magician Nate Staniforth’s podcast, “Everything But The Flame,” an interview with Francis Ford Coppola discussing his director’s notebook, and any video of Jack Antonoff’s music-making process.”

— Shelley Johannes, author and illustrator of THIS JOY! (Abrams Books, 2022)