.<\/span><\/p>\nHer first novel,\u00a0Confessions of a Closet Catholic<\/i>, won the 2006 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Older Readers. <\/span>Her novel\u00a0Backlash\u00a0<\/i>won the Iowa Teen Book Award.\u00a0Sarah also teaches at the Yale Writers\u2019 Workshop. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
November 30, 2018\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Tell us a little bit about your genre. (I.e. why you write in this genre, how you discovered it, what you love most about it…)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nMy primary genre is contemporary realistic fiction for young adults \u2013 my Scholastic editor, Jody Corbett, calls me \u201cThe Dick Wolf of YA.\u201d I\u2019m particularly fascinated by the intersection of young people and technology \u2013 my last four YA novels have explored different aspects of how growing up in a technology driven world affects what is already a very tumultuous time, emotionally, physically, and hormonally.<\/span><\/p>\nI also write humorous middle grade, because I\u2019m a reasonably funny person in real life, and my YA body of work didn\u2019t reflect that.<\/span><\/p>\nI also wrote opinion columns for 14 years, and am still a politics and news junkie. I bookmark news stories I find interesting in a \u201cbook ideas\u201d folder, and go back to that when I\u2019m brainstorming.<\/span><\/p>\nI love writing for young people because inside this middle-aged woman\u2019s body lives a strong, vibrant inner teen\u2014 an inner teen that still wants to believe that the world should be fair and just, and refuses to stop examining, questioning, and fighting until it is.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
What is your opinion of the writing process? What is your process? Are all processes equal? \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nEvery writer has to find the process that works best \u2013 and what works best for one book might not work with the next. Laurie Halse Anderson (one of my writing idols) said that each book requires specific tools from your writer\u2019s toolbox. I find it usually takes at least 20,000 words into a first draft for me to figure out which tools a book needs. Then there\u2019s my current novel, which took three complete rewrites before that happened\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
How do you deal with critics?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nBeing an opinion columnist for fourteen years was great preparation for Kirkus Reviews and GoodReads. Some of my book reviews might be a tad mean, but at least they don\u2019t include rape threats or tell me I\u2019m \u201cusing the American Way of Life to Destroy the American Way of Life and the Rest of Western Civilization in the process\u201d!<\/span><\/p>\nIt helps to have trusted readers who will give you constructive, honest criticism. If more that one of my trusted readers thinks something is a problem, then I know I have to figure out how to fix it.<\/span><\/p>\nLearning to be able to give and receive effective critique are mandatory skills for being a good member of your writing community.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
What is something unique about you? Any hidden talents?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nI have an extremely eclectic resume, which includes financial analyst in NYC, finance director of a major dairy farm and cheese making enterprise in the rural English countryside (my \u201cGreen Acres\u201d decade, for those old enough to remember that series), political opinion writer, author of middle grade and young adult novels, and writing teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Any hidden talents?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nI have a certificate in Tree and Woodland Management (with Distinction!) from Kingston Maurward Agricultural College in the UK, a souvenir of my decade as a farmer\u2019s wife. Considerably more useful than the tails of Three Blind Mice.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Favorite writing quotes?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cPut your butt in the chair and write the damn book.\u201d Jane Yolen<\/span><\/p>\n“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” Anton Chekov<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
What is the most important thing about writing?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nTo put your butt in the damn chair and do it.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
What do you most want to impart to students?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nIf you want to make a living as a writer, it helps to be versatile. I\u2019ve been paid for business writing, political opinion, young adult fiction, middle grade fiction\u2026and I\u2019m hoping to extend that range to chapter books and picture books in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every writer has to find the process that works best \u2013 and what works best for one book might not work with the next. Laurie Halse Anderson (one of my writing idols) said that each book requires specific tools from your writer\u2019s toolbox. I find it usually takes at least 20,000 words into a first draft for me to figure out which tools a book needs. Then there\u2019s my current novel, which took three complete rewrites before that happened\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-mfa-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/writing-mfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/writing-mfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/writing-mfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/writing-mfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/writing-mfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/writing-mfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/writing-mfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/writing-mfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/writing-mfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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