At
school visits kids always ask me where I get my ideas.
I
talk about how it’s important to keep a notebook handy. Ideas can show up
suddenly, often when you’re busy doing something besides sitting at your desk,
and snagging them can require lightning-quick reflexes, like capturing the
snitch in a Quidditch game.
talk about how it’s important to keep a notebook handy. Ideas can show up
suddenly, often when you’re busy doing something besides sitting at your desk,
and snagging them can require lightning-quick reflexes, like capturing the
snitch in a Quidditch game.
I usually tell them a funny story about how I got
the idea for my book Poop Happened in
a flash one day, just after my two-year-old son flushed his superballs down the
toilet and stopped it up, an hour before fifteen people were due to show up at
our house for a dinner party.
the idea for my book Poop Happened in
a flash one day, just after my two-year-old son flushed his superballs down the
toilet and stopped it up, an hour before fifteen people were due to show up at
our house for a dinner party.
But
honestly? That’s kind of an incomplete picture of how writers get their
ideas. Ideas can percolate inside us for
a long time. They can bubble up from our depths when we least expect them.
honestly? That’s kind of an incomplete picture of how writers get their
ideas. Ideas can percolate inside us for
a long time. They can bubble up from our depths when we least expect them.
Because
as every nonfiction writer knows, and as every teacher knows who reads a lot of
student writing, the best writing stems from who the writer is, and what she
cares most deeply about. Writing epiphanies are not random.
as every nonfiction writer knows, and as every teacher knows who reads a lot of
student writing, the best writing stems from who the writer is, and what she
cares most deeply about. Writing epiphanies are not random.
The
fact is that questions about sanitation and other details about everyday life
have interested me since I was a child. Yeah, I was That Kid. I wanted to know
how a knight in a suit of armor went to the bathroom. I wanted to know what
kind of real-life poison might have been in Snow White’s apple. I wanted to
know why those kids in portraits I saw at the museum were wearing corsets and
long skirts and crazy ruffled collars.
fact is that questions about sanitation and other details about everyday life
have interested me since I was a child. Yeah, I was That Kid. I wanted to know
how a knight in a suit of armor went to the bathroom. I wanted to know what
kind of real-life poison might have been in Snow White’s apple. I wanted to
know why those kids in portraits I saw at the museum were wearing corsets and
long skirts and crazy ruffled collars.
So
here’s my backstory.
here’s my backstory.
My
grandparents on my mother’s side immigrated from Sicily to New York City in
1918. My mother, the oldest of five kids, grew up in a tenement on the Lower
East Side. Her family shared one toilet with three other families on her floor.
She learned English, but my grandparents never did. My grandfather was a street
sweeper, working for the department of sanitation.
grandparents on my mother’s side immigrated from Sicily to New York City in
1918. My mother, the oldest of five kids, grew up in a tenement on the Lower
East Side. Her family shared one toilet with three other families on her floor.
She learned English, but my grandparents never did. My grandfather was a street
sweeper, working for the department of sanitation.
When
I was a kid, I begged my mother to tell me stories about her childhood—the
shared toilet, the bedbugs, the shabby neighborhood. Those stories became part
of who I am. (Also, it wasn’t until about third grade that I realized other
kids’ grandparents knew how to speak English.)
I was a kid, I begged my mother to tell me stories about her childhood—the
shared toilet, the bedbugs, the shabby neighborhood. Those stories became part
of who I am. (Also, it wasn’t until about third grade that I realized other
kids’ grandparents knew how to speak English.)
As
for my father—he was a professor, and in some ways a rather eccentric man.
for my father—he was a professor, and in some ways a rather eccentric man.
He
wrote a lot about the power of preventive approaches to many public health
issues. While other kids were sitting on their parent’s knee listening to Good Night Moon, I was hearing about
how in 1854 John Snow deduced that cholera was water-borne, and convinced
public officials in London to remove the handle of the Broad Street pump.
wrote a lot about the power of preventive approaches to many public health
issues. While other kids were sitting on their parent’s knee listening to Good Night Moon, I was hearing about
how in 1854 John Snow deduced that cholera was water-borne, and convinced
public officials in London to remove the handle of the Broad Street pump.
So
the flash of inspiration I had the day of my dinner party was not random. Nor
was my idea to write a book about epidemic diseases that happened at a time in
the not-so-distant-past when insects were part of everyone’s lives.
the flash of inspiration I had the day of my dinner party was not random. Nor
was my idea to write a book about epidemic diseases that happened at a time in
the not-so-distant-past when insects were part of everyone’s lives.
Or
about history through fashion. That book idea evolved to become less about the
one percenters who wore the fashionable clothes and more about the people who
picked the cotton, dyed the fabric, and sewed the clothing.
about history through fashion. That book idea evolved to become less about the
one percenters who wore the fashionable clothes and more about the people who
picked the cotton, dyed the fabric, and sewed the clothing.
Or
about the importance of regulations to prevent ordinary working people from
being poisoned by radium, lead, arsenic, nicotine, and other toxins.
about the importance of regulations to prevent ordinary working people from
being poisoned by radium, lead, arsenic, nicotine, and other toxins.
When
I talk to new writers just starting out on a path to publication, I give them
an exercise to do: Think about the authors out there that you admire. Now say
their name, and quickly come up with a word or phrase that you associate with
their writing. For instance:
I talk to new writers just starting out on a path to publication, I give them
an exercise to do: Think about the authors out there that you admire. Now say
their name, and quickly come up with a word or phrase that you associate with
their writing. For instance:
—Melissa
Stewart: a celebration of science
—Loree Griffin Burns: a love of nature
Stewart: a celebration of science
—Loree Griffin Burns: a love of nature
—Jess Keating: zoology/funny animal facts
Then
I tell them: Play this word-association game about future-you. How do you want
your future readers to describe you as a writer, five or seven or ten books
from now? I suggest that they consider focusing on topics that help amplify to
the world the things they truly care
about.
I tell them: Play this word-association game about future-you. How do you want
your future readers to describe you as a writer, five or seven or ten books
from now? I suggest that they consider focusing on topics that help amplify to
the world the things they truly care
about.
This
exercise works with student writers, too.
exercise works with student writers, too.
The
best writing, both nonfiction and fiction, reflects who we are as people, and
what we care about most deeply.
best writing, both nonfiction and fiction, reflects who we are as people, and
what we care about most deeply.
Sarah
Albee
is the New York Times bestselling
author of more than 100 books for young readers. She divides her time between
living at the library and traveling around the country, visiting K-8 schools
and talking with kids about history, writing, and books.
Albee
is the New York Times bestselling
author of more than 100 books for young readers. She divides her time between
living at the library and traveling around the country, visiting K-8 schools
and talking with kids about history, writing, and books.
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2 Responses
Loved reading about your family history, Sarah & I loved both Poison & Dog Days of History! Great exercise!!
I'm frozen just looking at that photo of your dad. It sounds like you had an interesting childhood, one with the right ingredients that turned you into a writer. I'll have to think about your "logline" for a writer. An interesting concept, one that would definitely help me focus my energy. Thanks!