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| Jamie Michalak |
Dear Readers,
I'm pleased to share a very special writer and treasured friend with you this month. I've never met Jamie Michalak face to face, but she was my wonderful first editor at Candlewick Press and worked with me on Hill Hawk Hattie and Hattie on Her Way. In fact, I dedicated Hattie on Her Way to Jamie! Not long after we finished the edits for Hattie on Her Way, Jamie started a new life as a mother and an author.
I'll share more about Jamie at the end of the post along with details about her generous giveaway--two personalized copies of her early readers. But I don't want to take anymore time away from this gifted editor and writer, Jamie Michalak, or the pearls of writing and editing wisdom she has for us!
www.jamiemichalak.com
Interview with author Jamie Michalak
Can you tell us about where the idea for your first early reader, Joe and Sparky, came from?
I wrote the first draft of Joe and Sparky Get New Wheels with my sister, Julie, who was visiting me. She was ill at the time, and so to entertain ourselves we fell back on our favorite pastime as children--we made up a story. Our only plan was to write a picture book tale that made us laugh. As many sisters do, we shared a secret language--a lifetime of private jokes that made sense to no one but us. Making each other crack up was easy.
So that day, I sat at my desk in my bedroom and Julie and I made up Joe and Sparky Get New Wheels as we went along. I read the story aloud as I typed, and Julie lay on my bed throwing out ideas. Whenever I heard her loud laugh, I knew I should keep writing.
We started with the characters. We decided to write about two best friends--an outgoing, adventure-seeking giraffe and his more reserved, safety-conscious buddy, a bird (later changed to a turtle).
The story flowed as we took turns adding to it. The animal friends mistakenly “borrow” a flashy convertible and go on a joy ride. They order flies at a drive-through burger joint, but much to their confusion, get fries instead. They take a bath in a carwash, and cause a hubbub. By the time I was done writing, I didn’t have a picture book at all. I had an early reader. I’d never written one of those before. “Where did that come from?” I wondered.
Honestly, I have no idea. I sat down to write a picture book and just kept going. Perhaps I was influenced by Arnold Lobel’s classics and the early readers I loved as a child. But more likely, I think that something magical can happen when you write a story just for fun--the way children write stories. When I sat down to write that day, I had no expectations. I wasn’t thinking about publication or rejection. I wasn’t thinking about anything really, except creating a little story that would make my sister laugh.
Writing Joe and Sparky Get New Wheels was a unique experience for me. With any new story, I try to get back to that same carefree state, but it takes a little longer. Before I write, I worry that I can’t do it. Then I make a sandwich. Then I worry some more. Then I make a cup of coffee. Then I see what everyone is up to on Facebook. Then I wonder if my Facebook author friends are writing or doing things like making too many sandwiches and cups of coffee. (This first step can go on for a few weeks, erm, or months.) Then I get bored of worrying, and at last, write.
The good part of all this procrastination is that my ideas have been percolating for a while and I have a clear vision of my story by the time I finally put fingertips to keyboard.
What from your childhood influences your writing today?
I grew up with a funny, ridiculous family. I often think about writing down my family’s stories, but nobody would believe them. For example, Joe and Sparky’s cageless zoo is based on a real drive-through zoo in Florida that my family visited when I was young. In this zoo, you drive past animals roaming free. Some come right up to your car window.
Now most families who drive through a cageless zoo do a few things beforehand to get ready. Like, say, fill up their cars with gas. This is where my family differs from other families. Somewhere between the lions licking their chops and the approaching tigers, my mom noticed that our gas tank was on empty. Put-put-phhhht. This was just your typical day with the Michalaks.
What are the challenges of writing a humorous early reader?
The greatest challenge to me is revising. Nothing seems funny after I’ve read it a gazillion times. That’s when I ask my sons, nieces, nephews, friends’ children--any available child of elementary-school age--for their opinion. Kids aren’t known for hiding the truth. If they don’t like your nose, for example, you’re going to hear about it. They also don’t fake laughter. So if kids laugh when they read my story, I can feel good about it. (Even if I no longer feel so great about my nose.)
What have you learned about writing humor?
Humor is difficult to pin down. Trying to dissect it is like trying to explain how to fall in love. A funny line is usually spontaneous and surprising. The more you try to force it, the less likely it is to happen. When it’s right, you just know. On the other hand, an unfunny line is like a bad first date -- awkward! But here are a few things I try to remember:
Start with the characters. If you have interesting characters, you can let them go and follow the action. Throw in a conflict. Place them in an embarrassing situation. I like to introduce an object that’s familiar to children, but foreign to my characters. (Think the soda bottle in the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy.”) Kids take pride in pointing out the silly, erroneous observations Joe and Sparky make.
The characters add emotional depth too. A humorous tale feels thin if it’s merely a string of jokes. It should also have heart.
Write for yourself first. It’s impossible to tickle every funny bone. But I’ve found that if I laugh at something a character says or does, chances are readers will, too. If you’re having fun writing, it will shine through in your story. It still inevitably takes me fifteen minutes of typing before I turn off the internal critic. But once I get this one-page gong show out of the way, I can settle in, relax, and get lost in the story.
Then edit with your audience in mind. Early grade schoolers get a kick out of slapstick, puns, knock-knock jokes, and silly-sounding words. (Try saying "nincompoop" to a group of first-graders and see what happens.) Make sure that the dialogue is balanced with action; too much talking can slow the story's pace and offer little to illustrate. My sons, age five and seven, also frequently advise me to add a scene about Joe and Sparky tooting.
