Talking Books: Children's Authors Talk about the Craft, Creativity and Process of Writing

283 Pages·1999·6.65 MB·English

by  James Carter

Talking Books
Talking Books is a collection of interviews with some of the most important and influential of
contemporary children’s writers including:
Neil Ardley, Ian Beck, Helen Cresswell, Gillian Cross, Terry Deary, Berlie Doherty, Alan
Durant, Brian Moses, Philip Pullman, Celia Rees, Norman Silver, Jacqueline Wilson,
Benjamin Zephaniah.
These writers talk about the joys and challenges, rewards and demands of the craft, creativity
and process of writing for children. A fascinating insight into writers’ minds, the book will
appeal to anyone with an interest in children’s books and in helping children to make the most
of them.
James Carter is a freelance teacher and writer. He teaches both creative writing and children’s
literature on various courses at Reading University, and his published work includes poetry
for children.

Talking Books
Children’s authors talk about the craft,
creativity and process of writing
James Carter
London and New York
First published 1999
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor and Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2001.
© 1999 James Carter
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Talking books : children’s authors talk about the craft, creativity and process of writing / [edited by]
James Carter.
p. cm.
Contents: Brian Moses – Benjamin Zephaniah – Ian Beck – Neil Ardley – Terry Deary – Helen
Cresswell – Gillian Cross – Berlie Doherty – Alan Durant – Philip Pullman – Celia Rees – Norman
Silver – Jacqueline Wilson.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
1. Children’s literature, English—History and criticism—Theory, etc. 2. Authors, English—20th
century—Biography. 3. Children’s literature—Authorship. I. Carter, James, 1959– .
PR990.T35 1999
809'.89282—dc21 98–32051
CIP
ISBN 0-415-19416-4 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-19417-2 (pbk)
ISBN 0-203-02517-2 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-17252-3 (Glassbook Format)
With all my love I dedicate this book to Sarah – my wife and very best friend.

Contents
Introduction: Talking about this book ix
Acknowledgements xiii
Brian Moses 1
‘The Lost Angels’ / ‘Readathon Sleepathon’ /
specialist subject – compiling anthologies
Benjamin Zephaniah 19
‘Civil Lies’ / specialist subject – performing poetry
Ian Beck 40
Peter and the Wolf / Tom and the Island of Dinosaurs /
specialist subject – illustrating text
Neil Ardley 70
The Way Things Work / Eyewitness Guide No. 12: Music /
specialist subject – working with editors
Terry Deary 88
Bloody Scotland / Shakespeare Stories /
specialist subject – series publishing
Helen Cresswell 113
The Piemakers / specialist subject – writing for television:
Lizzie Dripping, Moondial, The Demon Headmaster
Gillian Cross 130
The Demon Headmaster / Wolf / specialist subject – libraries
Berlie Doherty 145
Dear Nobody / The Snake-stone /
specialist subject – writing books in school
viii Contents
Alan Durant 162
Mouse Party / specialist subject – writing for different ages
Philip Pullman 178
Clockwork / His Dark Materials 1: Northern Lights /
specialist subject – working with illustrators
Celia Rees 196
Blood Sinister (Point Horror) / specialist subject – writing horror
and the horror phenomenon
Norman Silver 218
The Blue Horse / specialist subject – methods of research
Jacqueline Wilson 232
Double Act / The Suitcase Kid / specialist subject –
working with Nick Sharratt
A miscellany of information on children’s books: advice on author visits /
advice for adults on writing for children / annual book events and festivals /
competitions – children’s own writing / competitions – adults writing
for children / information centres and children’s book organisations /
MA courses in Children’s Literature / magazines and journals / Northern
Children’s Book Festival / ‘Readathon’ / reference texts and further reading /
websites 256
Introduction
Talking about this book
Where do your characters come from?
How long does it take to write a book?
What did you read when you were a child?
How did you become a writer?
These are just a few of the questions that are commonly asked of children’s authors, and
clearly there are no singular or definitive responses. Essentially, what Talking Books sets out
to do is to show how some of our children’s authors respond to these and many other similar
questions. By doing so, the authors help to demystify and demythologise something of the
writing process. They reveal that creativity needs to be nurtured, that writing is a craft skill
that requires much time and dedication – and most of all, that a readership comprised of
children and young adults is as discerning and discriminating as its adult counterpart.
Some of the writers featured here you will be familiar with already. You will have their books
in your classroom or you will have shared their work with young readers. All of these writers
have been chosen because they each have something unique and invaluable to contribute to
this book about the craft, creativity and process of writing for children – not because they are
deemed to be the very best in their field (of which there are a great many more). Collectively,
their work represents the panoply that is contemporary children’s literature – including poetry,
information books, picture books, short stories, novels and graphic novels, fairy tales,
educational texts, stageplays as well as television dramas – and encompasses a variety of
voices, styles, genres and subject matters.
At the outset of this project, an eclectic list of children’s writers was drawn up, one that
sought to achieve breadth and balance in terms of gender, race and genre. And whilst the first
two of these categories may not have been realised, the latter certainly has. And because the
implied audience for Talking Books was to be Primary and Secondary teachers, it was deemed
important to choose authors that are or have been regular visitors to schools. As a result, a
number of the authors here discuss how contact with their readers informs their writing.