Episode #120: What inspired you to be a writer? -with Rita Williams-Garcia
Welcome back to Kids Ask Authors! Today, Grace Lin and Rita Williams-Garcia answer a wonderful kid question; “What inspired you to be a writer?”
TRANSCRIPTS:
Grace Lin: Hello. I'm Grace Lin, Children's Book Author and Illustrator of many books, including the middle grade novel, When the Sea Turned to Silver, and the picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star. Today, I am here with Rita Williams-Garcia, the author of middle grade novels such as, One Crazy Summer, P.S. Be Eleven, and Clayton Byrd Goes Underground. Hi, Rita.
Rita Williams-Garcia: Hello, Grace. How are you?
Grace Lin: I'm so glad you're here.
Rita Williams-Garcia: Likewise.
Grace Lin: Are you ready for today's kid question?
Rita Williams-Garcia: I am ready.
Grace Lin: Okay. Today's kid question is from a person named Tilly. Tilly asks:
Tilly: What inspired you to be a writer?
Grace Lin: What inspired you to be a writer?
Rita Williams-Garcia: Oh, good question, Tilly. I would say, because I was the youngest of three, I always left to myself- especially inside my wooden playpen as a toddler. So I would make up stories just to entertain myself. As soon as I was able, I started writing stories. I think that began in kindergarten. I loved books. I would always flip through the pages of books, even before I could read, and tell myself the stories. I was always enchanted by stories, telling them, telling tall tales, but especially writing them down because I liked seeing, "by Rita Williams." I had not met Peter Garcia yet, so I was just Rita Williams. I always dreamed of seeing my name in print, just like in the books that I read as a child.
Grace Lin: What was it like when you finally saw your name in print?
Rita Williams-Garcia: Oh my goodness. I was just ecstatic. Well, I had three firsts. Can you have three firsts? I did. My first one was, I would send out short stories to magazines, and I'd get a lot of rejections, but I got my first story published by Highlights Magazine when I was about 14. That was really exciting, because it was a dream come true. My sister and brother used to always tease me about those rejection letters. When that acceptance finally came, and then we finally saw the story in print, it was such a big thing. The second time was when I sold a story to Essence Magazine. Unfortunately, it didn't get printed, but they did pay me.
Rita Williams-Garcia: The really big one for me was when I finally saw the galleys, which is the manuscript that's been edited, and it's almost ready for publication. It's the first indication that you know that your book is being published. I remember seeing it for Blue Tights, which was my first novel. Oh my goodness, it just lifted me up so high. I was working for a marketing and media software company at the time, so I was so far away from my dream that just seeing it really brought me closer to my dreams. I gave me a whole lot of hope, and I kept that book on my desk at work.
Grace Lin: Oh, that's a wonderful story. I love your very first, first, the one at Highlights. Did you say it was a short story?
Rita Williams-Garcia: It was a short story called Benji Speaks, about a boy in the Philippines who wants to talk to birds. What do I know about the Philippines? Only what my friend, [Corazon 00:04:32] Velasquez, told me. Every time she told me stories about growing up in the Philippines, I would imagine it. That's where my imagination took flight. I created my character, Benji, who wanted to talk to birds. But he had great difficulty, so his brother made a whistle out of bamboo for him, and that's how he talked to birds.
Grace Lin: Oh, what a great story. I love that. Just because we have so many kid listeners, you said you sent in many things before and got rejected, is that correct?
Rita Williams-Garcia: Oh, yeah. Yeah, for sure. I have to tell you, when I got my letters of rejection, I was just thrilled that they wrote to me. They would say, "Dear Contributor," that made me feel very special. Or, "Dear Writer, Dear Author." It didn't occur to me that, that was because it was a form letter and they didn't have time to write a personal letter. But just to be called, 'Author,' and 'Contributor,' and 'Writer,' that made me feel like, "Okay, I am a real writer experiencing what writers go through." I just kept going.
Grace Lin: That's so neat. I love how you wanted to be a writer at such a young age, because I did too actually. I tell this story very often, about what made me decide to be an author and illustrator, because I entered this big book contest, this national book contest. I wrote and illustrated this book when I was in sixth or seventh grade, and I entered it in this big contest, and I did not win first place. My book was never published, but I did win fourth place. With fourth place, I won a cash prize of $1,000. After I won $1,000, I was like, "I want to be an author and illustrator forever."
Rita Williams-Garcia: Wow. That's close to what I was paid for my first novel, so you were big time.
Grace Lin: But mine was never published. Many, many, many years later I found out who won first place. You want to know who won first place?
Rita Williams-Garcia: Oh, who won?
Grace Lin: Dave Pilkey?
Rita Williams-Garcia: Oh my goodness, how awesome is that?
Grace Lin: Yes. The Author and Illustrator of Captain Underpants. He did not win for Captain Underpants [crosstalk 00:07:08].
Rita Williams-Garcia: So you knew him before.
Grace Lin: Well, I knew of him, and I was seething of jealousy of him before. But it just goes to show that, even at a young age, we both knew we wanted to be writers. So, that's really neat.
Rita Williams-Garcia: Oh yeah, for sure.
Grace Lin: So I hope, Tilly, after hearing our answers, that inspires you to keep writing as well. So thank you, Tilly, for today's awesome question. Thank you, Rita, for answering it.
Rita Williams-Garcia: You are so welcome. Thank you, Tilly.
Tilly: Bye.
Today’s KID BOOK REVIEW comes from Domenica! Domenica is reviewing, One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia!
The book I would like to talk about is One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia. This book is about 3 sisters that travel to California to meet their mother that left them when they were so small, the oldest of them has very little memories of her. I liked this book because they are so determined to have a loving mother and they tried to like her, until they realized she would never be the mother they dreamed she would be. In the end they thought they would be going back home without a good memory of their mother, but they ended up having a great one.
Thank you so much for that great book review Domenica!
More about today’s authors:
Rita Williams-Garcia is the New York Times bestselling author of novels for young adults and middle grade readers. Her most recent novel, Gone Crazy in Alabama ends the saga of the Gaither Sisters, who appear in One Crazy Summer and PS Be Eleven. Her novels have been recipients of numerous awards, including the Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award Finalists, Newbery Honor Book, Junior Library Guild, and the Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction. She served on faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children MFA Program and she resides in Queens, New York.
Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio , a video essayist for PBS NewsHour (here & here), and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf. She is the co-host of the podcast Book Friends Forever, a kidlit podcast about friendship and publishing (geared for adults). Find her facebook, instagram , twitter ( @pacylin) or sign up for her author newsletter HERE.
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