Episode #121: What do you like to write about? with Uma Krishnaswami
Welcome back to Kids Ask Authors! We are welcoming special guest, Uma Krishnaswami with us today! Grace Lin and Uma will be answering this wonderful kid question, “What do you like to write about?”
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 Moon Cake for Little Star. Today I'm here with Uma Krishnaswami, the author of the middle grade novel, Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh. The chapter book, Book Uncle and Me and the picture book, Bright Sky, Starry City illustrated by Aimee Sicuro. Hi, Uma.
Uma Krishnaswami: Hi Grace.
Grace Lin: Okay. Are you ready for today's question?
Uma Krishnaswami: I am.
Grace Lin: Okay. Today's question is from a young person named Gwyneth and they ask, my question is...
Gwyneth: What do you like to write about?
Grace Lin: What do you like to write about?
Uma Krishnaswami: Oh, I like to write about all kinds of things but mostly I think I like to write about people and among people, mostly I like to write about kids because I think kids are really so present in the world and excited about things that are new for them and that I find really fascinating and encouraging and a wonderful thing in the world. I think that's my favorite thing that I like to write about.
Grace Lin: Aww, that's really nice and that's why you're such the perfect picture book author as well as author for kids, I guess. Not just picture books but middle grade and chapter books.
Uma Krishnaswami: Yes. Yep.
Grace Lin: An interesting question because when I read that to you, I was, what do I like to write about? I couldn't... I like to write about food. I like to write about Asian culture but I like to write about all those things but it's just, I like to write about things that I'm interested in and I just hope that what I'm interested in, other people find interesting too.
Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah, I think so because I thought about that too when you asked the question, I thought, well, is it the places that I write about or is it the things I read about? I'm not sure because those change over time, like Book Uncle and Me is about a kid in elections and books, reading, which I love obviously but it's really the character that drew me into the whole thing and that's, I think that's true for just about everything else have written, those interests change over time and I get interested in different things at different times. Of course I like to write about them but I think at the heart of it, it's always the character.
Grace Lin: Ah, so you like to write, so maybe the answer is you like to write about characters that interest you.
Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah.
Grace Lin: So, oh, that's a good way. I want, I don't, I'm not sure if I should say that for me because so many times when I write it's usually just myself. It's more about, maybe I think sometimes I like to but it changes all the time because sometimes I do like to write about character but sometimes I like to write about adventure and I like to just-
Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah.
Grace Lin: When I'm not as interested, not that I'm bored with the character or anything like that but it's more interesting for me to think about the adventure and I just make the character myself because I want to imagine myself in this adventure and things like that. Then but I do always enjoy, I always am interested in writing about food.
Uma Krishnaswami: Oh yeah. Food is always wonderful. But is it, don't you think that character, when we're writing characters really we're tapping ourselves in some way, even when the character isn't like ourselves.
Grace Lin: Yeah. I think so. Sometimes it's... A lot of times when I think I'm writing about myself I'm usually writing about the character who I want to be not really who I am.
Uma Krishnaswami: Right.
Grace Lin: When it comes right down to it would I really be this brave? No.
Uma Krishnaswami: I know. Yes. Its nice to do that on the page though.
Grace Lin: Yes. So a lot of my books are more wishful thinking of the character.
Uma Krishnaswami: And even wishful thinking about the event, right? You want to make the world a better place and I think we can actually do that in our books when sometimes it's really hard to do in the real world.
Grace Lin: Yes, definitely. I feel like the books, I think what books are, what I like to write about are about all the things that I wish I could experience or the things that I wish I could experience again.
Uma Krishnaswami: Yeah. Yeah. Reaching back to childhood in some ways, I think. I have very vivid memories of when I was a kid and the things I liked and the things I wanted to do and the things I hoped for and dreamed about. I have really vivid images and there's a lot there to pull from because really that's the only human being that I can really connect with at that level, is myself.
Grace Lin: Yes.
Uma Krishnaswami: I think that's, yeah, I always pull back, go back to that.
Grace Lin: Yes, definitely. Well, thank you so much, Uma, for answering today's question and thank you so much Gwyneth for asking such a great question.
Uma Krishnaswami: Thank you, Grace. Thanks for having me.
Grace Lin: Thanks. Bye.
Uma Krishnaswami: Bye.
Today’s KID BOOK REVIEW comes from Zaynab. Zaynab is reviewing “The Grand Plan to Fix Everything” by Uma Krishnaswami.
Thank you so much Zaynab!
More about today’s authors:
Uma Krishnaswami is the author of more than twenty books for children, from picture books through novels for young readers. Her picture books include Monsoon, The Happiest Tree, The Girl of the Wish Garden, Bright Sky, Starry City and Out of the Way! Out of the Way!). Her novels for young readers include (The Grand Plan to Fix Everything and The Problem With Being Slightly Heroic). Twenty years after its first publication, her traditional story collection, The Broken Tusk: Stories of the Hindu God Ganesha, continues to be a definitive introduction to its material for young readers. A sweeping nonfiction project and a middle grade historical novel are currently in press with Atheneum and Tu Books/Lee & Low respectively. Born in New Delhi, India, Uma teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, Vermont, in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Many of her students have gone on to establish successful writing careers. Uma lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her web site, http://umakrishnaswami.org, offers information on her books as well as resources for teachers and writers.
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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