Episode #144: What takes longer, writing the story or doing the pictures? Why? -with Remy Lai
Welcome back! Thanks for joining us for another episode of Kids Ask Authors! We will be taking a TWO WEEK break after this episode. Today we welcome special guest, Remy Lai! Remy and Grace answer a great kid question, “What takes longer, writing the story or doing the pictures and why?
TRANSCRIPT:
Grace Lin: Hello, I'm Grace Lin. Children's book author and illustrator of many books including the middle grade novel, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. And the picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star. Today, I'm here with Remy Lai author and illustrator of books such as the middle grade novel, Pie in the Sky. The graphic novel, Pawcasso. As well as the early reader graphic novel series, Surviving the Wild. Welcome, Remy.
Remy Lai: Hi. Hi, everyone. So, excited to be here.
Grace Lin: Oh, thank you for being here. Are you ready for today's kid question?
Remy Lai: Yes.
Grace Lin: Okay. Today's question is from a kid named Sophie and they ask.
Sophie: What takes longer, writing the story or doing the pictures? Why?
Grace Lin: What takes longer, writing the story or doing the pictures and why?
Remy Lai: This is a very complex question. I like to say that, I think, drawing feels longer, in a way, especially, if you're drawing a graphic novel, it takes months. So, for me, Pawcasso, which is about 200 plus pages, took me six to seven months of full-time drawing. And then when you're drawing, you're just doing it a lot. It feels really lonely. And so, it feels really long. As for writing, in a way, it feels shorter because, for me, I tend to write in my head a lot. So, I would walk around and then think of storylines. And the amount of time where I'm actually sitting down at my computer and typing, isn't really that long, I would say. I would say maybe for Pawcasso, maybe it was just two months of writing, but I probably did a lot of pre-writing, I would say. In my head, just daydreaming storylines and thinking about the characters.
So, writing doesn't feel as long, but some stories like percolate or brew up in my mind for years before it actually becomes a story. For example, Pie in the Sky. I think I came up with the idea of the two boys baking maybe in 2016, but then I didn't really know what to do with it, so it was just, I don't know, tumbling around in my head for a really long time until maybe 2017 that I realized a key component of the story, which is that they can't speak English. And then that's when I actually sat down and actually type it out on my computer. So, that's my answer.
Grace Lin: I agree. I think they both take a long time, but the thing about writing is that so much of it is done almost like while you are on the bus or while you're sitting in the car. It takes a long time, but you can do other things because it's like sitting and just like always percolating and percolating. Whereas when you're drawing, you have to be sitting there and you have to be drawing.
Remy Lai: Yeah. And drawing, it feels longer also because you are hunch over the table. And then when you get up, all your muscles aches.
Grace Lin: What picture took you the longest to draw in all of your books?
Remy Lai: Oh. I would say, all the spreads, the double pages one. All took a really long times. Maybe I think classroom scenes take me a long time because you have to draw all the tables and then you have to draw all the kids. I think those kind of scenes would take the longest, I think.
Grace Lin: Yeah. The more people, the more. I did a book called, Dim Sum for Everyone, and I had this book where I had this spread where I showed the whole restaurant where you see everybody eating and everybody's eating all the little dishes. It looks beautiful and I love it, but it took so long because I have to draw every little dish and every little bun, every little dumpling inside a dish, there's hundreds and hundreds. So, I remember then I was just like, "That took a long time."
Remy Lai: Yeah. And I think, for me, I like actually drawing people, it that it comes more naturally for me. But, wait, if I have to draw something that has a real geometric shape, like tables or buildings, then that things start to get dicey.
Grace Lin: Yeah. I actually like drawing little things, like dumplings and plates and things like that. But I agree about the geometric objects, like cars. I have a really hard time with cars.
Remy Lai: Yeah. Bicycle. I think bicycles are my worst enemies.
Grace Lin: Oh, yes. Cars and bicycles. So, my nightmare spread that would take me the longest would be a bicycle, a bicycle car race.
Remy Lai: Oh, my gosh. Let's never write about a bicycle car race.
Grace Lin: I think if I ever wrote a story with a bicycle car race, I'm like, "I need somebody else to illustrate this."
Remy Lai: And the race has to run through a town, so you have to draw the buildings.
Grace Lin: Yes. Through a city. A city that sells more bicycles than cars.
Remy Lai: Oh, gosh. Horses used to be also be my enemies, but then kids always ask me to draw horses. So then, I had to go practice drawing horses and now I think I'm okay with horses.
Grace Lin: Oh, yes. I used to get that request a lot too. I remember my very first piece of fan mail was from a young girl and she said, "Dear Grace Lin, I love your books. Will you write one about ponies?" So, that has not changed over the years and I still not being one of that ponies yet. But someday.
Remy Lai: Someday. Some stories take longer.
Grace Lin: Yes. So, someday I will write the pony story and I will say that is the story that took me the longest. All right. Well, thank you so much for answering today's question. Thank you, Sophie, for asking it. And thank you, Remy, for answering it. I think I might have said that the other way around.
Remy Lai: My pleasure.
Grace Lin: So, thanks so much. Bye.
Remy Lai: Bye.
Today’s KID BOOK REVIEW comes from Josiah! Josiah is reviewing, Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai.
Thank you Josiah!
More about today’s authors:
Remy Lai studied fine arts, with a major in painting and drawing. She was born in Indonesia, grew up in Singapore, and currently lives in Brisbane, Australia, where she writes and draws stories for kids with her two dogs by her side. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed Pie in the Sky, Fly on the Wall, and Pawcasso.
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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