Imagination and Experiences: An Interview with Author Meredith Sue Willis

        Meredith Sue Willis was born and raised in West Virginia. She is the author of The Secret Super Powers of Marco (Montemayor, 2001; HarperCollins, 1994), Marco’s Monster (Montemayor, 2001; HarperCollins 1995), Billie of Fish House Lane (Montemayor, 2006) for children, and The City Built of Starships (Montemayor, 2004) for young adults. She also has published eleven titles for adults, including three on the craft of writing. Her newest book, Ten Strategies to Write Your Novel is soon to be released (June 2010) by Montemayor Press. 
       She teaches Creative Writing at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies and gives creative writing workshops to children and young people as a writer-in-the-schools with the New Jersey Writers Project and other organizations. She lives in New Jersey.
      I interviewed her about her teaching, her books, her advice for writers, and her thoughts on the themes of books.


TFI:   You teach creative writing to adults and children. Do you have a particular emphasis?
MSW:  A couple of things are striking to me. One is the similarities between the writing self-identified adult writers do and what kids do. There are obvious differences, especially with the willingness of children to see writing as a kind of play, but everyone starts with the materials of their imagination and experience: objects, physical senses, memories, dreams. I tend to emphasize the kinds of writing that begin with those common things.

So you start with an object, let’s say. What’s the next step? How do you guide your students to develop an object into to a plot?
I usually hold off on the plot (at least in writing classes) in the beginning. I like people (kids or adults) to imagine an object with all the senses—the weight of it, the texture, the smell, sound, possibly even the taste. If it's something that doesn't make its own sound, why not drop it on the floor to hear how it pings!
By exploring an object this way with your senses, you get a lot of so-called "details," but that's less important to me than the way the senses can lead you into memories and new insights, and the memories and insights can lead to new story ideas, including plot developments: "When he dropped the ring, it made a clicking noise as it struck the hardwood floor and skittered under the bureau."
Aha, I think: “The floor isn't carpeted, the boy drops the ring. What if he is accused of stealing it, and all the while it is under the furniture. . . ."
In other words, the more fully and deeply you create the world of your story, whether you are an adult or a child, the more material you have and the more possibilities you have for development.

Do you have any infallible advice for aspiring children’s authors hoping to get published? Or, if that’s asking too much, what do you wish you knew when you were first getting started?
The short answer is, no! No infallible advice for aspiring authors! They shouldn't give up, but they should also be aware of how the entire publishing enterprise is in the middle of an incredible overturning and reorganization. Personally, I’m really thankful I developed the habit of and passion for writing long before I knew about getting published. I also am glad that I didn’t know the future– because publishing has gotten harder rather than easier. The good news is that first novelists may have an advantage over writers who have published and not made a bundle of money for their publishers.

Let’s talk about themes. Your Marco books are about a boy learning to find his own power to act in the world. Billie of Fish House Lane explores prejudice and accepting oneself. Just curious—do you typically start with story ideas and discover what themes they point to, or do you start with themes and create stories to illustrate them?
I feel like the best writing begins with concrete experiences or even comes from concrete objects: a face, a place, a voice. Marco was this kid’s voice talking to me– clearly it was related to the voices of children I’d been working with in schools in New York City. I’d also been typing what seemed to be hundreds of their pieces of writing to mimeograph and distribute. So I had a boy’s voice in my head, and I also had a little one-page story I'd written about a boy knocking off car antennae. For Billie, it was a place: on my train rides from Jersey into New York, I’d stare out the window dreamily at this landscape of marshes and rivers and car overpasses and train tracks and abandoned buildings and little roads that seemed to go nowhere– and I’d think: “What if someone lived down there? What kind of family might live there?” Meanwhile, in my public life, I was working with an integration organization in my town, so the themes got wrapped into my imagining this girl in this place.

Do you have anything in the works now?
I’ve always got a few things in the works. One book I’m close to finishing is a young adult novel about a girl who discovers her mother was a terrorist back in the day.

Wow, sounds intriguing, and I don’t have to even ask where you got the idea for that. Or do I?
The idea for this new book was again from some kids I taught in New York City, especially one experimental school I visited, plus some people I know a little who were involved in political bombings and other activities. I personally did a lot of protesting in the past, but never saw any up-side to violence against people or even against property.

Do world issues open up new topics in middle-grade/YA? For example, with all the turbulence in the world today, do you see a market existing or emerging for novels with themes of conflict resolution, solving problems between groups, or transforming “us vs. them” mindsets?
I think we could use a publishing house, probably small, for kids and young people that actually publishes books of the type you’re speaking of. If this publishing house existed, it would, in my opinion, over time find readers and buyers, especially among teachers and librarians, but also in the general public. I believe we’re moving into a time when the biggest success will be for so-called niche writers and publishers: there are niches for religious novels– and also for erotica. Gay and lesbian publications have a niche. My Appalachian fiction for adults usually has a decent number of readers. So if teachers and librarians knew they could depend on a particular publisher for books that were both well-written and idea or issue-oriented, I absolutely think they would buy them.

What do you see as the power of story? Can you think of any stories that influenced you in a direct way, either as a child, or now?
I was deeply influenced as a child by comic books– which I never found very funny! One holiday season my parents bought me a set of something called “Classics Illustrated,” comic book versions of everything from Macbeth (now there’s a scary story) to Zane Grey’s Riders of the Purple Sage. I can still see in my mind some of the images and remember the thrust of those stories, distilled down to their essence for the comic book format.

How did they leave their mark on you?
I think those comic books of famous works fixed in my mind the trajectory of story-- in a comic, only the high points are illustrated, so without studying or analyzing, you get a sense of how a story builds and comes to a climax. You also have these vivid illustrations of moments of intensity, frozen like a snapshot. The story trajectory and the vivid stop-actions (along with the child's voice, of course) are how stories for children come to me. Adult work is more reflective, slower, focused on memory or even language.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and advice with us, and good luck with Ten Strategies to Write your Novel, and your YA!

The Secret Super Powers of Marco

I will be interviewing author and teacher Meredith Sue Willis for my blog in the near future. She has written fifteen adult and children’s books, including several books on the craft of writing. Stay tuned! In the meantime, here is a review of two of my favorite children’s books of hers.


The Secret Super Powers of Marco (Montemayor Press, 2001; HarperCollins, 1994)

Marco believes he has secret powers ever since the night he was out twanging car antennas and one broke off and spiraled so high into the sky that it seemed to turn into a star. He’s not sure what his powers are exactly, but it’s nice to know he can fall back on them if ever his regular abilities are lacking. His powers give him the confidence to befriend Tyrone, the class bully, and retrieve his kidnapped dog from the scary homeless man on the next street. When Tyrone gets in trouble, Marco uses his Mental Sight power (he can see two possible futures in any situation) and prompts the best outcome to happen.

Marco is an eminently likable character who will charm young readers and demonstrate they have the power to act in the world, even in a tough neighborhood.

In the sequel, Marco’s Monster (Montemayor Press, 2001; HarperCollins, 1996) Marco doesn’t get the starring role, the Main Monster, in his fourth grade play—his best friend Tyrone does. Marco, chosen to be the Narrator, is disappointed and not a little bit mad. Then he creates an unusual scene for the narrator that makes it all worthwhile. Now his big task is to make sure Tyrone doesn’t get “three strikes and out”—of the play, including when Tyrone leaves school to help Marco find his missing little sister.

Mother's Day for Peace

Julia Ward Howe is credited with first putting forth the idea for Mother’s Day in the U.S., which she called Mother’s Day for Peace. Appalled by the carnage of the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War, she proposed a women’s conference for peace. In her words, “We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."


I was amazed several years ago to learn of this original vision for Mother’s Day. It is exactly what I desire as a mother and as a human being, and it’s a beautiful way to celebrate Mother’s Day.

Here is the text of her Mother’s Day Proclamation, widely circulated in 1870.

Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,

Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!


Say firmly:
"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.

We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country

To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.

It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."

Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.

As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,

Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

 Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.

Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means

Whereby the great human family can live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,

But of God.


In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask

That a general congress of women without limit of nationality

May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient

And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,

To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,

The amicable settlement of international questions,

The great and general interests of peace.

Kids and Composting

In observance of Earth Day, I presented composting assemblies for fourth graders in two schools in town. The kids were great. They eagerly volunteered to act out a story, take the “Rot Whiz Quiz” and make a compost-in-a bottle for their classroom. They asked questions that showed me they were thinking.


One boy wanted to know if you could sell finished compost. I told him they sell it in garden stores. I could just see his wheels spinning, planning his next lemonade-stand-like venture.

Although the “compost in a bottle” is meant for kids to observe the process of decomposition, one teacher, surrounded by her students, told me at the end of the assembly that they had just discussed throwing in their apple cores and banana peels after snack time to eliminate some garbage. (They might need a bigger bottle.) Kudos to the students and the very enthusiastic teacher who got her students keyed up about this. Next step: school-wide composting?

I hope the kids took something away from the assembly. I know I did. I was inspired to see that kids were interested in composting and reducing garbage. It gave me hope for the future.

To Your Health and Happiness

Earth Day is my favorite holiday. I love the outdoor events that celebrate our Earth and all that people are doing to live harmoniously with it. But have you ever noticed that the things that are good for the Earth are also healthful for its human population?


Take one case—reducing use of gasoline. This produces less climate change gases and less pollution. But look at the other benefits.

Walking and biking to places instead of driving is beneficial for our hearts, bone health, mood, immune system, and so many other bodily functions.

Less people driving reduces traffic congestion and thus stress.

It costs less, in terms of gasoline, and indirectly in terms of medical costs and in some cases gym costs.

Walking with others provides the opportunity to connect socially, another de-stressor. It’s great for children walking to school.

Yes, walking and cycling take time, today’s most precious commodity. So maybe the biggest thing we can do for the Earth and for ourselves is to make our lives less busy.

Where can you cut back? Consuming less means shopping less—is that a possibility? If you’re always chauffeuring your children around, can they engage in less structured activities? If you’re an activist, can you focus on fewer issues? Can you spend less time surfing the net? Each person will find a different answer.

Here’s to your health and happiness, and that of the Earth!

Eight Dollars a Gallon . . . For Water

When I was growing up there were no disposable water bottles. You drank water from the tap at home. If you were away there were water fountains. At softball games someone would bring a cooler of a drink and cups. Ditto for picnics.

I ignored bottled water when they made their appearance—thinking them wasteful and expensive—until I had kids. Then I had to deal with the old “but everyone else uses them.” When I researched it, I found my gut was right.

Convenience may be a good argument for disposable water bottles, but drinking safer or better-tasting water is not. U.S. municipalities test their water and have among the safest in the world. (40% of bottled water comes from the tap anyway.) In blind taste tests, most people could not tell the difference between bottled water and municipal water.

Let’s look at convenience. Instead of grabbing a bottle of water, you’d have to fill a reusable water bottle. That’s it! For me, it’s worth that minor inconvenience in order to be a good steward of resources for my future grandchildren and great-grandchildren.


Bottle Water and Resource Use
 Much petroleum and water is used to make the plastic bottles themselves.
 17 million barrels of oil are used annually in the U.S to transport water bottles to their destinations—enough to fuel some 100,000 cars for a year.
 Discarded bottles are often littered or sent to landfills. Even the 20% that are recycled are actually “downcycled”—not used to make more water bottles, but other products like chairs and toys that can’t be recycled at the end of their life.
 It’s expensive! Drinking water from the tap (eight cups a day) might cost less than 50 cents a year. Compare that to how much one spends on water bottles. People complain about gasoline prices. The price of bottled water per gallon (based on $1.00 per one 16 oz. bottle) is $8.00 a gallon. From a tap, an average price is $ 0.002 per gallon.

Alternatives to disposable water bottles
 Use a water fountain.
 Carry reusable water bottles, such as stainless steel ones made by Klean Canteen or SIGG.
 For meetings, use pitchers of tap water.

For tips on breaking the water bottle habit, go to the Center for a New American Dream: http://www.newdream.org/water/index.php

Limits to Social Networking

The buzz word these days is networking. There are so many ways to connect to your professional, volunteer, or social community online, whether it’s through e-mail, websites, forums, blogs, or sites like Facebook.


But . . . while it’s so helpful for me, as a writer, to receive news of the field and share ideas, there is also a downside to this hyper-opportunity—information overload, less face-to-face interaction, and, of course, less time to write.

The disappearing-time factor is lethal. I love writing this blog, and although it does take a few hours, the real time sucker is not the actual writing, but the networking that goes hand in hand. After publishing a post, I need to send out the link to potential readers and “followers,” peruse and post on fellow bloggers’ sites, cross-post, guest blog, etc.

If I spend too much time on networking-deluxe—which is so easy, pleasant, and hypnotic—then where is the time to write? Clearly there has to be a balance. My answer, at least for now, is to limit my online “networking” allotment to a few hours on one day a week, with shorter follow-up later in the week. Obviously I’m missing a lot on the other five days, but what is the alternative? I want to keep writing, and I think my (future) agent and editors will be pleased with that, too.

Let’s hear from you. Do you self-impose limits on your networking activities? What suggestions can you share for dealing with this decidedly 21st century dilemma?