Classical Jazz 2005: Home

An Interview with Children's Author
Laurie Halse Anderson

by Debbi Michiko Florence

Laurie Halse Anderson, grew up in Syracuse, New York. She discovered early on she loved to write. Laurie started off her professional writing career writing for newspapers, first her local paper and then the Philadelphia Inquirer. When her children started elementary school, Laurie started writing fiction. Since then she's written and had published pictures books, a series called Wild At Heart, and children's novels. Laurie received notable recognition for her young adult novel, SPEAK. SPEAK is about a high schooler who becomes an outcast after a summer party, during which she experiences something so horrible she feels she can talk to no one about it. SPEAK was an honor winner for the Michael L. Printz award and a National Book Award finalist. Her newest novel is CATALYST.

You started your professional writing career by writing for your local newspaper and then for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Did you always want to be a writer? At what point did you decide that you wanted to write fiction for children?

I have always written for fun, but didn't think about writing books for children until my own kids were learning how to read. The day my youngest got on the bus for first grade, I took a solemn oath that I would try to get a children's book published in five years. It took me four.

You've written many books for all age levels: picture books, MG series fiction (Wild At Heart), historical fiction, and contemporary novels for teens. Where do you get all your ideas? And how do you find all that energy?

Finding ideas is not difficult. Finding energy and time is the real challenge. I see ideas everywhere — all I have to do is to watch kids in the grocery store or teenagers in the mall. I struggle to find the right combination of family time, writing time, and time spent traveling and speaking. But the work is so incredibly rewarding. There is just nothing like those moments when you know you've gotten a scene down, or you've finally honed a paragraph to the point where it sings. That motivates me.

Your most recent novel is a young adult story, CATALYST. I really enjoyed reading it. The main character, Kate Malone, is a college bound, type-A student who loves chemistry. You've said you got the idea for SPEAK, when you heard sobbing one night, and it turned out to be the main character Melinda. How did Kate and her story come about?

I wanted to write about a kid who looks like she has it all together, as opposed to the character in SPEAK who is obviously falling apart. I think we admire these "successful" kids — we envy them, wish our lives were that orderly. The truth is that under the surface, they are in pain, too. I also wanted to write about a girl who loves science and math because I thought that would be an interesting and unusual perspective. As soon as I started studying chemistry, I started hearing Kate. The writing was a peeling back of layers until she was ready to tell me where it hurt.

Kate's father, a preacher, seems to make time for everyone but his own daughter. Kate seems to accept this. I suspect that this is not a wholly foreign situation to many teens out there. Do you think that a relationship like Kate and her dad's can change for the better? What would you suggest to Kate or her dad to help them on their way?

Oh boy, I get to be Dr. Laurie. I think Kate should turn off the phones and sit her father down and tell him exactly how she feels and what she needs. Teenagers are supposed to pull away from their parents. That is part of the maturation process. But they are often unsure how to reach back for parental support, and parents are unaware of the need or unsure how to proceed. Teens scream for attention in lots of ways. I wish we could create a world in which they felt secure enough to ask for help the easy way. I also think that Kate's dad should buy a clue and look at the problems in his own house instead of rushing out to solve the ills of the world.

Of all the characters in CATALYST, whom do you relate to the most? And why?

Tough question. I think I am bifurcated in this book — part of me is Kate and part of me is Teri. And part of me is Travis (heh-heh-heh). Why? Well, I was/I am a preacher's daughter, so there are obvious parallels there. The part of me that is Teri is harder to define, deeper, more raw. It's the angry part of me. And I think Travis has an almost healthy view on a lot of things. I just wish he didn't have to work so much.

You mention in an interview with Authors 4 Teens that you hated chemistry in high school. The chemistry thread is prevalent throughout CATALYST. Where did this come from? Was that intentional (when you were writing the first draft)?

Completely intentional. I spent a long time learning chemistry from the ground up so I would be familiar with the vocabulary and the types of experiments Kate performed. I wanted to write about a teenager whose interests and passions were completely removed from mine. And I loathed chemistry in high school. But I think it is cool now.

Like Kate, you were a runner in high school. Kate finds escape in her running. Did you find the experience similar? Do you feel that sports are an important part of growing up?

Not quite right. I was not a runner in high school. I was on the swim team and I threw the shot put. I started running after my second child was born as a way to get in shape and clear my head. I am a slow and steady jogger and I love the way it makes me feel. I have always been the kind of athlete who throws herself completely into what she's doing, even to the point of stupidity and injury. I've never been good at moderation. I think that for many people, sports can be a huge part of growing up. But they aren't for everyone.

I remember the class distinctions in high school between those who were college bound and those who were not, and the perceptions each group had about the other. You delve into this topic in CATALYST. Was your high school experience similar? And where did you fall on that "line"?

I came from a family with college expectations, but it was unclear whether I was going to make it. One guidance counselor told me I was headed for prison (honest!). I had experiences with many different social groups in high school. The pressures on each group were different, but the common bonds were stronger than most people want to admit.

One of the things that really irritates me is how we, as a culture, marginalize the kids who don't go to college. They get the sense by the end of high school that they have failed us because they didn't get into a school that looks good on a bumper sticker. In fact, we have failed them. Every teenager in America deserves the chance to explore her passions, stretch her mind, and prepare for the next stage of her life without being made to feel stupid or unworthy.

By the way... I took some time off after high school, went to community college (which I loved), then transferred to Georgetown University where I earned a bachelor's in languages and linguistics.

You seem to have a firm grasp on high school life. Do you look back on your high school years fondly? Why or why not?

Freshman year was torture, but 10th and 11th grades weren't that bad. On the whole, however, I felt that high school was to be endured, not enjoyed. The best I did was to join the American Field Service and spend my senior year in Denmark. I learned an enormous amount there.

Kate attends the same high school as Melinda in SPEAK. In fact, we get a glimpse of Melinda in CATALYST. What made you decide to use Merryweather High for Kate's story as well?

Because I got so many letters from every part of the country insisting that Merryweather was EXACTLY like their school. The writers were talking about atmosphere, and I wanted to revisit that atmosphere myself.

I'm fascinated by titles. How do you come up with the titles to your books? And also, how did you come up with all those great sub-titles within Catalyst?

Titles usually take me a very, very long time. I went through about fifty before I came up with Catalyst. My editor and I were sitting in a workshop at a conference and I was doodling, trying to come up with the right title. She kept shaking her head and making suggestions that I didn't like. She had to step out of the room for a minute and while she was gone, I thought of "catalyst." I was so excited, I wrote it down on a separate piece of paper. When she came back in, she whispered that she had thought of the perfect title: "catalyst." I lifted the paper and showed her what I had written down. We both got goosebumps.

In both Speak and Catalyst, I wanted a word that addressed both the text and the sub-text of the book. The subtitles in Catalyst came from all that chemistry research I did!

You mention in your bio that you love librarians. What is your first memory of the library? Your fondest?

First memory: going with Leslie (kind of a big sister figure for me) to the central branch of the Syracuse library and getting my library card. It was filled with balconies and wrought iron railings - it seemed magical and scary and thrilling. The fondest memory was reading books on the floor of my elementary school library. That place was a sanctuary and it was always warm.

Okay, I have to ask. What was it like living on a pig farm in Denmark?

Not as smelly as you would think. The family I lived with were quite simply the kindest people on earth. They took me into their home and their hearts and they made sure I learned how to work. I picked rocks out of the fields, burned off crops, butchered ducks and pigs, fed everything, and shoveled plenty of manure. I also grew up and had the time of my life.

SPEAK is one of those novels that I'd wished I'd written. Are there any books out there that you wish you had written? Which ones?

Holes, Golden Compass, Weetzie Bat and The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963.

What are you reading right now?

Hole In My Life by Jack Gantos and lots of history about Colonial America, including John Adams' biography. I just got a galley of T.C. Boyle's new novel and I can't wait to get to it. And after that, I'm going to read Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood.

What inspires you?

Waking up alive.

What's the best thing about being a writer?

Living in my imagination, working in pajamas, proximity to refrigerator, being available when my kids need me.

What's the hardest thing about being a writer?

Financial worries, paying tons of taxes because I'm self-employed, getting health insurance. Boring grown-up junk. Mostly, it's a blast.

What is your typical work day like?

If I'm home, I get up around 6:30, get my kids off to school, then settle in for a morning's worth of writing. I try to do errands at lunch and usually have a phone meeting with the person who schedules all my travel. Afternoons are for more writing or reading/research. I don't answer the phone before noon, so afternoons are also for returning phone calls. The day ends when my kids come home from school, though I try to get in more reading time before bed. I don't watch much TV.

On the road, I find it very hard to concentrate. I am trying to learn how to focus no matter where I am, so I can get at least an hour's work done every day. Wish me luck.

What can fans expect next from you?

I hope my next YA novel will be out in 2004. I should have another picture book out by then. I don't like to talk about my work so early in the writing, so I'd rather not tell you what I think it is about.

What advice do you have for aspiring children's writers?

Take a break from what you are writing and fill a couple of hundred pages with your childhood memories. Focus on sensory details. That ought to give you enough material to keep you busy for a while.

Interview © Copyright 2002, by Debbi Michiko Florence.

This interview appeared in the winter 2003 issue of Book Friendly,
a local Friends of the Library newsletter.

Ticket info - call 800-555-1212

what's new?

For more about Laurie, check out her web site: writerlady.com.

You can also read her blog at: Mad Woman in the Forest.