California Author/Artist Interviews

Back to Featured Interviews >>

MEET WENDELIN VAN DRAANEN
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Wendelin Van Draanen

I loved being outdoors. Four square, dodge ball, riding my bike, camping…these were all things I loved doing. Best of all, though, was spying on the neighbors. There was nothing more thrilling than spying.

Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

Writing was not my favorite or best subject. It seemed so subjective. And rewriting? Oh, that was the worst! Math and science made total sense to me because if the answer was right, it was right. No fine-tuning or rewriting necessary! So it’s very ironic that my very favorite job of all the ones I’ve had is being an author and that I look forward to rewriting. I now understand that rewriting is what makes the writing worth reading.

Was your first book accepted immediately?

 Ha! Being a math/science person, I didn’t know much about developing characters, themes, plots, or subplots.(Or the value of rewriting) I had a lot to learn! It took me ten years of active writing and submitting before I finally placed a book. That amounted to ten books that ranged from 400 to 650 pages in length!

 What are the topics are some of your books?

I write books with lots of action, adventure, and humor because those were the elements I really liked in books when I was growing up. But I also weave in topics that I think are relevant to kids. Every one of my books has an underlying theme that all the subplots support; the merits of forgiveness, standing up for yourself, seeing people for who they are instead of what they look like…things like that. I think it’s helpful for kids to see characters struggle with moral issues—it helps them in the process of defining the right things to do in their own lives.

 What really triggers your imagination?

People and personal interplay is the crux of plot development for me. I’ll see someone or get a flash of a real different “character” and build up around what’s made them into the person they’ve become. A close second to that is theme. I’ll get an idea for a subject or issue I’d like to explore and will then mold my characters to reflect different sides of the same issue. Often character and theme come together as a package. Why a person is the way he is, is always the result of the things that have happened to him.

 Have any of your books earned special recognition?

I’ve won the California Young Reader medal for Flipped, The Edgar for SAMMY KEYES AND THE HOTEL THEIF, and the Christopher for SHEDDERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY. Best of all, though, I get the most amazing letters from kids telling me how a book of mine haschanged their lives. I especially love the “I hated reading and now I love it!” letters. Means the world to me. I also have two books in the 2007 California Collections: SHREDDERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY in the Elementary Collection and SAMMY KEYES AND THE DEAD GIVEAWAY in the Middle School Collection.

 How did your life change when you got married? and had children? Did it make it easier or harder to find time to write?

I have the most awesome husband. He is my partner in everything and was such a great support during my ten years of rejection from publishers. I don’t know that I would have kept at it without him. And my kids are a wonderful source of fresh ideas. Having babies, a full time job AND trying to keep to a writing schedule was not easy, but I think it made me efficient with my time. Now that they’re 12 and 15 they actually pre-edit my manuscripts and give great advice. I’m lucky!

 Do you enjoy researching or do you prefer working totally from your imagination?

Research is one of the things about being a writer that I like best. It’s interesting, exciting, and keeps me learning new things. I’ve investigated everything from astrology to pro-wrestling to the hatching out of chickens. I used to think that being a writer would be a dull, confining profession, but it’s not. It’s educational, fun, and (depending how seriously you take your research)exciting!

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

No way! When I’m in the voice of a cyber-superhero, I can’t just switch to the voice of a pre-teen super-sleuth. Or to that of a homeless girl. Or Southern boys. I have to stick with one voice to the very end.

 When is your next book going to be in book stores?

SAMMY KEYES AND THE WILD THINGS, a very funny backpacking adventure that has the merits of saving a really ugly stinky bird (the condor) as its theme, will be out in May 2007. I’m presently working on a YA book titled Confessions of a Serial Kisser.

 What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

I want them to be excited about reading and writing. I want them to see that making dreams come true is not a charge-now-and-pay-later situation. There is no credit card that can buy achievements. Most of all, I want kids to come away believing that they, too, can make their dreams come true.