 10 Questions with Doreen Cronin
Q: How do you feel about kids asking what a typewriter is when they read Click, Clack, Moo? (I think it's pretty funny that they don't know what it is sometimes, and it's great that it gives us an opportunity to talk about how things worked before computers.
A: I love when kids ask me about that – the answer is always “it's what we used before computers.” Seems like lots of kids have “played” with a typewriter, too.
Q: How do you work with your illustrator? Do you write the book first or do you add things to the story as you see the illustrations?
A: Completed manuscript always comes first. Then after sketches are done, it is often time to revisit the manuscript and find out what works and what doesn’t.
Q: What were your favorite books as a child?
A: Far too many to name – although the Nancy Drew series was definitely at the top of the list.
Q: What is the inspiration for ideas for your books? Are your own
children ever the source for ideas?
A: Inspiration comes from so many different places – usually just a phrase or a fleeting thought.
Q: What is your favorite reaction by a child in an audience?
A: It’s the complete honesty that kids bring to a room – whether in a classroom, an auditorium or at the dinner table!
Q: Do you try your stories out with your own children?
A: Never! Too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak.
Q: What drew you to writing children's books? or Why did you choose to write children's books?
A: I didn’t really choose them – they just happen to be what comes out of my head. Almost nothing is more annoying to me than a writer who is “sending out” children’s manuscripts while they wait for their novel to be published. Please don’t practice on children.
Q: What inspired you to write the books like Wiggle, Bounce, and
Stretch?
A: They were inspired by Scott Menchin’s art! He created this fabulous, energetic dog and he needed a story to go along with him!
Q: What is your writing process? Do you sit down and write a draft in
one sitting, or do you do it in chunks over a period of time? Do you use a typewriter (like in Click, Clack, Moo)?
A: I wish I could write a draft in one sitting!! Most of my books have been through more than 40, 60, or even 100 drafts. I can be stuck on one word, or on sentence for a week.
Q: What are you working on next?
A: Right now I’m working on the sequel to my first chapter book (which hasn’t been released yet); and four new picture books (not yet released). I am constantly jotting down new ideas and then chasing them until they wear me out – or I manage to wrangle them into something new!
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