Nancy Krulik is the author of Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo, and the How I Survived Middle School series. She is also one of the selected authors attending the second PJ Library Author Israel trip, a spectacular trip for authors and illustrators to help inspire the creation of new Jewish kids books. Danielle from the Design Team caught up with the author and learned a few things about her process and her work.
If you could go back to your younger self, what do you wish you knew that might have made writing your books easier?
I wish that I had kept more detailed journals. That would help so much, not only with plot lines and emotions for characters, but also with just being able to replicate speech patterns in kids of different ages. On the other hand, I have been able to “steal” plot lines and language from observing my own kids, which is almost as helpful.
How many unpublished or half-drafted books do you have?
I actually don’t have any unpublished or half-drafted books. At this point in my career, I usually only work on books that have been contracted. However, I have stacks of journals filled with ideas about future projects and plot lines for characters in new or existing series. Journals are so incredibly helpful because you always have an idea waiting in the wings, ready to be fleshed out into a proposal or a book.
What is the highest number of drafts that you have ever had on a book?
I had to completely redo the first Katie Kazoo Switcheroo book more than five times. It was the first chapter book series I had ever done, and the language and length in the first draft was totally wrong. The characters were third graders but they spoke like mini-adults, and the chapters were waaaaayyyyy too long. I had to learn to shorten the chapters to no more than six typed pages, because chapter book readers need to be able to finish a whole chapter in one sitting. It gives them an incredible (and well-deserved!) sense of accomplishment.
How did publishing your first book help you to know what did and didn’t work?
My very first books were all non-fiction, and not at all connected to what I do now. But I learned to do research quickly, and how to whittle down the information so that just the most interesting information remains. Research is so key to all writing. In the case of fiction, research helps ground the series in a reality that makes the world seem as though it might really exist. Being able to research has helped me know what Katie Kazoo might feel like if she were really turned into a snake, or what might cure George Brown Class Clown’s burps, or describe any place on earth that Sparky, the lead character of my Magic Bone books, might visit. Even the most fantastical worlds need some grounding in reality.
How do you select the names of the characters in your books?
It depends on the series. I need the names to seem apropos to the time and place. So, for instance, in my Princess Pulverizer books, I had to research the most popular names of the European Renaissance. For the Magic Bone books, I researched popular names in the countries visited by Sparky. For classroom-based books, I sometimes used names in the school directories my kids’ brought home. I rarely, if ever, name characters after people and animals I know. I learned that the hard way when I named Katie Kazoo’s spaniel, Pepper, after my own cocker spaniel. When my dog passed away, it became impossible for me to write the character any more. That’s when I realized that naming characters after people I knew was dangerous because the character became too closely related to someone I knew, rather than being a person (or dog) all their own.
Do any of the characters in your books represent you?
I think there is a little bit of me in all my characters, but I don’t think any one of them is actually the real me. I couldn’t even say that any of them is closest to who I really am, because they all have facets of my personality, but with major twists and tweaks.
If you weren’t a writer, what other job would you do?
I would be in big trouble if I weren’t a writer. I’m not much good at anything else. I wanted to act when I was young, but I was a terrible actress. When I went to college I majored in investigative reporting. I thought I would wind up writing for a newspaper and interviewing politicians, but somehow wound up writing about a boy who burps and a dragon who makes grilled cheese. Life takes you unexpected places.
Is there a certain genre that you would never want to write, and if so, what?
I have written mysteries before but I’m not sure I would write them again—they are very complicated and take an expertise that I am not 100 per cent sure I’ve really got. But I had fun writing the ones I did — The Jack Gets a Clue series—because I gave them a fantastical twist. The main character solved his mysteries by talking to animals. That part was a blast to write.
About how long does each book take you to write?
I usually only get about a month from my initial outline to when the final revision is due. Series books are on very tight schedules and you don’t get a lot of time, because they can’t be moved to the next list—mostly because the next book in the series is already slated for there. So I have to write every day, and stick to my schedule. That’s the secret to writing for a series—be organized and stick to your calendar.
What is your favorite book that you have written, and why?
That’s like asking a mom, “Who’s your favorite kid?” I don’t actually have a favorite book, mostly because they all represent something different to me. But I will say that the first books in any series are especially meaningful to me, because that’s when I begin to know the characters, and create their universe. There’s something very powerful about creating a world. Writers get to be masters of universes of their own making. There are very few careers that offer that!