An Interview with Leslie Connor | Writing for Children 138

INTERVIEWING THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR

Leslie Connor is the author of several award-winning books for children, including THE TRUTH AS TOLD BY MASON BUTTLE, the 2019 winner of the ALA Schneider Family Book Award, WAITING FOR NORMAL, also a winner of the ALA Schneider Family Book Award, CRUNCH, MISS BRIDIE CHOSE A SHOVEL, and the young adult novels DEAD ON TOWN LINE and THE THINGS YOU KISS GOODBYE. She lives with her family in Connecticut.

We talk about:

• Why character development is so important, how to do it, and when.
• How Leslie’s characters are so fully realized the reader feels like they know that person.
• Does Leslie think of the story first, or the character or characters?
• Does she outline first, either mentally or physically?
• How to keep it straight when you write out of order.
• Using verbal tics, like Mason’s “Tell you what…”
• Revealing a character's learning disability through his language is a great “show don’t tell” method.
• How does she keep from overdoing it?

 

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