The question I'm most often asked by kids is, "Where do your ideas come from?" I always give a concrete answer, like "Someone suggested that to me" or "It happened in my childhood." And while those answers are true for some of what I write, many of my ideas come from somewhere else. But it's hard to put my finger on just where that somewhere else is.Guest Blogger: Cynthia Kadohata
The question I'm most often asked by kids is, "Where do your ideas come from?" I always give a concrete answer, like "Someone suggested that to me" or "It happened in my childhood." And while those answers are true for some of what I write, many of my ideas come from somewhere else. But it's hard to put my finger on just where that somewhere else is.
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I always groan when people ask about my writing process, because what they are really asking is the more complicated question, “How does your mind work?” Even the word “process” confounds me. It implies a tidy, shrink-wrapped procedure. I wish it was that way–a specific set of steps to get me from that awful first draft to a polished manuscript, which is often thirty rewrites down the line. For me, writing isn’t precise. It is a messy evolution.