Interview with
Rachna Gilmore
Interview by Jenna Glatzer
Rachna Gilmore is
a highly-acclaimed Canadian children's author whose books have won numerous
awards, including the prestigious Governor General's Literary Award for
Children's Literature Text, which is Canada's highest literary award. She is the
author of fourteen children's books, ranging from picture books, to early
readers and junior novels, to young adult novels. She also writes adult fiction
under the pseudonym Rachna Mara. A Group of One is
Ms. Gilmore's first novel to be published in the U.S.
You say that you had always thought about writing, but
didn't really get started until you were 30. What finally made you follow
this dream?
I guess as a writer I have perfected the art of procrastination. Before I really
got started, I had for years scribbled stories, ideas and descriptions. But
somehow, I could not, or did not manage to settle into writing steadily. One
day, my husband and I were walking on the beach in Prince Edward Island, where
we lived at the time. I was lamenting, as I often did, about how I needed to
settle down to writing and wondering why I just couldn't get around to it. My
husband replied that sometimes we avoid starting to work on our dreams because
we are afraid that we may not succeed. He added that it is so much easier to be
successful in our daydreams than to actually put it to the test. This really
struck me. I realized that I had dreamed of writing for years, and I knew I
didn't want to wake up one day and find myself eighty years old and still
dreaming of writing and full of regrets that I hadn't started earlier. So I took
a huge leap of faith and really began to concentrate on playing with words.
Many writers think that writing for children must be
easy. What are the challenges of this genre?
Often people think that writing for children means that you don't have to write
as well as for adults. This simply isn't true. Good writing is good writing
whether it is for adults or kids. I have written adult fiction as well as
children's fiction and each has taught me something valuable. I think the
biggest mistake that beginning writers make is writing down to children, and
using the adult perspective or voice, either because they cannot connect with
the child's voice and heart, or because they feel their mission is to teach
something. This kind of writing is rarely successful. I feel that the most
important thing about writing for children is to keep the stories child-centered.
In other words, the ideas and stories have to come from the child inside you,
not the adult, and you have to connect with the child's emotions and voice as
well as the immediate way in which a child sees the world. Often this is risky
for writers, because it means making yourself vulnerable to the pains and hurts
of childhood. But to do anything less is dishonest, and, in my view, not
conducive to good writing for children.
How did you sell your first book?
My first book to be published was My Mother is Weird. I obtained a list of
publishers in Canada that accepted unsolicited manuscripts, and when the story
was the best that it could be, I sent out a simultaneous multiple submission to
all the publishers I wished to target. This really paid off, because the
publisher who accepted the book, Ragweed Press, may not have been my first
choice, and if I had submitted the book to publishers one at a time, waiting for
responses, it could have taken years to place the book. I know that publishers
tend not to like simultaneous multiple submissions, but I do think that unless
you have a valid reason for working with one particular publisher, it is in the
writer's best interests to do multiple simultaneous submissions.
Your A Group Of One impressed me because of
the way it doesn't condescend or offer up an easy moral lesson. When
writing for children or young adults, does the "mom" in you come out?
Did you ever want to squelch your character, Tara, from saying
"freaking" or disrespecting her grandmother?
Good heavens no! When I write, I write from the child inside me. During the
first draft, especially, I never let the adult perspective leak through. In
fact, in early drafts of A Group of One, the language that Tara used was
far more graphic, the way teenagers often speak today. It was only after the
book was accepted by a publisher that I agreed, at the publisher's request, to
tone down some of the words. I thought carefully about it though, and agreed
only because it was not central and essential to this character, and did not
compromise the integrity of the book.
It seems that several of your books share a theme: the
main character is struggling with her cultural identity. Was this
something you experienced?
I don't think I am aware of this consciously because I was fourteen when I moved
to England and quite happy to adapt to the English culture. This did not seem to
be such a change from my life in Bombay, as Bombay is a cosmopolitan city and
quite westernized, and also because I had gone to an English speaking school and
therefore did not have any language problems. Nevertheless, I think that at a
subconscious level there was some struggle to find my place in a society that
can be, at times, racist and discriminatory in ways that are sometimes overt and
at other times quite covert, subtle and systemic. None of the books I have
written are autobiographical in that they reflect my experiences. All the
characters are fictional and their situations fictional, but in order to honour
the truth of their lives and experiences I had to deal with issues of belonging
and identity, because at some level it still does impact on any person who moves
from one country to another, and particularly so if she or he is a "visible
minority."
I understand that this is the first of your books to be
released in the U.S. How is the Canadian market different from the U.S.
market? Does it make a difference to publishers where an author is from?
(In other words, can Canadians submit to U.S. publishers and Americans submit to
Canadian publishers?)
I'm not sure that I am an expert on the subject, but I think the most basic
difference between the market in the U.S. and in Canada, is that the former is
much larger. I don't know for certain if it makes a difference where an author
is from. I suspect that with a good book it won't matter because the better
publishers look for quality material wherever it comes from. It is interesting
to note that the perception in Canada is that you can't get a book published in
the U.S. if it does not refer to the U.S. or is not set there. I am happy to say
that this has not been true with A GROUP OF ONE, where the story is clearly set
in Canada and deals with issues of Canadian identity and what makes someone a
"regular Canadian." These concepts are certainly applicable and
relevant in the U.S. too, but it was never suggested to me by Holt, my
publisher, that the references to Canada be changed to the U.S.
What's your writing process like? How do you
attack a new idea?
I suspect that my writing process is changing and shifting, but generally it
follows a pattern of first being struck with an idea, or character or concept
that seems to really ring and resonate within me, one that captures my
imagination and makes it whirl with activity. I usually try and work out the
story shape (that satisfying emotional arc) in my head before I start to write.
I may scribble down notes and scraps of dialogue (which are essential, I
think, to capturing the essence of any character) but I don't write the first
draft until I have a sense of the story and I can feel the emotional motivation
of the main character. Then I try and write the first draft quickly, straight
from the heart. Often, as I start to write, the story changes from my mental
concept, and this is fine. Then, after I have the first draft, I re-work the
story many times. Sometimes there is substantial re-writing involved. I find I
have to carefully balance writing from the heart and head in my re-writing
because although the editing is done from the head, (this is important, because
often one has to cut a cherished piece of writing that just doesn't fit) if
there are new chunks that have to be re-written, as is often the case, it must
come from the heart and connect with the emotional impetus of the story. I have
to admit that I am dreadfully anal about the re-writing and I have a hard time
letting go of the manuscript at the end, even though at that point I am often
sick of it. I know that I can always make it that one bit better, even if it is
to tweak a sentence, or to change one word to another just a bit more apt.
You're part of a writing group. How did you find
this group, and what do you do for each other?
I formed this group when I moved to Ottawa by approaching other children's
writers. We meet regularly (although less so than before, as some of the group
have moved out of the area) and read our work to each other for feedback. This
is enormously beneficial. In the process of writing one is so immersed in the
world of the book that one cannot see where it does not work unless the story is
put away for a while and returned to with fresh eyes. This does, of course, take
considerable time. By reading it to others and receiving feedback, the whole
process is shortened and I can see through others' eyes where the story isn't
working and where the characters are tiresome or too unlikeable or flat, or
where their motivation is not quite believable, etc. The process of consulting
others does require me to keep a clear idea of what I am aiming for, though, as
only I can decide if I agree with the feedback or not. In other words, I cannot
let someone else's vision of the story change mine.
When writing picture books, is it proper protocol to
include artistic suggestions or pagination?
I don't know if it is proper protocol to do this. All I can say is that I have
never done so. I think that this might be unnecessary because there is bound to
be some re-writing with an editor if the book is accepted for publication, which
would, of course, change pagination. I wouldn't bother with artistic suggestions
either, unless they are germane to the concept. Often, publishers prefer to keep
the author and illustrator apart so that the unique artistic perspective of each
is not muddied by the other. This makes sense to me. I certainly would not want
an illustrator looking over my shoulder as I write and making suggestions as to
how the story should go, and so, equally, I should trust the artistic vision of
the illustrator and leave the art work to him or her. At times, after acceptance
for publication, the publisher may ask me for my view of the artwork and I do
think that I have been able to usefully contribute in establishing a general
sense of what the art should be like. But usually, the specifics are left to the
artist and the publisher. Publishers often like to keep control over this as
they have clear ideas of what sells and what they wish to convey.
Your books have won numerous awards. Does this
translate to wider distribution and sales? Do you/your publisher apply for
awards, or do the foundations find the books on their own?
Usually the books are submitted for the awards by the publishers. Often it is
helps to make sure that your publisher does in fact remember to submit your book
for the awards. I think that the attendant publicity after winning an award
means that my name and the titles of some of my books are more recognizable,
which does, I hope, translate to more sales. Certainly, the people in the
industry recognize my name more easily which results in my books being reviewed
quickly, and good reviews do indeed translate to sales. As for distribution, in
theory being recognizable does mean that more bookstores will want to carry your
books, but in practice, the distribution depends to a large degree on how
efficient the publisher's distribution service is, and often this can be a
problem no matter how well known you are. You need to keep on top of this and
let the publisher know if you are not satisfied with how this is being dealt
with, and do some polite nudging if necessary.
If you could impart one piece of advice to new
children's writers, what would it be?
I think the main thing I would like to say is that you have to trust yourself
and to write from the heart. I guess I can't just restrict myself to one piece
of advice. So here are a few things. As mentioned before, it's important to know
why you are writing for kids. Is it because you have a story to tell that comes
from the kid inside you or because you feel that you want to teach children
something? If the latter, you may find it hard to meet with success. I think it
is important to write from the child inside you, to keep the emotional core of
the story focused firmly from the point of view of a child. Then, I would
suggest that you read good children's literature because I don't see how you can
write if you are not familiar with what is out there.
Mostly, though, I think it's important to trust yourself and to write, write,
write. Write from the heart. Know that the process is long and convoluted and
that you will have wrong turnings and dead ends, but that this is part of the
process and that you will find your way through.
Also, try and be true to the situation and don't write down to kids. Kids are
smart and can figure things out for themselves. They can sniff out condescension
at the first trace of it. I think, too, that it's important to love writing. I
don't see how you can write, or why you would bother if you don't love the
process.
Anything else you'd like to add?
One final thing: lose the ego. The author should be invisible and the truth of
the story should move it forward. A reader should not be able to see the author
pirouetting around and trying to be clever. There is no place for ego in art.
BUY
A GROUP OF ONE BY CLICKING HERE.
Visit Rachna's website at http://www.makersgallery.com/gilmore.
