Jan is Jan Fields, moderator of this interview with Tanya Lee Stone, and Web Editor of the ICL Web Site. Green shows names or usernames of people and the questions they asked Tanya.

Jan: Welcome to SPECIAL GUEST CHAT: "Writing Across Genre" with Tanya Lee Stone! I'm so glad everyone has come to ask questions of our phenomenal. And welcome, Tanya -- I'm so glad you're here.

Tanya: Thrilled to be here, Jan!

Jan: Tanya kindly squeezed us in between dash abouts...tell us, where are you headed next?

Tanya: Bright and early tomorrow morning, I'm off to the Rochester Children's Book Festival. They're having a Just for Teens program on Saturday. Teen actors will be performing the play based on my YA novel. I'm very excited to work with them. We'll rehearse furiously on Friday, then do the show on Saturday, followed by Q&A.

Jan: Have you seen them perform yet or is this going to be new for you too?

Tanya: It's the first time I've worked with kids from afar.

Jan: Are they going to do selections or one scene or what?

Tanya: I scripted a 30-minute play based on the book. It pulls a variety of poems from the book -- the intention is to introduce the characters to the audience and provide a jumping off point for discussion.

Jan: So, whose idea was this whole presentation -- yours?

Tanya: Yes, it was mine. It will be the fifth time performing it, and with the fifth cast! It's a lot of fun.

Tanya: No, this is the first time. I originally scripted it for my launch party. I thought it would be a fun way to introduce the book to people and get teens involved. It went so well I began getting requests to repeat the performance. A lot of the success of the play stems from the talented teens interpreting the characters. It's also really a topic that lends itself well to discussion afterwards.

Tanya: Yes, the play is based on A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl and introduces my three girls: Josie, Nicolette, and Aviva. I also scripted a monologue for the "Bad Boy" to set up the show, as he really doesn't get much of a chance to talk in the book!

Tanya: I started out in publishing as an editor. I worked for 13 years as an editor, and my last in-house job was as Managing Editor of Blackbirch Press, where I developed and edits dozens of children's nonfiction books. From there, I started writing, and the first types of books I wrote were, not too surprisingly, children's nonfiction!

Tanya: Gosh, that's a tough one. I don't think I could choose. I am at my best when I'm working on two different types of things at once. I think my brain works better that way, somehow. I like going back and forth between fiction and nonfiction. I love writing poetry. I love journaling.

Tanya: It wasn't, actually. I didn't need to do any convincing, of which I am eternally grateful.

Tanya: Yes, I do, and I love her. But I didn't always have an agent.

Jan: At what point in your career did you get one -- and why did you feel it was the right time?

Tanya: I got an agent when it started taking too much time away from my writing to deal with business things. And also because I didn't know anything about YA and knew I would need help navigating the waters.

Jan: What inspired you to make the jump from nonfiction to a young adult novel...and one in such an unusual style?

Tanya: Well, Bad Boy wasn't the first departure from what I had been doing. I started letting myself play with form and structure and stretching myself. That was the key, really. I wanted to stretch myself, push myself. So I wrote a nonfiction piece in poetry. The poetry then led me to writing more poetry. Then one day, the voice of Josie came to me -- immediately after thinking of the title.

Tanya: Oh boy, that's a tough one. I would say that the best approach is to talk open and honestly with your agent to see what you both feel is right for you. I understand the difficulty you're describing, but I wouldn't presume to know better than you and your agent. I'm sorry if that's not helpful enough. I have used a pen name, although I can tell you that people generally begin to figure out that both names are you.

Tanya: I personally don't seem to need transition time between the two. In fact, it seems to work against me. My most productive type of day is when I'm working on fiction for a few hours and then change over to nonfiction, or vice versa. Regarding your "flatten out" piece of the question, I guess the answer is no, it's completely separate for me, almost a breath of fresh air to change over, which has the effect of energizing me.

Tanya: That never began as a series; it just sort of evolved into one. D is for Dreidel came first. The most recent was B is for Bunny. They are fun to do and sell well, so if I have another idea for one, I'd be happy to pursue it. In fact, it was kind of funny being on tour for A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl in the spring, because B is for Bunny was everywhere, and the booksellers always laughed once they realized they were both generated by me!

Jan: Did all of your nonfiction books originate from your own ideas -- or did you write any to fit what the publisher wanted?

Tanya: There have been some books that I have written at the request of one of my publishers. For example, the Gateway bio of Laura Bush for Millbrook was because my editor wanted me to do the biography of whomever was about to become the First Lady. Other instances were series that I thought up and pitched; still others were ideas we brainstormed together--now I'm talking strictly about some of the library market nonfiction books.

Tanya: I think it's mainly a combination of imagination and emotional memories--and by emotional memories I mean, not specific events, but the emotions that stayed with me from past experiences. I think we all draw on our childhoods to some extent. And certainly outside observations factor in. Wow, I've just included everything but the kitchen sink--but I think that's accurate, everything about our lives filters in in some ways.

Tanya: I generally wake up when the house is quiet and get my procrastinating out of the way nice and early. Email, website stuff, etc.. Once I'm settled into my work day, I try to write for 2-3 hours, then take a break. Get up, walk around, maybe go outside, have something to eat (throw a load of laundry in!), then I get back to it for another hour or so. Then I often write late at night, again, when the house is quiet.

Tanya: Interesting, this question just came up when I was at the Texas Book Festival. Here's the deal. The first part of the answer is, I didn't. I simply wrote the book in what I felt was the most honest way possible. Because emotional honesty doesn't go through trends. People are the same when it comes to love and relationships, throughout time. Now, the second part of the answer, is that after, and only after, I was finished writing, did I then do a tad bit of research. My research involved hanging out in high schools to make sure my language wasn't dated, or that I wasn't totally off the mark. It was basically to reassure me that, yes, dating when I was in high school is pretty much rife with the same emotions as dating today.

Tanya: If there was, I don't remember it, which is probably a sign that I was better off not pursuing it! ;-)

Tanya: Oh, plenty! A nice big thick folder of them. I take them to school visits and show all the kids.

Tanya: No, I never have. Some of them seem really great, though.

Tanya: Oh, this is going to sound so cliche, but that will be because it's true. Just read, read, read and write, write, write. Write every day. Follow your heart. Follow your gut. And don't be afraid to experiment.

Tanya: I have done a couple of non-book pieces. One was a book review, actually, for the New York Times -- A wonderful book by Ned Vizzini called It's Kind of a Funny Story. I thoroughly enjoyed doing that. The other was an article in VOYA about the importance of sex in YA lit. But I haven't done a lot of non-book writing. I'd like to do some more, though.

Tanya: Yes, I have had a picture book critique group for several years and they are wonderfully helpful. And I have a couple of trusted critique partners for novels. We read each other's work. It's invaluable.

Jan: What kind of elements do you think make a good critique group or even critique partner?

Tanya: I think a good critique group is fairly focused on one genre and has a good balance of people. People who know how to give criticism in a kind and useful way. I always want my critique partners to really be honest and tell me the truth. Ask the tough questions. Push me. But kindly.

Tanya: I like to think I deal with criticism pretty well. It's gotten easier over the years. As you become more comfortable with your craft, who you are, and what you are trying to say, I think it gets easier. Because what you're really looking for is for people to help you express yourself in the clearest way possible. I also don't solicit opinions from a wide net. I keep the input I request mainly to other writers and a select few family members.

Tanya: I am a lover of titles. For me, the title often comes first. It gives me a sense of where I'm going, and what I want to say. A Bad Boy Can be Good for a Girl was the first thing I wrote down for that novel. I just knew I had a lot to say about what that might mean. Sometimes my titles still change, but I need one to get started.

Jan: Having come to writing with a background in editorial -- how do you think that's affected how you handle the business of writing? Does it make rejection any easier or do you still mutter darkly?

Tanya: Of course we all mutter darkly sometimes! ;-) Seriously, though, I think my editorial background helps me a lot. I know what constraints an editor has. I have a sense of how much material gets submitted, and how much can be acquired. I also understand that an editor really does often have very specific needs at certain times. Sometimes timing is simply the deciding factor.

Jan: Do rejection letter make more sense to you than to the rest of us...being as how you may have sent out a few of your own?

Tanya: Well, I've gotten the form rejection letters too, and you can't glean a whole lot from them. I don't try to decipher rejection letters, I take them at face value.

Tanya: Ah-ha! Don't know how much help I'll be, sadly. Okay, I'll give it a shot, with the caveat that I may be completely and totally off the mark, okay? Too-surface level to my mind reads the same as "slight" something I have been told myself, for picture book texts. It generally means that we have not given the editor enough meat for them to sink their teeth into. Does that help?

Jan: I think with Highlights, (having talked to the editors,) it can also mean that you didn't get the "expert" to tell stories. Just asking fact kind of things doesn't give the kids a sense of real story and interest. And Highlights loves experts to tell stories. Which is basically the same thing Tanya was saying..not enough to sink their teeth into.

Tanya: To my mind, this has less to do with word count and more to do with story. I'm afraid I'm having trouble conjuring up the correct definitions at the moment. I suppose it does somewhat have to do with length. If you can tell a complete story in a matter of pages, and don't feel the need to expand on the characters, or get into more of their stories, then perhaps you have a short story as opposed to the beginning of a novel.

Tanya: A title should be intriguing, but not be the punch line.

Tanya: Being your authentic self. I feel very strongly about this. The writers I most enjoy reading don't seem concerned about sounding like anyone other than themselves. I think editors can spot that right away. I don't mean that it should sound like journaling, or anything like that. I just think that honest writing comes across as such.

Tanya: I think if you're stuck that writing anything is better than writing nothing. I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all. Free association writing exercises can be really helpful and freeing. And of course I dont' remember who said this, but one of the things I most loved hearing, was to allow yourself to write a crummy first draft. Make sense of it later.

Jan: You've been writing for a long while now...what sort of things do you do to keep your work fresh and to keep refining your craft?

Tanya: I love to retreat when I can. Take a day with another writer and sit in a room and write. I also like to go to conferences and listen to other writers talk about craft, take workshops when I have a chance. It's all good. Also, I like to try new things, even if it's just for fun.

Jan: Tell us about some other authors you admire and why.

Tanya: Oh, so many authors, so little time! The only way to do this is to focus on people I've read and admired in the past year. Books I loved. Feed by M.T. Anderson, Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin. Sooo good. Mary Pearson's Lorelei, Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson's A Parallel Universe of Liars. Rick Riordan's Lightning Thief, Laura Ruby's Good Girls...oh gosh, this could really go on for days! I love great characters, much more than plot. Of course, I love a good plot, but it's the characters that get me and keep me. The characters who stick with you, who you forget for a moment aren't real people running around in the world.

Jan: What do you see as some benefits of writing across genre?

Tanya: Benefits, let's see. It depends on who you ask. Some might tell me that I spread myself too thin. I tend to disagree. My motivation is strictly related to what I'm interested in spending a lot of time on. A book takes a long time to write, dontcha know! If it's a topic that really intrigues me and I want to sit a good long spell with it, I'm in. I think the benefit has been that it's helped me with that elusive "making a living" concept. But it also keeps me from being a "brandable" writer. I'm good with that. Also, it keeps me interested in what I'm doing. I often write because I want to learn about something--either something concrete or something more abstract.

Tanya: Ah, that can be vexing! But fun, too. Well, Franny Billingsley would have you working with lots of different post-it colors that represent different aspects of your work: character, theme, setting, etc. and a wonderful map of your book might begin to appear. Other approaches could involve lots of index cards with chapter headings strewn about on the floor until some order emerges. I personally like to use a highligher and read-through (cold, I should add. Always let it sit awhile after outpouring) while I read, I use my highlighter, on the first read, to illuminate the scenes, or bits of dialogue, or descriptions that are really serving to speak to my theme well. this helps me understand what it is I'm trying to say, then I might take a different color and read through for things that should be deleted -- unnecessary characters, plot constructs that don't work, etc. After those two steps, I might find I've got something worth typing up clean then read it again after about a week...that's just one suggestion. As you know, this is all very mysterious and subjective from one writer to the next.

Tanya: Thank you, it helped me too!

Jan: Okay, I have more questions about cross genre...how does your agent feel about your enjoying working in such desparate genre -- I've heard of writers who get pressure.

Tanya: One of the many reasons why we're a good match is that she understands that this is who I am as a writer, god bless her. I did not go with an agent several years ago, expressly because she told me I had to stop writing all these different things and focus on one. It's just not who I am. As Popeye says, I yam what I yam!

Jan: Does your agent do all your marketing to publishers or do you now have nonfiction publishers coming to you and asking, hey Tanya...whatcha got for us?

Tanya: She does most of it, and there are also people with whom she knows I have relationships and she's wonderful at facilitating that.

Jan: Tell us, please, about what books you have coming out...I know we like to watch for upcoming work.

Tanya: Be happy to! 2007 will see a new DK biography of Amelia Earhart--what a pistol she was! In 2008, I have a biography of Ella Fitzgerald coming out with Viking, as part of their new YA bio series. Also that year will be a picture book with Henry Holt called Elizabeth Leads the Way with the wonderful illustrator Rebecca Gibbon. And I just recently sold a book to Marc Aronson at Candlewick for which the pub date has not yet been set.

Jan: You know, I don't run into folks doing YA biography much -- that must be very freeing since you can really tell ...um...unusual life aspects. How did writing a YA bio differ for you?

Tanya: It's nice to be able to really go into more complex depth and explore larger societal pictures, as well. Give them a context for a life being lived during any given time period; draw connections for them, that kind of thing.

Jan: You've done quite a bit of biography -- what is it about biographies that catches your writing fancy?

Tanya: Every life is so unique, so complicated, so intriguing...It's like walking into a whole new world, stepping into someone else's shoes, and seeing what the world looks like through their eyes. Boy, I wouldn't have minded being Amelia Earhart for a week!

Tanya: I have a bachelor's degree in English from Oberlin College and did a ton of creative writing there... the next several years my training as a writer was honed while working as an editor. Editors write a lot!

Jan: So were you one of those little kids who dreamed of being a writer? A what point did writing become something you wanted to do?

Tanya: I don't think I consciously dreamed of being a writer. But I was a huge reader. My Dad was a professor and writer. My Mom was a librarian. It kind of came naturally to me. I think I knew at some point while I was editing, that I wanted to write the kind of books I was editing. That I could do it. That I would enjoy it.

Jan: I know you're a mom...are you nurturing any future writers?

Tanya: Most likely! But not so much because I write, but because we read a lot, I think.

Jan: You're such a perfect example of a busy person -- packed schedule, mom life, etc...how do you get your writing done? Give us some wisdom.

Tanya: I'm not sure I have any pearls of wisdom to impart, but I'm a big believer in balance. I said believer, not practitioner! I try, though, I really do try to keep things somewhat in balance. I write when they're in school, and I'm Mommy when they're home. It pretty much comes down to that. Of course, except when I'm traveling a lot, like I've been doing lately. Then it's a bit harder.

Jan: I really want to thank you so much for joining us and sharing about your work and life. You're super.

Tanya: It was so sweet of you to have me; I really enjoyed it. I was honored to be here, great students, great questions, thanks, Jan! Thanks ICL!