At the Western Washington chapter of SCBWI, we love to share success stories of our members. In this post, we speak with author Dan Richards.
Beth Bacon: Welcome, Dan Richards! Could you please you share your favorite paragraph from your new book?
Dan Richards: STU TRULY FIRST KISS is the follow up to my first middle grade novel STU TRULY that came out last year. Both books are written from Stu’s perspective as he navigates middle school and his first crush.
In the second book, FIRST KISS, I wanted to pull the reader into the story while at the same time giving just enough backstory to quickly bring the reader up to speed. I’ll let you be the judge how well the first two paragraphs accomplish those goals. Here goes:
Truth is, I don’t know much about girls. Not that I should. I’m only thirteen and I still keep a lightsaber tucked under my bed. Until recently, I was just a typical middle school kid without a care, or chin hair, in the world.
But sometimes life throws the unexpected at you. Like when a new girl comes prancing into your school and turns everything upside down. A girl unlike any girl you’ve ever known, who makes your mouth go dry, your words jumble up, and your thoughts go all wacky every time you see her. A girl who convinces you to do things, strange things you would never in a million years have done before, like agreeing to see Unbounded Love, the story of a soldier who loses his legs in the war, and the nurse who helps him learn to walk, and love again.
Quote From “Stu Truly First Kiss” by Dan Richards
Beth: That is hilarious! I think I saw that movie… but not when I was in middle school, and not with my crush! I think I fell asleep. (In the movie! Not in your intro!) Okay, back to the questions. Why do you write books for young people?
Dan: Ten years ago when I started thinking seriously about writing novels I realized I mostly read kids’ books. I loved the imagination inherent in middle grade novels and I loved the relative innocence of young characters engaging the larger world around them. It seemed natural to write in the genre I read. It didn’t hurt either that my sense of humor was firmly rooted in my pre-teen self.
Beth: What’s the best part of being a writer?
Dan: I love, love, love the moments of being lost in a story that seems to be flowing from nowhere through my fingertips. Those effortless moments are the best!
Beth: What’s the worst part of being a writer?
Dan: All the moments that come before and after the effortless moments. Taking feedback is hard. Making revisions is hard. Making more revisions is hard. Basically, the majority of the work is hard. But still strangely fun and rewarding. Really, I don’t mind revisions that much. What I hate is the continual unknowns whether an editor is going to want to publish a book, whether reviewers will trash it, whether anyone will buy it, whether another book deal will ever happen again, etc. This is a difficult business to get and maintain momentum. That’s why I’ve got my eyes out for a magical momentum machine. Know any retailers?
Beth: How long does it normally take for you to write a book?
Dan: My first novel draft took over forty years. To work up the courage. Since then a first draft takes about 3-6 months. Revisions take anywhere from a few months to a lifetime. Some of them I’m pretty sure I’ll be working on in the afterlife. I guess those will have to be self published.
Beth: What memories do you tap into when you write?
Dan: In my two published novels, I definitely borrowed from my memories of being an anxious middle schooler who entered puberty pretty much against my will. I really liked taking my GI Joe dolls on pretend adventures in the house and playing pretend football in the backyard. How girls suddenly entered the scene was a total surprise. I’ve been married for over 27 years now. I’m still trying to figure out what happened.
Beth: What’s the best interaction you ever had with a young reader?
Dan: I’m working on a new middle grade novel that involves a scene in which the main character discovers he has a shared interest in punk rock music with a girl in his band class. It’s important to the plot of the story and I suddenly wondered if such a conversation would ever take place in real life. And then I did an author event a few days later. A middle school girl came up afterward and started telling me about her first ‘date’ that had just happened that afternoon and how she and the boy had discovered a shared interest in classic rock bands. I about fell out of my seat. Seriously? The timing could not have been more perfect!
About the people in this post
BETH BACON writes books for young readers. Her titles include, I Hate Reading, The Book No One Wants To Read, The Worst Book Ever, and Blank Space. See her work at BethBaconAuthor.com
DAN RICHARDS is a beloved children’s author known for his picture books THE PROBLEM WITH NOT BEING SCARED OF MONSTERS and CAN ONE BALLOON MAKE AN ELEPHANT FLY? and his middle school novels STU TRULY and STU TRULY FIRST KISS. His newest picture books PENNY AND PENELOPE and ONCE UPON A GOAT hit stores this August. Dan lives in Bothell with his wife, two kids, and two mischievous doodles. Visit Dan at www.danrichardsbooks.com.