Author Panel on Books and Technology

Last week, I helped man the SCBWI booth at the annual Texas Library Association conference, in San Antonio this year (and 5 minutes from my desk at Magik -- very convenient). I took advantage of my staff ID to attend a panel of great authors talking about technology and writing. They were:

Cynthia Leitich Smith  (ETERNAL, HOLLER LOUDLY)
Cory Doctorow  (MAKERS, LITTLE BROTHER)
Jay Asher  (TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY)
Judy Blundell  (WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED)
Maureen Johnson  (SCARLETT FEVER, GIRL AT SEA)

A moderator and a few librarians asked questions. I've paraphrased the answers below.


Does technology play an inspiration role for your writing?

JA - Technology is mostly good for procrastination, but he uses Pandora to set the mood for writing particular scenes.

JB - is a self-labeled Luddite regarding technology. Other than pen and paper, she avoids technology while writing.

MJ - inspired by LOLcats. :)

CLS - uses images online for inspiration. Also takes photos in her neighborhood and sometimes attends open houses to photograph settings.


How do you deal with technology in your books?

CD - doesn't explain how to do everything (as in some descriptions he cites in Heinlein). Instead, he plants keywords readers can Google later if they wish.

JA - doesn't deal with technology in his books ("My latest has cassette tapes!")

JB - authors walk a fine line between making their books relevant to current teens and not dating the book with the technology it mentions. Notes that in early 39 CLUES books, characters steal GPS; now they would just get an iPhone.


How do you keep in touch with your audience as regards technology?

JA - blog, MySpace

CD - Boing Boing, Craphound, Twitter, Skype

CLS - Skype (great for schools with tight budgets), blog, Facebook, Twitter

MJ - blog, Twitter. Doesn't like MySpace or Facebook; sites too clumsy and crowded with apps (supported by CD re: Facebook)


How do you manage communication vs. writing?

JA - doesn't want to seem cold, but keeps responses short

CD - too much data to read everything. He feels the good stuff always resurfaces via reTweets, etc; he'll catch the good stuff that way.

JB - has two pen names; keeps an online presence for only one of them (Judy Blundell).

MJ - gets a lot of requests for her to do her fans' homework. She's onto you guys!


What is your writing/creative process?

CLS - uses research and prewriting exercises; firm believer in BIC

CD - writes every day, treating writing as his job. Tries not to be heroic in his goals. If he isn't sure what comes next plotwise, he'll make things worse for his main character.

MJ - holds that plot is a long series of stuff going wrong. Once asked by an adult audience member if she was mentally ill because she inflicts problems on her characters. Realized then that not everyone understands that story must have inherent conflict.


What do you like about writing for a young audience?

MJ - YA readers are braver than adults about trying new books and genres. She feels the current golden age of YA owes thanks to the internet and the community it nurtures.

CLS - has been active in the internet conversation on books since 1997 as a representative of the Native American community. Has found that kids want to connect with authors and other readers.

CD - adolescents provide great stories because they are continually having First Experiences. Also, the internet allows and encourages sociability, which inevitably leads to discussions of books.

JA - the most frustrating part of writing for kids: the adults in their lives. Adults often focus on less-important aspects of a book.

JB - is a trustee of her local library and gets complaints about books available to their children. Feels that if parents aren't willing to read those books themselves, they can Google the authors for information.


Why is YA so appealing to adult readers?

CLS - half of her reader mail comes from people 25 years and older. Believes that good stories naturally appeal to a broad market.

JA - anybody who can read his book the way a teen would read it will enjoy it.

CD - enjoys reading YA himself.

MJ - packaging is a big factor in crossover appeal. SUITE SCARLETT was given away as a free ebook with purchase of another hardcover. She gets a lot of mail from guys in their 50s who are enjoying the book, but probably wouldn't have bought the paper version with the red cover. Likes ebooks because there are no covers to prejudice readers.


(to Cynthia) How do you connect with other authors?

CLS - Through Cynsations. She quit her full-time job to shine a light on new and under-represented voices. It's a journalistic pursuit: she wants to tell good news to people who want to hear it.


Thanks to all of the authors for a candid panel!

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