(You're reading the right post if you're interested in any of the following: children's literature, good literature in general, local Spokane writers, Midwest writers, the Middle East, America, culture, adventure, inspiration. If you prefer boring books, cliches, or vampires, you may be in the wrong place.) Trent Reedy is a Spokane author quickly making a name in the literary world. Raised in Iowa, he joined the Army National Guard and ended up heading off to Afghanistan. In one village there, he met a young girl with a cleft lip. An Army doctor was able to perform corrective surgery on her, and Reedy promised himself he would tell the girl's story. And he did, loosely basing his book, Words in the Dust (2011 Arthur A. Levine Books), on her experiences.
I sat down and asked Reedy a few questions about writing:
What are you working on right now? I always have a number of projects in progress at the same time. Writing is so much fun. I'm always thinking of new stories, and all the ideas I have for novels are very different from one another. Right now I'm working on a fantasy piece, a middle-grade adventure story for boys, and a couple different young adult pieces.
Who are your favorite authors? Tim O'Brien is just amazing. It was really incredible to hear him speak and read and share a few words with him at the Get Lit! Festival. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is my favorite novel. Every single line of that book is just perfect. My favorite poet is Robert Frost. My kid lit hero is Katherine Paterson [who wrote the introduction to his book]. She's the U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, or, as I like to say, the Queen of Kid Lit. These writers have made my life better in really direct and important ways.
What advice would you give to writers hoping to have a book published? Keep reading, keep writing, and also keep learning. It's very difficult, if not impossible, at any given time, to understand how much one doesn't know. Always, and at all stages of a person's development as a writer, there is more to learn. One can change and improve the way he looks at his craft; the best story that a writer was able to come up with in 5th grade looks very primitive to his adult self. In the same way, I think any writer's best work today might not be his best work tomorrow.
How do you deal with having manuscripts rejected sometimes? I like to look at rejection letters as trophies of trying. I hang them on the wall above my computer, and I like to think that for every one of those letters there's a thousand people who wanted to write their book but never finished, another thousand who finished but never had the courage to submit. I like my rejection letters. They tell me I'm still in the fight.
What are your favorite things about the Spokane literary scene? Spokane is really a fantastic city for writers, beginning with Auntie's Bookstore, which is astounding and beautiful. And coupled with the writers in the area--the children's lit community is fantastic. That didn't exist for me back in Iowa. I experienced Get Lit! for the first time earlier this year. I was at the poetry reading at the Montvale, and it was wonderful to be in the company of this crowd of people who came to hear these poets' expressions. It wasn't a demo derby or basketball game or some other sporting event that typically draws people. It was people coming out because they care about the power of the written word. I felt a certain energy about it--it was intoxicating. So what's not to love about Spokane?
What do you see as the main differences between writing children's lit and writing fiction for adults? I like writing stories for young people about young people because I have found adult life to be very dull. In a children's lit story, characters can do anything. You can have a fun adventure story about boys who build a raft to go down a river; if the story was about several grown men building a raft to go down a river, the audience would wonder why they don't just get a job. All stories come from conflict and discovery and change; and conflict, discovery, and change are the essence of the experience for young people. Growing up is the greatest human adventure.
To find out more about Trent Reedy:
- www.trentreedy.com
- LA Times article
- Watch his interview on the Today Show
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