Writer, Wrestler, Stutterer, Spy: Finding Your Voice as a Writer

Megan McDonald, author of that beloved Judy Moody series and more, shares with us some stories of her life and career.

Megan tells us about growing up the youngest of five sisters and gives a delightful anecdote concerning one her favorite books growing up, a wrestler and rabies (and for those of you not here you can read the story IF you have a Horn Book subscription and get the awesome issue that's the recent HARRIET THE SPY anniversary/tribute issue! Or borrow it online...)

It's Harriet that started Megan on her path to being a writer and finding her own voice at the ripe old age of eight. But then she lost that voice for a while...

Read the Horn Book link before you look at the image below, which Martha Brockenbrough found and is making me include, the wrestler Bruno Sanmartino.

After some traumatic college writing courses and lots of self doubt, Megan began finding her own voice again, which happened to be that of eight-year-old Megan. Megan shares a Jung quote with us: No matter how isolated you are and how lonely you feel, if you listen to your own voice, unknown friends will come and seek you.

And that's when she started finding those characters like Judy and Stink and Amanda Frankenstien.

What it's like to work with editor Mary Lee Donovan: "With every book she helps me to see the true story in that mess of first drafts... and second...  and third drafts. She helps me see through the fog to the story in my heart.

Megan McDonald and Mary Lee Donovan: Judy Moody: Forever 8—Creating and Sustaining a Series

Mary Lee Donovan

Mary Lee starts off with this caveat: "We never set out to make Judy Moody a series, which is probably good and bad to hear."

Once it took hold, though, some choices in the writing and pacing of the books were very deliberate, but in the beginning that was not the goal. Megan and Mary Lee tell us about Judy Moody's Origin Story:

Megan McDonald

Megan's early works were not funny, her parents passed away when Megan was 30 and for a long time Megan's voice was fairly quiet and serious because she was in such a dark place. But in an effort to capture family memories, she grew up with four older sisters, Megan had been writing down all of the crazy, outrageous, hilarious things that had happened in her family.

When Megan and Mary met at a conference, they had an instant connection and Megan asked Mary Lee: "I have all these stories about my family that I don't know what to do with, but I want to do something, do you think you could look at them?"

Mary Lee chimes in, "Let me add, you are so funny, I can't believe you didn't start writing funny. I could see you had this incredible energy and sense of humor... I just knew, how can I work with this person, how can I work with this material. It was already episodic, which was great for chapter books, but we needed it to add up to something more."

From there Megan and Mary Lee worked on adding that something more and eventually Megan had a full novel.

Megan's original Judy Moody book was much, much longer and not illustrated. Mary Lee calls cutting over half of the original book like having a sour dough starter, the cuts could be used—would be used—for a next book. (Actually, those cuts were not used until book 3.)

Megan probably calls cutting over half the book mildly terrifying. But after the designer and then Peter H. Reynolds added in so many superb visual elements, Megan was in love with the book's everything and on board with all of the cutting.

Megan and Mary Lee share a bit more about the journey of Judy Moody and then give the audience some tips on creating a series. Here is one tip below, some questions you should ask yourself after you write that first, great book.

Are we doing a Book 2? Or are we doing a sequel? 

Can things be episodic? Or are you going to wrap things up in the book's entire world within the next one or two books?