Showing posts with label Loon Baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Loon Baby. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Inkpot Interview: Molly Beth Griffin


Molly's YA 2012 novel Silhouette of a Sparrow was recently released in paperback. The novel received the 2013 Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers and was nominated for several awards, including the Lambda Literary Award and the Minnesota Book Award. Molly was an early Inkpot Interviewee for her book Loon Baby; that interview can be found here.

Please describe the book in under 50 words.
In the summer of 1926, sixteen-year-old Garnet Richardson is sent to a lake resort to escape the polio epidemic in the city. She dreams of indulging in ornithology and visiting an amusement park, but in the country, Garnet finds herself under the supervision of oppressive guardians. Only a job in a hat shop, an intense, secret relationship with a beautiful flapper, and a deep faith in her own fierce heart can save her from the suffocation of traditional femininity.  (adapted from Promo Copy.)

Would you tell us a bit about the story’s development? (e.g., as the story progressed from inception to copy-edited version, what were the major changes? How did those changes come about? When did you first begin work on it?)
I grew up in Excelsior, MN, just after the famous amusement park was torn down, so it always fascinated me.  This story grew out of its setting, and transformed from a middle grade novel (in which the mother was having all the fun) to a YA novel.  The pivotal moment was when I asked the character (at the bidding of my Hamline advisor Liza Ketchum) what was in her pocket, and she answered “scissors.”  Why would a teenage girl carry scissors in her pocket?  The entire silhouette-cutting idea (the main yearning of the character, and the central metaphor of the book) came from that exercise.  Research also added depth to the story as I revised, and I tweaked the language quite a bit to make it believably historical but not fussy.  In a late revision with my editor I also enriched the backstory with the father character, which made the whole book much more satisfying.

How did it come to the attention of its editor? (slush pile, agent, etc.)
I interned at Milkweed Editions straight out of undergrad, and knew one of the editors there quite well.  Although I felt that this book would be a perfect fit for them, they did not, at the time, publish YA.  I approached the editor socially after the book was “done” and learned that they just started a YA list—and he agreed to read my manuscript.  Many, many months later, the book had a home.  My editor has since been laid off, but Milkweed has done a fantastic job with the book and I am thrilled to have it published by the largest independent, nonprofit press in the nation.

What research was involved?
Plenty.  I did a lot of work in the special collections room at the Mpls central library, reading newspaper articles and looking at photos from the time and place in which the book is set.  I also referenced bird books constantly, and did some reading about WWII, the Audubon Society, hats, jazz, and so on.  I am NOT a very enthusiastic researcher, but what I enjoyed most were the experiential kinds of research I got to do, like riding old carousels, restored streetcars, and steamboats.  I also kept a bulletin board of images by my desk to inspire me.

Did you ever workshop this story at Hamline?
Yes.  The beginning was workshopped once while I was at Hamline.  And I worked on it extensively during the semesters—first with Liza Ketchum (when it was in a very rough, early form), and later with Marsha Qualey (when I was polishing it for inclusion in my creative thesis).  I also worked on it with Phyllis Root, though my main focus was PBs during those semesters.  All of these people helped shape the story, and helped teach me how to go about writing a novel!  I was very overwhelmed by how big and messy the process is.

What would you like to say to current or prospective students?
Don’t be afraid to try new things!  I had never written a novel before when I started the program, but I was encouraged to write outside “my” genre, and this book is a result of that experiment.  I still feel most comfortable with the picture book form, but I am very proud of this book and hoping my new novel can build on the success of Silhouette.  You have such an opportunity, in the Hamline program, to work in multiple forms and explore lots of kinds of writing.  Enjoy that, and take that kind of creative flexibility with you into your post-Hamline writing life.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Inkpot Interview: Molly Beth Griffin


Molly Beth Griffin graduated from the MFAC program in January 2009. Since then she’s had two books published: a picture book, Loon Baby (Houghton Mifflin, 2011) and a YA novel, Silhouette of a Sparrow (Milkweed Editions, 2012).  Today she talks about the development of Loon Baby. 

Please describe the book in under 50 words.

Loon Baby
is a lost-and-found story about a baby loon learning how to dive, set against the backdrop of the eerily beautiful north woods and its many inhabitants. 

Would you tell us a bit about the story’s development?
I scribbled the first words of the story while camping in the BWCA in 2007, where I had the privilege of watching two baby loons learning how to dive. Some of the language of that jotted-down draft remains in the published book. The title changed from Dinner Dive to Loon Baby at the request of my editor (who wanted “loon” in the title), and I trimmed a lot of verbiage when the illustrator’s sketches came through—we wanted a 10 x 10 book with large print, and there just wasn’t enough room for Anne Hunter’s beautiful art without cutting some text. The illustrator’s dummy also had 34 pages, so I needed to cut one full repetition/scene. The result is a much tighter book and a more engaging read-aloud.

How did it come to the attention of its editor?

Ann Rider spoke at Hamline and invited our submissions. She passed the first story I sent to a colleague, who rejected it kindly. So I sent this story to that other editor, who passed it to Ann!  This one suited her, and she asked me to do some market research to bring to her acquisitions meeting.  Ultimately, she accepted it! She has rejected everything I’ve sent her since, but I still appreciate that she is willing to carefully read my work. 

What research was involved?

I did some loon research, to make sure the story was accurate. We did not want the characters to be unnecessarily anthropomorphized. I am very familiar with the north woods, and I wanted this story to convey the beauty of that area to child readers. 

Did you ever workshop this story at Hamline?

No. I wrote it early in the semester, and felt it was polished by the time workshopping came around.  But Phyllis Root was my advisor that semester, and her critiques helped me revise the story for submission. Her love of the MN landscape and her passion for language deeply influenced this story (and my writing in general). 
What was your critical thesis on?
Survival novels and how they help connect modern kids to nature.

What was your creative thesis?

Several picture book manuscripts (including what is now Loon Baby) and a full YA novel (what is now Silhouette of a Sparrow).

Did you discover and fall in love with any books while in the MFAC program?

Oh yes.  Far too many to name. Some that influenced Loon Baby might be Looking for a Moose and Oliver Finds His Way by Phyllis Root and Up North at the Cabin by Marsha Chall.

Without naming names, tell us who your first readers are.  When do you share a piece of writing?

My writing group, comprised of two other Hamline grads, meets in person and sees pieces in all stages—right now they are reading a very raw, bare-bones draft of my new YA novel.  I don’t have an agent, but send work (once I think it’s polished) to several editors, including the editor of Loon Baby.  I sometimes read new work at my monthly Picture Book Writers’ Salon meeting.

Can you briefly describe your writing life? How has it changed since you graduated?
I am mainly a stay-at-home mom now, so I have to make the most of small windows of writing time.  The real writing also has to share time with teaching work, critiques/freelance editing, book promo, website maintenance, and all that. It’s very different from the long stretches of just-writing that I did in grad school, but I still manage to get the work done.

What are you working on now?

My YA novel, Silhouette of a Sparrow, just came out last fall, so I’ve been busy with events and blogging for that. I recently put a middle grade novel into a drawer, and launched into writing a new contemporary YA novel. I am totally in love with it.  I’m also always submitting picture book manuscripts. I haven’t written a new one in a little while, but I try to be open when inspiration strikes.

What would you like to say to current or prospective students?
Make the most of this time—when you can focus all of your energy on generating new work and revising it. Enjoy it. Try to leave with as much material as possible. Then, when you’re done with the program, you can launch yourself into the business side of the industry. But right now, write.  Get in the habit of writing so that you know what it feels like to be fully engaged in it, and you can dip back into that state later on whenever you can.
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Learn more about Molly, her books and her teaching on her website.