12 or 20 (second series) questions with Deborah Ellis

Deborah Ellis is the author of many books of fiction and non-fiction for young people, often on the topic of war and what it does to children.  Her latest book is a collection of short stories called Go.  She lives in Simcoe, Ontario, with her wife and their dog.

How did your first book change your life? I had written many unpublishable books before Looking for X was accepted and published.  It gave me the sense that maybe I could learn how to do this mysterious thing.  Also at that time, an adult non-fiction book I'd done came out - Women of the Afghan War - which was interviews with Afghan women in the refugee camps and elsewhere.  

How did you come to fiction first? Fiction was always what I wanted to write. It is what I love to read.  When I was a kid, a friend of my parents was friends with the great Jean Little. I received Jean's books as Christmas presents and was blown away that someone actually knew her, that she was a real person.

How long does it take to start any particular writing project? I usually start with a question - what would it be like to be this person in this situation.  My beginnings take much longer these days.  It takes more time for me to figure out what the story is and how to get into it.  And I go through many, many drafts.

Where does a work of prose usually begin for you? Usually with a question, as I said above. Sometimes with a news story or something I've read or heard in passing.

Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? When I was doing school talks, it was wonderful to meet with children who read and loved my books or who read and hated my books - as long as they were reading and formed opinions! I wouldn't say that public readings are part of the creative process, but they are part of the job, if I'm lucky enough to be invited.

Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing?  I'm usually trying to figure out why we continue to behave badly when we know all too well what the result will be, as well as what will it take for us to just be kind to each other.

What do you see as the current role of the writer in the larger culture? I think it is the same as it has always been, to both hold up a mirror and to put forward possibilities. When we write for children, we also need to give them a sense that they have the power to get out of or at least survive a bad situation.

Do you find the process of working with an editor difficult or essential? Absolutely essential. I have been lucky - most of my books were edited by Shelley Tanaka, an incredibly talented woman who is not shy about saying the work is bad and needs to be done again!

What is the best piece of advice you've heard? That people will survive when you don't do what they want you to do.

How easy is it for you to move between genres, fiction to non-fiction? Easy. It's all stories.

What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep? Typical day? All days start with a long walk with our dog, then coffee with my wife then getting down to work.  Up and down with chores and other things.  

When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn for inspiration? Usually activity - cleaning the house, walking the dog, stuff like that.  Sometimes browsing the library.  

What fragrance reminds you of home? Lilac - I used to build forts in the lilac trees in the scrubland behind our house when I was a kid.

David W. McFadden once said that books come from books. Are there other forms that influence your work? Books absolutely come from books - also from life, from memory, from art, from theatre, from the sky.

What other writers or writings are important for your work or simply your life outside your work?  I like to read books about new ideas or ways of looking at things I've never thought about before. We are lucky that more books are available in translation now, so we get to read voices from around the world.

What would you like to do that you haven't yet done? Travel more, learn more, have more conversations.

If you could pick any other occupation, what would it be? I would like to travel with a carnival. Or maybe be a funeral director.

What made you write, as opposed to doing something else? Writing was always it. There wasn't anything else.

What was the last great book you read? Upward Bound by Woody Brown - it takes place inside an adult day program.  Incredible.

What are you currently working on? A couple of young adult pieces and a couple of adult pieces. Time will tell if they are any good.

12 or 20 (second series) questions;