Childrens Writers Chat 3-21-00

Subject: Childrens Writers Chat - bios

Author: writerbabe

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Date: 3/29/2000

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Childrens Writers Chat 3-21-00

Topic: biographies

Guests: Barbara O'Connor and Whitney Stewart.

What, when & where:

Tuesdays

9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT), Writers Workshop

Children's Writers chat - writers and illustrators of children's books meet for specific topics and special guest speakers, moderated by HOST WRTR WBABE & HOST WRTR CGaley, with HOST WRTR sUe & HOST WRTR Neely (Greeters).

***file disinfected using Anti-Virus 7.8***

<HTML>Childrens Writers Chat 3-21-00

Topic: biographies

Guests: Barbara O'Connor and Whitney Stewart.

You have just entered room “Writers Workshop”

WriterBabe: We're going into protocol now.

WriterBabe: That means when it's time for audience participation, type ? for a question,

WriterBabe: ! for a comment,

WriterBabe: and wait your turn in the queue to be called on.

WriterBabe: Type GA for Go Ahead (guests, too) when you've finished speaking.

WriterBabe: Tonight I'm delighted to welcome two wonderful biographers:

WriterBabe: Barbara O'Connor and Whitney Stewart.

WriterBabe: Hi, gals!

BarbOC: Hi!

KunzeDolma: Hi

PHeeren: hullo

WriterBabe: Chuck Galey, my co-host, is allowed to butt in with questions.

WriterBabe: Wave, Chuck.

WriterBabe: Shall I start with some questions, or would either or both of you care to make any opening

WriterBabe: remarks?

PHeeren: nice to meet all you

KunzeDolma: GA

WriterBabe: (Oh, Chuck...)

BarbOC: ga

WriterBabe: (PH, we're in protocol.)

PHeeren: (sorry)

WriterBabe: Chuck's asleep.

WriterBabe: LOL

CGaley: (waving)

WriterBabe: Let me start by asking what attracts both of you to writing bios?

WriterBabe: And what draws you to the people you write about? GA

KunzeDolma: GA Barbara

BarbOC: I love the fact that bios are really just stories - albeit true stories. I write about

BarbOC: people who interest me, whom I want to learn more about or

BarbOC: who is needed. ga

MudderGG: ?

WriterBabe: Needed, Barbara? GA

KunzeDolma: I write biographies to go places--mind places and real places. I want to

KunzeDolma: (oops. I hit it by accident.)

KunzeDolma: GA

WriterBabe: That's fine--keep going, Whitney.

BarbOC: needed by publishers/schools/teachers/librarians - and kids ga

KunzeDolma: understand the lives of others and then take that information and

WriterBabe: Thanks, Barb. Continue, Whitney.

KunzeDolma: look at my own, look at the world around me.

KunzeDolma: I want children to widen their views of how life can be lived. GA

WriterBabe: Did each of you select your subjects? What drew you to them? GA

BarbOC: I've selected some - others were suggested to me by publisher. ga

KunzeDolma: Could I back track and say hello to Barbara? We both write for Lerner

WriterBabe: Sure.

KunzeDolma: and we do not know each other.

BarbOC: Hi, Whitney! Nice to meet you. ga

KunzeDolma: I chose all of my subjects. GA

KunzeDolma: I am interested in the idea of peace, how to find it, how to teach it.

WriterBabe: A great theme, Whitney.

KunzeDolma: That is why I chose the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi. GA

WriterBabe: George Sims said, "All biographies should have the subtitle: myth versus reality."

WriterBabe: Do you agree? How so? How can a bio strike that balance? GA

KunzeDolma: GA Barbara

BarbOC: I agree - in the sense that many "famous" people tend to be glorified-that is, we may not

BarbOC: hear about the struggles, negatives, downfalls, etc. Strike

BarbOC: a balance? By not avoiding the negatives but presenting them

BarbOC: in the context of the life. ga

KunzeDolma: Nice point. For every story I recorded in an interview, I heard another that contradicted.

KunzeDolma: the first. Even my subjects told me stories that could not have been

KunzeDolma: true as tey told them. And then the author chooses the facts to tell. Does

KunzeDolma: that equal the truth? GA

BarbOC: can I add to that?

WriterBabe: I was pleased to see that both of you weren't afraid to present "warts and all" portraits.

WriterBabe: Sure, Barb.

BarbOC: I can relate to Whitney's comments. One big frustration is

BarbOC: contradiction of facts. ga

WriterBabe: Children's bios often make the mistake of "hagiography"--sanctifying their subjects.

WriterBabe: Neither of you did that.

BarbOC: that's very important to me.

WriterBabe: What do you do with conflicting stories? GA

KunzeDolma: I was accused of being slanted in my Dalai Lama book. I had to revise with

KunzeDolma: that in mind.

BarbOC: Well, I try my best to determine the most credible source. ga

KunzeDolma: I just finshed a biography of Deng Xiaoping. He could be said to be

KunzeDolma: an enemy of the Dalai Lama. Writing it was very good practice for being

KunzeDolma: even minded, even handed. GA

PHeeren: ?

WriterBabe: Whitney, you raise an interesting question. How important is it for a biographer to be

WriterBabe: objective?

KunzeDolma: Very important.

KunzeDolma: Ga

BarbOC: agree ga

WriterBabe: But won't some of your feelings seep in? GA

BarbOC: Hmmm. Possibly - but that's part of the "job" for me - to try to keep my personal

BarbOC: opinions out as much as possible. ga

KunzeDolma: Yes. But I watch my mind and my writring. GA

WriterBabe: What is your opinion of imagined conversations in bios? GA

BarbOC: do you mean fictionalized? ga

KunzeDolma: I never write them.

KunzeDolma: ga

WriterBabe: Yes, Barb.

BarbOC: Hate them. Causes the bio to lose credibility. ga

WriterBabe: Does it bug you to read them in bios, Whitney? GA

KunzeDolma: I look hard for dialogue that was actually said. Yes, fictionalized

KunzeDolma: dialogue bugs me, to say it mildly.

KunzeDolma: ga

WriterBabe: A few more questions from me, and then we'll open this to the audience.

WriterBabe: How much of the subject's childhood is it necessary or important to include in a bio for

WriterBabe: kids?

WriterBabe: GA

BarbOC: I like to include enough to at least "snag" the reader, since kids

BarbOC: do like to read about a subject's childhood. I try to find some

BarbOC: connection between childhood and later life, if possible. ga

KunzeDolma: I LOVE to write about the childhood because as a child I loved to read about

KunzeDolma: the childhoods of famous people. I like Barbara's point of making a connection

KunzeDolma: to the adult life. I never find enough childhood material for my own taste.

KunzeDolma: ga

WriterBabe: Both of you have written about living people--the Dalai Lama, Aung Sand Suu Kyi of Burma

WriterBabe: (Whitney), Katherine Dunham (Barbara), etc.

WriterBabe: How did you get audiences with them?

WriterBabe: What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing about the living? GA

KunzeDolma: That was a long process in every case. We don't have time for the long

KunzeDolma: stories. ga

WriterBabe: Barb?

BarbOC: I managed to connect with Katherine's daughter thru the photo researcher - then

BarbOC: from daughter to Katherine. Advantages? Getting the most credible info possible, and being

BarbOC: current. Disadvantages? Worrying about offending or stating an

BarbOC: untruth. Also - no DEFINITIVE ending, so to speak.ga

KunzeDolma: I guess I should say I met people who knew people who knew people.

WriterBabe: LOL on the ending.

WriterBabe: Whitney, what's your take on the advantages and disadvantages? GA

KunzeDolma: I liked asking my subjects about their feelings instead

KunzeDolma: of guessing or not writing any staement that would reflect their views of an event

KunzeDolma: (sorry for bad typing)

KunzeDolma: I did offend one person.

KunzeDolma: And then an editor goofed and put in icorrect photo of Sir Edmund Hillary's

KunzeDolma: sister in my text. I felt terrible. Barbara was correct in saying that this

KunzeDolma: is a disadvantage. ga

WriterBabe: Last question from me, and then, gang, get ready and start typing those ? and !

WriterBabe: In what ways, if any, does your style change according to your subject? GA

WriterBabe: (Start typing ? and !, folks)

PHeeren: ?

BarbOC: Mine definitely changes. Livelier with "livelier" subjects, for instance. Does that make

BarbOC: sense? ga

WriterBabe: (Mud and Ph, I have you on the list)

SandyCarl: !

WriterBabe: Yes, it does, Barb.

KunzeDolma: I have never really asked myself this question, but I think my style does

KunzeDolma: change. I have serious subjects. I wonder what would happen to my style

KunzeDolma: if I wrote about a less serious subject. ga

WriterBabe: Try and see, Whitney!

KunzeDolma: I should try it sometime!!!

WriterBabe: Sandy, do you have a comment on the preceding?

KunzeDolma: ga

WriterBabe: Then we'll go to questions.

WriterBabe: GA

SandyCarl: I meant a "?" -- sorry. ga

WriterBabe: Okay, you'll be third, then.

WriterBabe: Mudder, you're up now.

MudderGG: What age group do you target...B and K?

BarbOC: 3rd to 6th grade for me. ga

KunzeDolma: 5th and up for me. ga

MudderGG: Thank you ga

WriterBabe: PH, go ahead.

PHeeren: What about writing about famous disabled people? We never read alot about these people since

PHeeren: the world is still not familiar with famous disabled people in the late 20th century, perhap

PHeeren: s Marliee Martin (sp?) is the only Deaf actress we know

PHeeren: and I am disabled and I am Deaf and have cerebral palsy

PHeeren: ga

WriterBabe: Barb wrote about Braille, PH.

WriterBabe: Barb and Whitney, want to talk more about that? GA

KunzeDolma: I started to write about an athlete without legs. The proposal was not accepted

KunzeDolma: because the subject was not well known. I have a great interest in deaf

BarbOC: Good point, though PH. I'm sure publishers would be open to such proposals. Oops. Just

BarbOC: read Whitney's experience. So maybe not. Guess it depends on subject. ga

PHeeren: thanks very much ga

KunzeDolma: education. I studied ASL and have looked for a deaf subject.

WriterBabe: I would guess that the fame of the subject is the guiding force in publishers' minds.

KunzeDolma: ga

WriterBabe: Sandy, you're next.

SandyCarl: Do editors/ kids only want stories of famous folk, or can ordinary -- but interesting --

WriterBabe: (The queue's empty, folks)

BarbOC: No, actually, I think the trend now is more toward curriculum connections rather than fame.

WriterRoss: ?

SandyCarl: "others" also be written about?...

LynWriteBk: ?

KunzeDolma: I agree with Barbara.

SandyCarl: Can the writer make any person interesting? Will an editor accept any

KunzeDolma: I have thought of many people who do not FIT into the publisher's list.ga

SandyCarl: one well written? (Perhaps I ask the wrong people). ga

WriterBabe: Oh, that's interesting, Barb, about curriculum connections.

WriterBabe: Sandy, does that answer your question?

BarbOC: Well written certainly helps - but editors are looking for need (curriculum especially). And

Doropatent: ?

BarbOC: Whitney, I've had interesting subjects turned down as well. ga

SandyCarl: Yes -- and no, in that only an edior who says yes has the final say. ga

KunzeDolma: I always feel slightly deflated and "wronged" because I KNOW that kids

KunzeDolma: would like some of the subjects that were turned down. Same with you, Barbara?

BarbOC: Yep. ga

WriterBabe: WR, fire away.

WriterRoss: Thanks, Marilyn. Did I miss any discussions re: pic bk bios? I worry about invented dialogue

WriterRoss: even if the event is authentcated.

WriterRoss: I have one I am aching to write... Help! []

WriterRoss: GA

WriterBabe: We did talk about invented dialogue--Barb and Whitney loathe and despise it. LOL

KunzeDolma: we both said we hated invented dialogue. ga

WriterBabe: But we haven't talked about picture book bios.

WriterRoss: Ooooooops. (Crawling back into cave)

WriterBabe: Any take on those, gals? GA

BarbOC: I have to plead ignorance with picture books. Do they use invented dialgoue?

KunzeDolma: I have not yet written a picturebook bio. ga

KunzeDolma: I would still not use it. jean Fritz does not use it.ga

WriterRoss: Well... the dialog is based on actual correspondence, events, etc.

BarbOC: Seems to make it more historical fiction, then. right? ga

WriterRoss: So do you suggest sticking to a third person narrative.. no actual sentences by characters..

Neely f: jjljljjlljjl 15 MINUTE WARNING :ljljljljljl

BarbOC: Actual quotes, definitely. ga

KunzeDolma: Oh. Hmm. I would take out text from a letter and use it.

PHeeren: ?

WriterRoss: Thanks-- sorry to be late.

WriterBabe: That help, Pam?

WriterRoss: Got it. :>

WriterBabe: Good.

WriterBabe: Lyn, go ahead.

LynWriteBk: Do you do library research when you do a biography? ga

BarbOC: Definitely. In fact - mostly, for me. ga

KunzeDolma: Read Jean Fritz for ideas. ga. Yes, library research. Always. ga

WriterBabe: Doro, you're next.

Doropatent: How do you figure out the curriculum connections? Could you give some examples?

Doropatent: ga

WriterRoss: Good q!

BarbOC: A good relationship with publisher helps there - a discussion with editor. Without that, I'd

BarbOC: suggest talking to teachers and librarians. Example? Scientists, explorers... ga

KunzeDolma: I go into schools all the time and talk to the teachers. I also ask my editors.

KunzeDolma: My son is in second grade. I go to his class and to other classes to give talks. I volunteer

KunzeDolma: if I need to "research" in a school. ga

WriterBabe: PH, go ahead.

PHeeren: Would you be willing to avoid many embarassing times in a person's life?

PHeeren: ga

Neely f: mmmm 10 MINUTE WARNING uuuuu

BarbOC: Depends on the embarrassment, I guess. Since I write for younger kids, I need to be

BarbOC: sensitive to that. ga

KunzeDolma: I stick to what is appropriate for my readers. I do not need to talk about the

KunzeDolma: sex lives of my subjects unless there is some very important reason to do so.

KunzeDolma: ga

WriterBabe: You were pretty forthright about Isadora Duncan, Barb.

WriterBabe: No way to avoid HER sex life. LOL

WriterBabe: The queue's empty, folks. More questions?

BarbOC: Yes! She was a challenge. And her sex life - or views on marriage, etc., contributed to her

KunzeDolma: (I have that book on my desk. I'l read it tonight. ga)

BarbOC: art, in a sense. ga

WriterBabe: I'll ask another question.

KunzeDolma: I wanted to go back to the last question.

BarbOC: Only debate I had with Isadora was the walking on the beach scene. ga

WriterBabe: Sure, Whitney. Go right ahead.

WriterBabe: When she picks up a young guy, Barb? It worked fine.

WriterBabe: Whitney, GA.

KunzeDolma: I wanted to say that before I was published I volunteered in schools to find

BarbOC: Yes. We cut out "Give me a child." (but I fought for it - and lost) ga

KunzeDolma: out what was missing from the shelves. Later, I went to schools to ask kids

KunzeDolma: questions for my subjects. The kids loved it when I returned with tapes from

KunzeDolma: the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi with their voices answering the questions from the kids

KunzeDolma: in the USA. ga

WriterBabe: That's marvelous, Whitney!

BarbOC: That's cool, Whitney! ga

Neely f: iooo 5 MINUTE WARNING ooooi

WriterBabe: You have both written about people you like. Whitney, you've now written about Deng and I'm

KunzeDolma: (I MUST read the Duncan tonight after listening to you both. ga)

WriterBabe: not certain you liked him!

WriterBabe: How do you feel about writing about folks you don't like? GA

KunzeDolma: Well, you are right. I was very objective and did not let my love for Tibet

KunzeDolma: get in the way. I found many Chinese who were at the Tian. Square 1989

KunzeDolma: violence who still liked Deng. That taught me to dig deeper and ask more

KunzeDolma: questions to give a balanced view. ga

WriterRoss: Is there a particular Jean Fritz "how to" book you would recommend?

WriterBabe: You can take WR's question, gals. GA

WriterBabe: (Pam, gotta type ? next time)

BarbOC: sorry. Can't think of any particular. Whitney? ga

KunzeDolma: The Paul Revere, King George, Washington picturebooks. The Pocahontas for older kids. The La

WriterRoss: (Oh dear, I didn't ask permission. Sorry again.)

KunzeDolma: Lafayette book too.

KunzeDolma: ga

WriterBabe: Last question, what are your next projects? GA

BarbOC: Leonardo daVinci. ga

WriterBabe: Whoa! Now there's a man who didn't do much, Barb.

WriterBabe: LOL

WriterBabe: Whitney?

KunzeDolma: Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi of China needs to be revised. Then Alexandra David-Neel, an explorer

KunzeDolma: who walked into Tibet in disguise. I am also writing my second novel at the moment.

BarbOC: I've got fiction in the works, too. ga

WriterBabe: I'm looking forward to reading about Tzu Hsi. Just wrote a bit about her in my upcoming

WriterBabe: book on the work that dogs do.

KunzeDolma: Tell me more!

WriterBabe: Her Pekes stood at attention and waved their paws at her.

WriterBabe: They had a whole routine.

WriterBabe: I'll send you the section, Whitney.

WriterBabe: Well, we're out of time.

KunzeDolma: Yes, she loved her dogs! She was jealous when one dog fell in love with the

KunzeDolma: American painter who lived at the Palace. ga

WriterBabe: Thank you both for being wonderful guests!

PHeeren: Imperal Palace, btw

WriterBabe: A big round of applause, folks!

PHeeren: lol

BarbOC: Thanks. I enjoyed being here! ga

KunzeDolma: Barbara, I hope we meet again. Can't wait to read your books.

MudderGG: Thak you both so much...

Doropatent: Bravo!!

BarbOC: Back at ya, Whitney! ga

CGaley: Yea... great chat! Thanks, Whitney and Barb!

LynWriteBk: Thanks

PHeeren: thanks very much

KunzeDolma: Thanks to

Neely f: ()()()()()( Clapping (()()()()()()

KunzeDolma: Writerbabe

LYPHIS: Thanx, ALL

KunzeDolma: I love that name.

WriterRoss: Thank you both. Can't wait to read the transcript to see what I missed. :<

PHeeren: ()()()

WriterBabe: You were both a pleasure!

MudderGG: thanks hosts, too

LYPHIS: Yes!

Neely f: Night all.

WriterRoss: Good night--- Must put children to bed--- Pamela

BarbOC: Night!

BrendaHB: Welcome, Novel Workshoppers! :)

WriterBabe: Next week, our guest will be Sharyn November, editor at Viking Penguin.

WriterBabe: Night, all!

Khusoch: Evening, all! :-)

BOEDEN: Thank you! I am going to tell all!!!

CGaley: G'night, everybody!

end

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