Children’s and young adult author Wendelin Van Draanen narrates what is as much a fireside chat as it is a guide to writing and publishing. She begins by stating that she never intended to have a career as a writer. But a writer she is, and she provides listeners with information about every step in the writing process. She uses a wide variety of stories from her own experience that educate, elucidate, and offer a reality check. Even so, Van Draanen consistently manages to offer encouragement, making this audiobook a valuable tool for budding writers as well as those interested in finding out about her work. Van Draanen points out her own foibles and difficulties along with her triumphs, allowing listeners to feel as though they are listening to a friend, rather than a lecture. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Hope in the Mail: Reflections on Writing and Life
Narrated by Wendelin Van Draanen
Wendelin Van DraanenUnabridged — 6 hours, 4 minutes
Hope in the Mail: Reflections on Writing and Life
Narrated by Wendelin Van Draanen
Wendelin Van DraanenUnabridged — 6 hours, 4 minutes
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Overview
Wendelin Van Draanen didn't grow up wanting to be a writer, but thirty books later, she's convinced that writing saved her life. Or, at least, saved her from a life of bitterness and despair. Writing helped her sort out what she thought and felt and wanted. And digging deep into fictional characters helped her understand the real people in her life better as well.
Wendelin shares what she's learned--about writing, life, and what it takes to live the writing life. This book is packed with practical advice on the craft: about how to create characters and plot a story that's exciting to read. But maybe even more helpful is the insight she provides into the persistence, and perseverance, it takes to live a productive, creative life. And she answers the age-old question Where do you get your ideas? by revealing how events in her own life became the seeds of her best-loved novels.
Hope in the Mail is a wildly inspirational read for anyone with a story to share.
Editorial Reviews
11/11/2019
In her first guide to writing, bestselling author Van Draanen (Wild Bird) shares “not the boring autobiographical stuff” but, instead, advice that “pertains to writing and silver linings.” She includes anecdotes about her childhood and early writing years, providing personal insights into how she became a success. Most fun of all, she reveals how the ideas for her stories developed. For instance, readers learn that Sammy Keyes, a teen sleuth whose adventures kept the author busy for 18 books, bears a keen resemblance to a young Van Draanen, who wrote the first four books when she was teaching full-time and raising two children in Santa Maria, Calif. Throughout, Van Draanen provides both practical suggestions and encouragement to writers in a genuine, nondidactic tone. Suitable for both teens and adults, her amusingly told path to publication may serve as a beacon of hope for some struggling writers, and her creative suggestions may prove useful to those looking to sharpen their writing abilities. Ages 12–up. (Jan.)
"Van Draanen may not be the first to offer a writing guide for young people, but this book is one of the best. Will be of great benefit to newbie writers of any age." —Booklist, Starred Review
"Van Draanen's voice is charmingly no-nonsense, and the themes she explores are sure to benefit aspiring writers of many ages. Thoughtful and entertaining." —Kirkus Reviews
"Suitable for both teens and adults, her amusingly told path to publication may serve as a beacon of hope for some struggling writers, and her creative suggestions may prove useful to those looking to sharpen their writing abilities."—Publishers Weekly
"Van Draanen offers readers and future writers guidance, laughter, and depth in this lighthearted writing guide. Her storytelling abilities will inspire writers of all ages." —School Library Journal
"A pure delight! Only Wendelin Van Draanen can make the painful, awful, agonizing aspects of writing seem so joyfully manageable. Hope in the Mail is a toolbox and a source of renewable energy. If you're a writer, or a teacher of writers, you need this book." —Andrew Smith, author of Winger and Grasshopper Jungle
"Content is the king of writing, and it turns out Wendelin Van Draanen is the queen of finding it. Read her book, set some good writing habits, pick up your pen, and get going." —Jack Gantos, author of Dead End in Norvelt, Hole in My Life, and Writing Radar: Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories
"Wendelin Van Draanen shares essential truths and very good advice for writers of all genres and levels of skill. This is a must-have for all writers." —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of V-Wars and Broken Lands
12/01/2019
Gr 7 Up—Van Draanen offers readers and future writers guidance, laughter, and depth in this lighthearted writing guide. She shares difficult memories such as the tragic fire that impacted her family's business and explores the challenges of living in a rough neighborhood. Her storytelling abilities will inspire writers of all ages. Fans will also appreciate that her advice revolves around key elements found in her books. The short chapters are appropriate for younger readers but have enough of a narrative hook to appeal to older students as well. Within the seven overarching sections that organize the chapters, Van Draanen focuses on a specific writing technique in a practical and approachable style. In the chapter about dialogue, she recommends that writers listen, create a signature phrase, and avoid adverbs. VERDICT Van Draanen's memoir can serve as a guide to embracing the creative life. Recommended especially for libraries with readers of the author. A good addition to collections that carry Jack Gantos's Writing Radar and Gail Carson Levine's Writing Magic.—Vi Ha, Los Angeles Public Library
Children’s and young adult author Wendelin Van Draanen narrates what is as much a fireside chat as it is a guide to writing and publishing. She begins by stating that she never intended to have a career as a writer. But a writer she is, and she provides listeners with information about every step in the writing process. She uses a wide variety of stories from her own experience that educate, elucidate, and offer a reality check. Even so, Van Draanen consistently manages to offer encouragement, making this audiobook a valuable tool for budding writers as well as those interested in finding out about her work. Van Draanen points out her own foibles and difficulties along with her triumphs, allowing listeners to feel as though they are listening to a friend, rather than a lecture. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
2019-09-23
This thorough, well-voiced guide to becoming a writer covers everything you need to be published, starting with developing the right attitude.
From building believable characters to finding an agent to designing a book cover, Van Draanen's (Wild Bird, 2017, etc.) guide to becoming a writer has it all. Beginning with her personal history as the child of hardworking Dutch immigrants, the author encourages future writers to be gritty, describing her own relentless pursuit of her craft even during a decade of constant rejections from major publishing houses. She then moves from the attitudes necessary for creative work to the more practical details: how to find a narratorial voice, how to structure a mystery, and how to find and work with an editor. Throughout, she uses moments of perseverance and struggle from her own life to urge aspiring writers to keep going, no matter what challenges—internal and external—they must face down. Van Draanen's voice is charmingly no-nonsense, and the themes she explores are sure to benefit aspiring writers of many ages. Unfortunately, though, by insisting on the connection between hard work and success, Van Draanen ignores structural issues that prevent writers from marginalized backgrounds from breaking into publishing with the same ease as mainstream peers. Furthermore, small moments of ignorance unredeemed by self-reflection—such as shaming her childhood bully for her looks and repeatedly using the charged term "hoodlum" in a context that is loaded with class-based assumptions—make her unexamined privilege difficult to ignore.
A thoughtful and entertaining how-to guide weakened by serious diversity-related missteps. (Nonfiction. 14-adult)
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940173886736 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Random House |
| Publication date: | 01/14/2020 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 10 - 13 Years |
Read an Excerpt
1
Writers’ Gold
Write what you know. It’s a good adage, and a manageable place to start. Many first novels are based on the author’s experiences, so take a look at what treasures are already stored in your vault.
Before I was published (but after I had finally begun letting on to family that I was trying to be), an uncle of mine asked me how I thought I could possibly be a writer. “You’re too young to be a writer. You need more experiences.”
Gee, thanks. And yes, seeds of doubt can quickly grow into weeds in your garden of worthiness.
But here’s the reality: No matter how young you are, you have experiences. You have knowledge. You have feelings and observations and thoughts that are worthy of exploration. You can arrive at conclusions that will broaden the thinking of others, or just paint a picture of life from your perspective. It’s often the small stories with universal messages that touch us most deeply. We’re all humans, trying to find a way forward, longing for the place where we feel at home.
My first published novel, How I Survived Being a Girl, was described as “Seinfeld for kids.” What the reviewer meant was that it was a story about nothing, as the sitcom was famously called “a show about nothing.”
Having your book be considered to be about nothing could be deflating, but I took it as a huge compliment. I loved Seinfeld. And saying that it was a show about nothing was as true as saying that it was a show about everything. Seinfeld was about both. It captured the human experience with humor and heart-zinging authenticity. It was a show about people living small lives in small apartments in a big city. No special effects, no outrageous sets. Just little glimpses into the lives of people muddling along.
All of us have that—a story about nothing that’s actually about everything. No matter how ordinary your environment may seem to you, if your story can capture the human experience within it, others will relate.
Don’t discount how extraordinary capturing the ordinary can be. And how difficult. You probably haven’t viewed it this way, but if you’re in school—as a student or as an educator—you are surrounded by writers’ gold. How a school works, the voices of the kids and the administrators, the rules and limitations, the curriculum and expectations . . . it’s all second nature to you. It’s workaday stuff, part of the grind.
But let’s turn that around. You have the background and details to write about a school environment naturally. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the mechanics of school life will flow from your fingertips. It’s easy for you! Do you know how many authors—especially kid-lit authors—would love to know what you know? Maybe they were in school once, but that was probably a long time ago. Things in education have changed. To get it right, they have to work at it, and work hard.
Likewise, if you have a job—no matter how boring or ordinary you think it is—the way it works, the conversations in the employees’ lunchroom, how your associates relate to each other and the boss . . . it’s all gold.
If you’re a dog walker, a babysitter, a dishwasher, a law clerk, a trash collector . . . it’s all gold.
And if you’re in a rough situation right now—turbulent home life, a bad neighborhood, even unemployed—turn it around. What you’re going through is hard and dark and frightening, but it’s also writers’ gold. Take notes. Document your experience any way you can. There are seemingly mundane details about your everyday life that will give a natural authenticity to your writing.
It’s all gold.
So pay new attention to the ordinary around you. Find the story inside it. And find the human connection, because the best stories are the ones that touch our hearts. Love, longing, triumph . . . these can be small and personal, yet they’re universal desires. You don’t have to save the world. Just save your character. And at the heart of that character is you.
So no matter what your situation is or how young you are, you have enough to paint a story with words, to make others hear you, see you, feel you.
Take a closer look at what you already know.
What’s inside your heart?
What’s inside your vault?
It’s a really good place to start.
2
Out of the Ashes
What turns a person into a writer?
Sometimes the unexpected. I came to it from a place of anger and pain. Horrible stuff happened to my family when I was in college. An arsonist burned down our business—an industrial facility my immigrant parents had spent twenty years building—and then my father passed away unexpectedly six months later. We were devastated emotionally and financially, and our faith in justice was shaken to the core. I’d jolt awake in the middle of the night relieved to have escaped a nightmare, only to realize, Oh, wait, no. That’s my life.
Unable to go back to sleep, I started writing. Scrawling, really, about how unfair the world was, how it was so wrong that such bad things could happen to good people, how small and helpless and lost I felt to be in the middle of this disaster, how the Big Bads—the people who had destroyed the business—were out there, free from any consequence of their actions.
I wouldn’t classify what I did as journaling. It was more slashing at the paper. I was alternately furious and heartbroken, or maybe both at once. I felt raw and deeply wounded, and the facts, my thoughts, my emotions poured out, oozed out, bled out. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote.
And it didn’t change a thing.
The Big Bads were still at large, no one came back to life, and there was still ash where dreams had once stood.
I started fantasizing about payback. Payback may be a bad idea, but the cornered, wounded animal doesn’t care. The cornered animal is desperate and primed to strike back.
Fortunately, the weapon handy during my middle-of-the-night jolts into reality was a pen.
Fortunately, I discovered that I could kill off my bad guys on paper.
And unexpectedly, this led me to the world of fiction, where you don’t have to stick to what really happened, where you can change the names of your bad guys a little, change the way things turn out a lot, and dole out payback that would land you behind bars if you tried it in real life. Torture, justice, murder . . . it was all available from the tip of a pen, no jail time required.
So, no. I didn’t start writing with literary aspirations.
I started writing because I needed to kill off some bad guys.
Clearly, what I really needed was therapy.
Turns out, writing is great therapy.
3
Putting Hope in the Mail
The first novel I wrote was an epic clash of good and evil. Weighing in at 627 pages, it had thinly concealed names, caricatured players, and a very visible ax to grind.
Yes, it was terrible.
But I didn’t know that!
I also didn’t know anything about publishing.
Well, other than that most publishing houses were located in New York City.
But now I needed to know! I had a masterpiece to place!
This was before you could query editors or agents or submit samples online. I got some preliminary information about the submission process by reading back issues of Writer’s Digest magazine, then went to the library, checked out a book called Literary Market Place, perused it for friendly-sounding names, and started shopping my manuscript.
Compelling query letter—check!
Self-addressed stamped envelope—check!
Ignore the no-multiple-submissions rule because who has time for that?—check!
Not a great (or even good) strategy. And (displaying compounded ignorance here) I was also under the common misconception that getting a book published meant becoming an instant millionaire. Consequently, I thought that placing my manuscript would bring an end to my family’s financial troubles. Or, at least, help out considerably.
So, yeah. Therapy and financial need. These were the forces fueling me. But then a strange thing happened. Each time someone in New York would agree to take a look at my full manuscript, I’d make a copy of it, box (yes, box) it up, and stand in line at the post office. And as I moved forward in the line, my heart would beat a little faster and I would tell myself that this was it. This editor was going to read and love my story. This editor was going to send me a million bucks and my family’s financial troubles would be solved.
And when it was my turn at the counter, I’d give the box a quick kiss for luck, pay the postage, and walk away with a little spring in my step.
Outside, the world felt renewed with possibility.
Things were going to change!
We were not defeated.
Hope was in the mail.
4
Today Could Be the Day
I put hope in the mail for ten years.
Actively and persistently, I sent out manuscripts and queries, and for ten years I was actively and persistently rejected by editors and agents in New York.
The rejection slips were usually generic—some version of We’re sorry. This is not right for us at this time. But please think of us again with your next project.
I shoved the slips inside a drawer.
Over time, they filled the drawer.
I moved them into a box.
Over time, they filled the box.
You’d think I’d have taken the hint: I didn’t have what it took to be published. So why did I keep trying?
Looking back, I think it had a lot to do with keeping hope in the mail. As my first manuscript was making the rounds in New York, I began working on a second story. Another epic clash of good and evil! This time, though, it was more removed from my own story. Characters were becoming . . . their own entities. Plot was more . . . flexible. There was real freedom in that, and I enjoyed it.
I also began reading about the craft of writing. I read everything I could get my hands on because I wanted to finally crack the code. I wanted to get inside structure and dialogue, pacing and theme.
So when my self-addressed stamped envelopes started coming back to me with rejections for my first novel, I was disappointed, but not crushed. I’d learned more about craft and could see now that, yeah, the first book was more therapy than literature. I got back to work, thinking, You didn’t like that story? Okay, well, wait ’til you read this one!
Having overlapping hope in the mail equipped me with the mantra Today could be the day. If I didn’t give up, if I kept submitting, kept learning, kept writing, kept trying, someday someone somewhere would read one of my manuscripts and want to buy it.
Today could be the day.
It’s a nice way to live your life, but it only works if you keep hope in the mail. This phrase doesn’t refer to just physical mail or email. Putting hope in the mail means putting yourself—your work, your wishes—out there however you can. It means actively creating the possibility for good things to happen.
Now, prepare for your hopes to be dashed—because undoubtedly they will be. But when that happens, the only course of action is to pick yourself up, redouble your efforts, and put hope back in the mail. Don’t let rejection or brusque (and occasionally cruel) critiques cause you to close in, close down, or give up. Don’t sit in a dark corner licking your wounds. If you disagree with the opinions of the rejecting party, send your work to someone else. I promise you that over time rejection gets less painful and becomes just part of the process.
In the case of literature, it’s not science, and I see now that that’s a good thing. There is nothing more ho-hum than a formulaic book. And what one editor may dismiss, another editor right next door may love. So get back in the ring! And while you’re waiting for a reply, shift your focus to a new project.
Do not wait around.
Nothing will reinvigorate you more than pouring your energies into something new.
Another thing that helped me endure ten years of rejection was not knowing it was going to be ten years. For all those years, I had a full-time job, and for many of them I also had two little kids. I got up each morning at five o’clock when my husband left for work, spent the next hour or so writing, then began my real day. I was constantly sleep-deprived. If I had known it would take ten years to get published, I almost certainly wouldn’t have made it.
But I didn’t know.
And every day I told myself, Today could be the day.
And then one day it was.
5
Defining Moments
Ten years is a lot of rejection for someone to take. And on the long and winding road to the day I finally got a “Yes,” I heard things like “It’s just too hard to get published” and “You have to know somebody in publishing” and “Maybe if you had an MFA, people would pay attention.”
These, uh, consoling and, uh, helpful statements were tempting to buy into during the many phases of feeling discouraged. Maybe there were just too many obstacles, too many reasons I wouldn’t succeed.
Any one of them would justify quitting.
So . . . what, then, made me keep going? Why did I think that, despite the odds, I could do this?
I trace the defining moment back to my first car.
A lot of kids I went to high school with got cars when they turned sixteen. Some got hand-me-downs, some got brand-new, off-the-car-lot, big-bowed beauties.
If I had asked my parents for a car of any kind, they would have laughed me out of the room. That’s just not the way things worked in our family. If I wanted my own car, I was going to have to buy it with my own money.
Desperate for a vehicle, I scoured our small town for one I could afford. Taking out a loan or buying something on credit never even crossed my mind. We didn’t do credit. We were taught to only buy what we could afford, and as a student without steady income, what I could afford would be paid for with money from babysitting, yard work, and summer jobs. This meant that what I could afford wasn’t much, but there were three for-sale-by-owner prospects in town at my price point, and a friend offered to drive me around to check them out.
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