04/29/06, interview
YAW: Claire, thank you for taking time to interview with YAW. First off, who is your favorite young author?
CH: My pleasure! I like Flavia Bujor (I wish she'd publish a second book!), Ned Vizzini (I'm just about to start reading 'It's Kind Of A Funny Story'), and Aimée Carter (who impresses the hell out of me with her writing speed).
CH: I like these kinds of questions! Chocolate mousse. I'm all about the chocolate mousse. Cake is also good, provided it has that essential chocolate mousse layer.
YAW: When did you start writing?
CH: I was really young... I mean, I don't remember a time when I wasn't writing, it wasn't ever something I suddenly decided to sit down and try. A few years ago I went back to my old school to see some of my teachers, and they remembered me as a five- or six-year-old "in a corner, scribbling away".
YAW: When and why did you start trying to get published?
CH: When I was ten or eleven my stories started getting longer and longer. And this story that I started working on just before my twelfth birthday turned into something that I knew was probably the length of a novel, so I thought - well, why not give it a try?
CH: Young adult fiction, with interesting female characters at the centre. That's pretty much what I've been focussing on and hope to continue with for the time being.
YAW: What has been the best thing to happen to you since publishing that you feel you wouldn’t have been able to have happen if you weren’t published?
YAW: [I bet!] Now, if you could have three wishes, and they wouldn’t backfire at you, what would they be?
CH: World peace, free education for all, and... for all the cigarettes in the world to disappear.
YAW: [I always love how unique the YAW authors’ answers are to that question. And speaking of other YAWs…] A lot of writers are friends with other writers, like JRR Tolkien was friends with CS Lewis. Are you friends with other writers of any age and if so, how does having other writers in your life influence your own writing?
CH: I know a few professional writers mostly via the internet, to varying degrees, and I also meet writers at events and workshops and stuff like that. As for my close friends - some of them are very interested in writing, and it's good to sometimes to be in an environment where writing is talked about - it leads to writing being done, which is always a good thing.
YAW: A lot of people think that young writers don’t have enough life experience to write well. They think that young writers are a gimmick. As someone who has been published young, what is your response to those people?
CH: It's rubbish. I don't think having been on the planet longer than someone else makes them a better writer. A forty-year-old may have more stories to tell than a fifteen-year-old, but that doesn't mean that the fifteen-year-old doesn't have anything interesting to say about the stories they do have. Of course, it is important to 'write what you know', or at least write what you can imagine, so a young writer interested in writing about characters who are significantly older than they are is going to have to work a bit harder than someone writing about characters closer to their own age. But that's the same for anyone writing in an area that's removed from their own life.
YAW: [You bring up some great points, which will lead me to my next question.] Currently there’s the plagiarism scandal going on in the American publishing industry surrounding 19-year-old Harvard sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan’s first book. As a young published author at university yourself, how do you feel this controversy will or will not affect your own career, and the careers of other young writers?
There has been the implication in a lot of reports that Kaavya Viswanathan didn't really know what she was doing, or she was acting under pressure, or that she was too young to have a book deal at that age - at any rate, it isn't the best reflection on young writers. Of course it's the writer who gets the half-a-million advance and screws up that the media focus on, instead of all the other young writers out there - that makes for a good story, and I think it says a lot about what people want to hear. They don't want to see people succeed, they don't want to take young people seriously if they don't have to. This latest debacle has just brought all that to the surface. But I hope it blows over and that she's not dragged up every time there's another young writer on the scene - there are enough factors working against young writers without the additional notion of being a potential plagiarist.
YAW: [I definitely agree. On a less tense note…] Do you tell new friends about your books right away or wait until you know them better?
CH: It depends. It's not something that I try to get into conversations or anything like that, because I hate doing the whole 'and my books are about x, y and z' thing when I'm 'off-duty' and trying to get to know someone, but at certain times - like if I'm heading off to do a talk or teach a workshop or something - an explanation is needed. A lot of the time my old friends will do the telling for me, because they know that I won't bring it up unless I have to. They're sneaky like that.
YAW: So, do your boyfriends think it’s cool that you’re a published writer or does it not really mean much to them (is it just another part of who you are to them)?
CH: Boyfriends plural!! Heehee. (Okay, fine, I get that you meant not at the same time... though that'd be fun. And/or complicated.) It's not really a big thing, mostly because when you're writing for teenage girls and then going out with a guy in his twenties, it's not as though he's part of the target audience, it's not the same sort of reaction you'd get from someone who was familiar with the market or the genre. Besides, everyone has their niche area, their special talent, but when you're in a relationship with someone (of any kind, romantic or friendly or familial) you have to see the other person as a complete individual and not just focus on one particular aspect of their lives.
YAW: [Very good advice, especially since] a lot of young writers look up to young published authors. You represent the hope that adults will take young writers seriously. What is one piece of advice that you would give to young writers?
CH: Write what you want to write, and not what you think people will like. If you're thinking about 'is this idea going to be a bestseller and make me lots of money?' instead of 'is this a story I want to work on for a while and enjoy?', that's not going to produce the best writing that you're capable of, and it's not going to be a lot of fun, either.
YAW: Have you ever had someone walk up to you randomly and know who you were when you weren’t at an event? If so, what did you do?
CH: I have, yeah - which is nice but weird. I mean, once you get past the 'are you that girl who writes books?' stuff, the conversation gets a bit awkward.
YAW: [Heh, yeah I’d imagine. I don’t know what I’d say to any author I’d meet beyond “I love your books! And I’m going to go hide in a hole now. Bye.” So now we’ve gotten the good and the bad, time for the ugly!] What is one thing you wish you hadn’t done as far as your publishing life goes?
CH: There isn't much. Maybe not given the go-ahead for the cover of my sixth book, which was done in a sort of manga-style - I said okay because it was supported by booksellers, and you have to take those things into consideration, but I think now it's better to be completely, 100% behind every aspect of your book, not just the text.
YAW: [Mmhmm!] All right, what do you feel are some of the reasons your novels resonate with your readers the way they do?
CH: I hope it's because of honesty and a lack of condescension. A lot of older writers tend to have their adolescent characters being a little too wise and pure - my characters are self-aware, but they're still teenagers. A lot of readers are really pleased that I write about things like teenage drinking without it being the end of the world - as a part of life, without it necessarily leading to serious drama. Even when I'm writing about 'issues' - like eating disorders in Memories or self-injury in Stereotype - it's still about the characters, and all the other stuff (school issues, interaction with their friends, problems at home, romantic dilemmas) going on in their life. I take my characters and their feelings seriously, instead of trying to explain it all away so that the reader will emerge wiser - I just want to tell their story.
YAW: What has it been like being a young adult while also being a published author? How have things changed, or not, with your friends, family, and co-workers?
CH: It's really hard to say, because I don't have any basis for comparison - I don't know what things would have been like if I hadn't been published. I don't think it affected me too much growing up - I was still a kid in school trying to get my homework done and not be distracted by the internet (you can't use the 'I couldn't do my maths homework because I was writing a book' excuse), still a girl trying out different styles of clothes (I've settled on a whole lot of black and skirts that you can twirl around in) and seeing where I fitted in and wondering if anyone would ever like/love/lust after me. The usual!
YAW: [You’re so right. But ‘lust after’ is the one I wonder about! Time for another fun question.] If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you take with you and what three people?
YAW: All of your novels sound like so much fun, and I can’t wait to get my hands on them.
CH: Thank you!
CH: I love writing about female characters, and from their perspective. I've thought about writing from a guy's perspective but I'm not sure how confident I would be doing that (I would like to try at some stage though). Most of the stories that really interest me are about female characters, and I don't feel there's any point in adding to the very large canon of male-centric stories just for the sake of it.
CH: I would love to! ;) My publisher's based in Ireland so most of the international sales are web-based, which is a bit limiting, but I have heard from readers all over saying that they enjoyed them. I don't think they're too tied to their location, but the odd Dublin-specific reference does pop up every now and again.
YAW: [I’ll have to watch for those!] Well, you and Amelia Atwater-Rhodes are the two authors on YAW with the most books out. By far you are the most prolific European writer on this site. What has kept you going since 13, publishing a new book every year? Have you ever felt overwhelmed or pressured?
CH: Really? That's very very cool. I haven't ever felt incredibly overwhelmed. I was under a fair bit of pressure for 'Memories' - but it was entirely my own doing. My deadlines were pretty reasonable and, as much as a procrastinator as I am, I took them seriously and usually had the first draft finished well in advance. I mean, you sign a contract, you have to act like a grown-up about it and get things done, even if in the rest of your life you're still treated as a kid. The revisions stressed me out, but I've managed to make it to twenty without having a nervous breakdown over it all, so I'm doing okay. ;)
CH: Right now I'm in the middle of cramming for exams, so the book's at a bit of a standstill at the moment - I'm about a third of the way through, and hoping to get it finished over the summer. It's about a girl turning sixteen and the various family-, friend- and romance-related dramas that surround the celebration of her birthday.
CH: Um, that's about it, I think! Thank you. :)
YAW: Thanks very much, Claire! It's been an honor and a pleasure. We are wish you continued success in your writing career and look forward to many more books from you! On that note, everyone should go out right now and hunt down Claire’s novels and be sure to visit her at www.ClaireHennessy.com!
-- Interviewed by B.
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