I've posted about authors before and I will continue to do so because reading about those who have done what I am trying to do is not only inspiring, but a way to learn. Recently, Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket to most) interviewed this year's Newbery Medal winner Kate DiCamillo. The whole thing is amazing. It's always fun to see two authors talking to each other because they compare notes, war stories, and generally entertain each other and us.
My favorite question came at the beginning of the interview when Daniel Handler asked Kate DiCamillo what her favorite part of writing was. She answered, "...I am most happy when I have an idea of the shape of the thing [story] and can settle into the work of making it better. That would be somewhere around the third or fourth draft..."
I can't even begin to express how comforting it was to read that a Newbery Medal winning author doesn't feel comfortable with a story until the third or fourth draft. After working on a story for three years and being somewhere around draft 1.5-1.75 (also known as confused but working hard) it is good to know that the more I write one thing the more it will come together. It's been hard recently to just keep writing because I need to make sure scenes fit in, and that nothing contradicts, and that everything makes sense. Writing can end up being more work than fun and it can be hard to remember why you love it.
Then you read an interview by two of your favorite authors and it all comes rushing back.
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