A Poetry Lesson

By Kim Hutmacher

Interview with author, Jane Yolen, Heidi Yolen-Stemple, Adam and Jason Stempler first printed in The Writing Family

   I recently began a nonfiction picture book collaboration with one of my best friends. She and I have both been writing separately for quite a while. We also have similar styles and a mutual admiration for one another’s work. But, I would be remiss if I said I didn’t have my doubts and fears regarding the success of the collaboration, and most importantly, the continuation of the friendship. Numerous thoughts filled my head. Who will write the first draft? Who will edit? What happens if we disagree on a plot point? How do you successfully collaborate with a friend or family member without ruining the relationship?

   I decided I would ask the experts! Over the past few weeks, I’ve conducted email interviews with literary queen Jane Yolen and her three children, Heidi Yolen-Stemple, Adam Stemple and Jason Stemple. Jane says that she’s collaborated on approximately 30 books with her children and has also worked with some friends, including Bruce Coville, Robert J. Harris, Ann Houston and Shulamith Oppenheim. Jane’s children have also collaborated on projects separate from their mother. They each provided a treasure trove of witty, honest and insightful answers to all of my questions.

   Kimberly: How long have all of you been collaborating?

   Jane: With Heidi- for almost ten years.

   Heidi: I started because I was pregnant with my daughter and sick and bored. My mother called me in Florida (where I was living) and asked if I would like to write a story with her for a book called Great Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. Now, she had been asking for years if I’d like to collaborate on projects or submit poems. When I said yes, I have no proof, but I am pretty sure she dropped the phone.

   Jane: With Adam, longer if you count the music books we did starting when he was fifteen. And with Jason (my youngest son and a photographer) for over ten years.

   Kimberly: Do you ever find it difficult to separate the parent/child relationship from the working relationship?

   Jane: At the beginning we went on eggshells. But with each child there came a moment when they realized I would cut them little slack professionally, and another moment when they realized they could be critical of something I wrote without my pulling a Mommy on them.

   Heidi: Nope. She cuts no slack. She says, “Honey, this is fabulous. Now, fix this, this, this and this.”

   Adam: Even when I was a surly teenager and my mother and I were at odds over a variety of things, we still managed to maintain a good professional relationship. And I think the parent/child relationship helped me a great deal in the writing of Pay the Piper. It was my first real writing project, and I think most first time writers would be quite intimidated working with such an accomplished author as my mother. But not me. One of my favorite moments in the writing of that book came when my mother sent me a certain scene, and I called her and said, “That scene with the cops, it’s not right.” Now, someone with the proper respect for Jane Yolen the stylist, may have let that scene slip by, but as her son, I caught her. And she told me, “I know. I’ve taken two passes at it, and it’s just not working.” And then, much to my chagrin, she added, “You fix it.”

   Kimberly: Who comes up with the original idea for each project?

   Jane: It changes with each book. For example- I had the idea for the series Unsolved Mysteries in History that Heidi and I have been writing. The first two books were my idea. The third was a collaborative effort. The fourth (and I think best) book about the Salem Witches was her idea.

   With Adam, the first novel was my idea, but he added an entire layer of faerie, which is brilliant. The second book was my idea to begin with, but he started running away with it.

   Jason: Most of our ideas come from my mother going through my slides and finding something that inspires her and we work from there.

   Kimberly: Does the idea change significantly when it becomes a collaboration?

   Jane: Like any book, the initial idea is only that- and idea. Ideas are the common coin of the realm. What one purchases with that coin is the only thing that counts.

   Adam: Whoever you’re working with, may not share the same vision, and you have to be open to that. Let the story be your guide and discover it together. Or, alternately, bludgeon the other author into submission and make them share YOUR vision. Option B is less viable, but occasionally more satisfying.

   Kimberly: Who writes the first draft?

   Jane: Each book is different. Sometimes I start, sometimes Heidi or Adam start. Sometimes we split things fairly evenly, other times we write as the mood suits.

   Heidi: More often than not, we cannot tell who wrote what section because we have written, rewritten and completely cannibalized each other’s words. Just yesterday, our conversation went like this: “I have a problem with the way the section about the skunk reads aloud.” That was me by the way. And, my mother said, “Well, YOU wrote that part.” I had forgotten.

   Kimberly: Do you feel that each of you has your own strengths?

   Jane: My strengths are longevity, knowledge of the market, compulsiveness and a bear on grammar and gorgeous words. Heidi’s are research, dynamite editing skills and a refusal to be cowed.

   Heidi: What she is saying is that I refuse to back off simply due to her experience. I am stubborn. But, I learned this from our first book when I said a section didn’t fit and she said it was fine. I gave in and the editor took it out.

   Compromise- a crucial part of collaboration- is easy for me. I don’t consider my words precious- they are part of a whole. If it makes the story stronger, then change it. The two- stubbornness and compromise- sound like they would be in conflict. They are not. The key is what my mother says- “Let the story win.”

   My mother forgot to mention her other skills- her work ethic, her knowledge of everything having to do with folklore and her total, undeniable love of writing and story in general.

   Jane: Adam’s are storytelling, plotting and a passion to learn more about writing.

   Adam: One of my mother’s strengths is that she is a closer, a finisher. When the end of the book is in sight, she breaks for it like a tired horse making for the barn. My main strength is persnickityness. I am a great one for the why’s and how’s, the sewing up of loose ends, and making sure everything holds together.

   Jane: Jason has a poet’s eye for the photograph and a hunger for beauty in nature.

   Kimberly: Who edits the work?

   Jane: We all do, though I get the final pass, because I am compulsive (see above).

   Adam: One of my most enlightening moments as a new writer was watching her take a 9 page, single-spaced, editorial letter, and show me how to fix all the problems with a sentence here, a word there, a new twist on an old passage. What appeared an impossible mountain of editing to me, was old hat to her.

   Jason: I obviously defer to her on the writing and I get final say when it comes to final photo choices.

   Heidi: Editing is as much a part of writing as the writing. We do it both, as we go along. We send the piece we are working on back and forth over the internet (even when we’re in the same room) and change and tweak in red or bold type so the other can see what we’ve done. Sometimes it’s a word, sometimes whole sections. We have dozens of copies of each piece saved.

   Kimberly: Do you ever disagree on plot points, and if so, how do you handle it?

   Jane: Yes- last man standing wins. (Just kidding.) Heidi and Adam are great readers, as am I. We all recognize what is best for the story.

   Kimberly: Who handles market research and submitting to publishers?

   Jane: Mostly me. And our agent.

   Kimberly: Do you have any final tips for other writers who are considering a collaborative effort with a family member?

   Jane: Make sure you like them to begin with. Never go to bed angry. Learn to listen. Be willing to “murder your darlings.” (The words, not the kids.) Let the story win.

   Jason: I would tell people just try to remember to keep some time to just be family. It’s easy to turn your relationship into all business.

   Adam: At it’s best, collaborating with a family member can be a fun, enlightening experience that brings you closer together. But writing is also a frustrating and very personal business. If you aren’t ready to put aside any familial rivalry and personal bugaboos and just let the story lead the two of you, then you’re better off writing alone.

   Heidi: Work with my mother. She rocks.