Sarah Aronson is the author of six novels for young adults and middle-grade readers, as well as a teacher, retreat organizer, and mentor. She has written about kids in bombings, kids in car accidents, and kids with terrible fairy godmothers.
Where does she get her ideas and time? Let’s find out.
Booking Biz: What does your average day look like?
Sarah: Every morning, I start with coffee in bed, and my journal. I write down whatever is on my mind–or sometimes, I doodle or transcribe and read (aloud) a favorite poem. I call my notebook my portal to creativity–and it’s just for me. After that, I go to my office. I usually write for two hours. Then the rest of the day, I devote to other writers that I work with through The Highlights Foundation or Writers.com. At some point, I’ll read. Or watch TV. And exercise. It’s a great day when I get to meet up with friends.
Booking Biz: When you’re not writing, what do you like to do best?
Sarah: I love riding my bike. And walking by Lake Michigan. And going to museums. I also love to cook! Lately, I’ve been working on some Mediterranean dishes–like fish roasted in parchment with olive oil and herbs–and dips with feta or eggplant. And I’m running around Chicago tasting as many different kinds of chicken wings as possible! I also love watching sports. Now that Chicago is my home, I cheer for the Cubs! Someday, I will learn to knit.
Booking Biz: Where do you get the inspiration for your books?
Sarah: Inspiration is a funny thing–you can’t always predict where you will find it–or what intuition will come of it. All you really can do is prepare for it, so that when it comes, you are ready to inject your point of view and experience into the idea and get writing! For example, I started writing JUST LIKE RUBE GOLDBERG after listening to a friend talk about her favorite artists. Poof! I instantly remembered my dad reading FOOLISH QUESTIONS to me, and how I thought those contraptions were the greatest things ever. THE WISH LIST series was inspired by a question: Who was the worst fairy godmother ever? (I have my answer!) And a challenge to write what I was pretty sure I couldn’t.
We writers cannot take inspiration for granted! Especially these days, we must make time to welcome inspiration. We must trust that the ideas will find us and then we must follow through without fear. Most of all, we must take care of our joyful hearts–a big part of hearing inspiration. For me, that means spending a good chunk of every day without electronics–doing nothing. Every day, I walk without my phone. I try new things that I know I will stink at–like pottery. My motto: Live like David Bowie! In other words, try everything! Let your mind wander! Don’t be afraid to fail! When inspiration feels distant, there’s a great coffee shop near my house. Or I read a book! Reading the newspaper used to inspire me, but lately, the world is so angry, I have to stay away from the headlines until I am done with my writing.
Booking Biz: Did you always want to write books for children, or was there another career you wished for as a child?
Sarah: Nope. To be honest, I wasn’t an avid reader as a child. (It took a great teacher in 6th grade to get me hooked on books!) Even though I’ve never been a strong singer, I wanted to be a movie star! (Don’t I look like Barbra Streisand???) And if not that, the first female punter in the NFL (even though I can’t kick)!
Booking Biz: If you ruled the world, what would it look like?
Sarah: If I ruled the world, we all would SLOW DOWN and eat dessert first. I would bring back the art of letter writing, and make free time mandatory. I would insist that families and friends enjoy long meals with time to talk about important ideas. I would give everyone tickets to Hamilton, and great NY pizza would be available everywhere. In my world, we would all value process over product, there would be no more grades or standardized tests, and everyone would have time to play… for fun.
Booking Biz: Love that world!
Learn more about Sarah Aronson and her author visits on her speaker page.