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Back to Featured Interviews >> MEET DANNA SMITH
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| Danna Smith |
I've always wanted to write. When I was a child I took my pen and a notebook everywhere I went. It wasn't until high school during a creative writing class that I knew what I wanted to write. Our assignment was to write a picture book... I fell in love with them all over again and knew one day I'd write picture books.
What are the topics are some of your books?
I write picture books for the very young. My first two picture books A WILD COWBOY and A BRAVE SPACEBOY are about imagination. My newest picture book, TWO AT THE ZOO is really three books in one, a concept counting book, a zoo adventure and a book that celebrates the relationship between grandpa and grandchild.
Do you do other types of writing - for example, educational, nonfiction, magazine work?
I started my career writing for magazines and I still dabble with writing for magazines, the latest was a story in Spider magazine's October 2008 issue titled MAJESTIC FLYING. It's a fictional story written from the real life experience of training a hawk with my father who is a falconer. But my true love is and always will be the picture book so that's where I focus most of my energy.
When I was a child, my father worked with animals (raised, trained, and rehabilitated them) so you could say I have a fondness for all creatures. Much of my writing reflects my love of animals and nature. I've written several non-fiction picture books but have not placed them with a publisher yet.
Do you work on more than one book at a time?
Yes, I usually work on four or five picture books at once. That way, if I am having difficulty with an issue on one book, I can work on another book for a while and go back to the issue later with a fresh approach. This method cuts down on writer's block for me and keeps me writing at all times.
Where do you get your ideas?
This is the question I get asked the most. My answer is, where don't I get ideas? They are all around me and come so fast that I have to write them down and keep them in a file so I won't forget them. The real trick is writing an entertaining, compact, and satisfying story from the idea. One that a publisher will want to make an offer on and a child will want to read over and over again.
What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?
I want students to have fun with books and writing. I also want students to feel that their goal of writing is attainable. When I was a child, I wanted to be a writer in the worst way but I felt frustrated because I didn't know any authors and thought they must be mythical creatures that couldn't be seen or heard. I was a mere person, how could I possible write books? Ironically, on a recent visit to a school, as I stood waiting for the students to file in and be seated I heard a boy comment to his fellow classmate, "Hey!" he said, "She looks just like a real person!"