One of my Christmas presents was a book entitled THE PARIS REVIEW INTERVIEWS, VOL. IV, published by Picador in 2009. This is a selection of author interviews from the past and I immediately turned to the interview with E. B. White from 1969. One question White was asked was, "Is there any shifting of gears when writing such children's books as STUART LITTLE and CHARLOTTE'S WEB?"
And his answer was typical E. B. White.
"Anybody who shifts gears when he writes for children is likely to wind up stripping his gears. But I don't want to evade your question. There is a difference between writing for children and for adults. I am lucky, though, as I seldom seem to have my audience in mind when I am at work. It is as though they don't exist.
"Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth. They accept, almost without question, anything you present them with, as long as it is presented honestly, fearlessly, and clearly. I handed them, against the advice of experts, a mouse-boy, and they accepted it without a quiver. In CHARLOTTE'S WEB, I gave them a literate spider, and they took that." (pp. 146-7)
Wise words from a master.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Don't Write Down, Write Up
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Love this, especially "as long as it is presented honestly, fearlessly, and clearly." Of course, that's the hard part!
ReplyDeleteWow! Very wise words. Never saw that passage before, but I love it! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat quote! I hadn't heard it before, but it just confirms how much EB White "got it."
ReplyDeleteLove your blog title!
ReplyDeleteWonderful words. And, as if to prove this point, I just finished reading Kate DiCamillo's book The Magician's Elephant, a MG novel. In its simplicity there is incredible depth of language, meaning, and emotion. It is magical.
ReplyDeleteWise words for us all. Thanks for sharing, Gale.
ReplyDeleteSo true! What an inspiration and perfect timing for me today. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great post! I love that quote especially. Made me smile.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone for the comments!
ReplyDeleteI guess you can never go wrong by posting writing advice from an expert.
Lisa, glad you like our blog name. We thought of it because one of the WORST things about writing is the waiting, waiting, waiting after you submit.
My new mantra: write up!
ReplyDeleteYes, so true. Write up, not down. And as much as we are sometimes told to have our audience in mind when we write, so many of the masters don't.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I love White's wisdom—not only to write up, but to write honestly. So important.
ReplyDelete