Park, Barbara

As an author, one of the questions I’m asked most often is, “When did you start writing?” I have to admit I always hesitate a minute before answering this one, because unlike many other authors I have met, I didn’t always have a burning desire to be a writer.

In fact (if I’m going to be completely honest here), when I was in school, a writing assignment was (for me) about as much fun as a trip to the dentist. So the idea that I somehow became a children’s author is a constant source of amusement.

I didn’t start writing until I was almost thirty. It was then that I – still unsure of what I wanted to be when I grew up – sat myself down and tried to figure out what my true talents really were. I’m embarrassed to admit that the only thing I came up with was the fact that I’d always had a rather “odd” sense of humor. And although being the class clown in high school didn’t seem like much to base a career on, I decided to write “something funny” and see what happened.

What’s interesting about this was that I had absolutely no experience at all as a writer. What I did have, though, was the good fortune to have been blessed with parents who always made me feel that I had the ability to succeed at whatever I tried to do. So the first time I sat down to write “something funny” it never occurred to me that I didn’t have at least as good a chance as anyone else.

It took a while. (To put it bluntly, my early attempts at being funny weren’t) And my work – from short stories to greeting cards – was rejected over and over again. But in 1979 – when I made the decision to tackle my first novel for kids (Operation: Dump the Chump) – I had such fun with it, that I finally knew where I “belonged” as a writer.

What Barbara Park’s readers want to know

Where do you get your ideas?

Believe it or not, I just make them up. I start out with a vague plot idea. Then I try to develop slightly off-beat characters to move the story along and make it fun to read.

Do you ever write about your own family?

Almost never. We’re unbelievably dull.

[a] How long does it take to write a book and [b] Do you work on a computer?

[a] The first draft of a book takes me anywhere from two months to a year, depending on the particular story and how many headaches it’s giving me. [b] I didn’t start using a computer until my seventh book, Almost Starring Skinnybones. How I ever got along without it, I’ll never know.

Have you ever been divorced, as in Don’t Make Me Smile?

I feel very lucky that I’ve never had to go through a divorce like Charlie Hickle’s parents. But I’ve learned from friends how difficult it can be for everyone involved.

Do you have any children?

Two sons. Steven and David. But they’ve both been graduated from college and they’re old men now.

Where do you live?

I’m originally from Mt. Holly, New Jersey, but I’ve been living in Arizona for over twenty years.

Do you have any pets?

I’ve got two dogs who love me very much. I’m the one who feeds them.

How come there are always problems in your books?

This one’s simple. If you don’t have much of a problem, you don’t have much of a story.

Which of your books do you like the best?

I’m not sure I actually have a favorite book. But the characters I’ve had the most fun writing about include Molly Vera Thompson in The Kid in the Red Jacket; Junie B. Jones in the Junie B. Jones series; and Thomas Russo in My Mother Got Married (And Other Disasters). I love writing about “little” kids because they’re so unpredictable. They’ll say anything!

Since you’re an adult, how can you write about kids’ feelings and make them seem so real?

This one’s easy, too… because as it turns out, deep down inside, we “adults” still have many of the same feelings we had as kids. We still get embarrassed. We still get scared. And at times we all still feel very insecure and unsure of ourselves. So since none of these feelings have changed much for me, writing about them isn’t hard at all.

 

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