Ask the Author: Paula Shablo
Answered Questions (6)
Paula Shablo
I have this brain that never seems to shut up, and its favorite question is "What if?" I started writing at a young age, just to hash out some of the questions in my head. My latest work began because I was studying my own family history and making various charts, and my brain said, "What if you could talk to this person or that person? What would you ask them?" Personally, I have a few mysteries I would love to solve in my own family tree--and I haven't stopped trying-- but in the meantime, I can make up some solutions for Emma!
Paula Shablo
I started as a child, really, with younger siblings who always demanded to be told a story. Later, as a babysitter, and still later as a mother, the stories were still in demand. I enjoy the process. What if I could fly? Where would I go first? Can a dragon live with us? Why not? Aren't there little dragons? These days it's the grandchildren, and the questions lead to stories for them. My books don't always deal with the problems Grandma might encounter when trying to hide in the toybox, but I get to tell a story, either way. And that's the best part of writing--telling the story.
Paula Shablo
I have been writing almost as long as I have been reading, and I think that was because I wanted to tell stories as well as the people whose books I loved. There always has seemed to be voices in my head--not those voices that tell you to do bad things, thank goodness--voices that asked me "What if?" What would happen, for instance, if I went up to Mr. Cute Guy and told him I liked him? Would he 1. Say he liked me, too? 2. Stare at me, then walk away? or 3. Laugh in my face? This is not something I'd like to try very often in real life, but coming up with answers to the questions is how many stories--my stories, at any rate--begin. The best part of this process is that while posing the questions and composing various answers and outcomes, I have been able to solve a few real-life problems along the way. Some questions are scary, and often the senarios they elicit are even scarier, but when they lead you to take that first step toward a real-life solution, all the scares are worth it. The thing to remember is that writing, like living, is a process, and you can use one to enhance the other. Start with what you know, and then ask those questions and see where they can lead you. You might be surprised at what you learn.
Paula Shablo
Currently I am writing a sequel to Emma: Ancestor's Tales. I had thought it would be a one-volume story, but it turned out that there are a lot of ancestors, and they are pretty chatty.
Paula Shablo
My latest book, Emma: Ancestor's Tales, was the product of an overactive imagination while doing family history research. The more information I discovered, the more questions I had. Then I would embark on a more in-depth search, hoping for answers: was there one child who died in the crossing from England to Boston, or were there really two? How many battles were there in New Mexico? What does our ancestry mean to us? And the one thing that kept leaping into my mind was this: I wish it was possible to just ask them!
My desire to communicate with my own ancestors led to the character, Emma, who is able to do exactly that. Of course, being the touchstone in the living world for many who have gone before her is not all sunshine and roses; communication with beings unseen by others is bound to lead to some complications.
Nevertheless, the desire to ask a few questions of my own remains with me, and writing Emma's stories has only made it more maddening for me, since the spirits who taunt me from time to time with phantom perfumes and slamming doors still refuse to answer any questions, or even bother to speak to me at all.
Dang!
My desire to communicate with my own ancestors led to the character, Emma, who is able to do exactly that. Of course, being the touchstone in the living world for many who have gone before her is not all sunshine and roses; communication with beings unseen by others is bound to lead to some complications.
Nevertheless, the desire to ask a few questions of my own remains with me, and writing Emma's stories has only made it more maddening for me, since the spirits who taunt me from time to time with phantom perfumes and slamming doors still refuse to answer any questions, or even bother to speak to me at all.
Dang!
Paula Shablo
Read, read, read! In my experience, reading the works of others often opens doors for me, so when I can't seem to get the words I want from brain to fingertips, instead of staring at a relentlessly blinking curser, I escape into other realms for awhile and refresh myself before going back to the keyboard.
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