Ask the Author: Cynthia MacGregor
Answered Questions (6)
Cynthia MacGregor
I don't know how to answer this. I always want to write. It's what I do. It's who I am. Maybe a better question would be, Where do you get your ideas from? You've written over 100 published books, mostly nonfic but some fiction, and for both adults and kids, not to mention cookbooks--where do the ideas come from? Yes, that would be a better question, although I still would be stumped for an answer. Sometimes something I read or something someone says transmogrifies into an idea in my mind for a book, but other times the ideas pop into my head with no identifiable genesis. The best I can say is it's a God-given gift, and one I'm very thankful for.
Cynthia MacGregor
All I'm willing to say about it at present is it's a book about a certain aspect of sexuality and is aimed at teenage girls and their moms. Nonfiction, obviously.
Cynthia MacGregor
Don't give up on yourself but do try to continually improve yourself. If you have certain books that are favorites of yours or certain authors who are favorites of yours, try to figure out what it is about those books or those authors that draws you, and then, WITHOUT EMULATING THEIR STYLE or trying to copy them in any way, let what you've figured out be a lesson to you as you hone your own craft. Your writing can possess those same attributes without copycatting the author's style. And if you find that you aren't having success with your writing, consider writing in a different genre. Maybe fiction instead of nonfiction or vice versa, or children's books instead of adults or vice-versa.
Cynthia MacGregor
What ISN'T there to love (besides the precariousness of my financial situation)? I NEED to write like I need to eat, sleep, and breathe. I have been writing ever since I learned to spell C-A-T. It taps into my wellspring of creativity and satisfies something deep within me.
Cynthia MacGregor
Actually I am blessed in that I really don't suffer from writer's block. LOL--If I had writer's block, I doubt I would have had the over-100 books that I've had published.
Cynthia MacGregor
Actually the idea for MOVING DAY FOR ALEX wasn't totally mine. I had had a book published quite a few years ago called WHY DO WE HAVE TO MOVE?, a nonfiction picturebook for little kids, which was long since out of print. I submitted it to AcuteByDesign to see if they were interested in republishing it, and the publisher came back to me with the suggestion that instead of their republishing the existing book, I write a new book on the same theme but make it fictional. He suggested that the book follow one child whose family is moving, only he's not very happy about it. He also suggested that this be the first book in a series about that child. From that suggestion was born MOVING DAY FOR ALEX. Since AcuteByDesign is big on multiculturalism I made Alex's new best friend Black and suggested that the artist depict Alex and his family as Latinos. I chose a male protagonist (Alex) because girls are much more willing to read about a boy than boys are to read about a girl.
I feel the book has a much wider application than just kids whose families are moving. I think a child who is facing ANY change in his life or new situation can relate to Alex's siruation.
I feel the book has a much wider application than just kids whose families are moving. I think a child who is facing ANY change in his life or new situation can relate to Alex's siruation.
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