Grace
asked
Tom Rogers:
Hi Mr.Rogers, My Name is G and you video chatted with my school on November 8th and I never got to ask my question. When you were developing the book Eleven how did you come up with the character Alex???? I am honestly thinking about becoming an author when I get older so can I have some advice???? Thanks~ G
Tom Rogers
Hi G -- I just saw your question here! We have now already traded emails about this, but I'll answer here in case anyone else is interested.
Alex grew first out my own memories of what it was like to be an 11-year-old boy. When I was eleven, I used to daydream about being a hero--about running into burning buildings and saving everyone inside, which I figured would really impress all the girls and make them want to be my girlfriend. (To no one's surprise, that scenario never did play out.) What I took from that and gave to Alex was this very immature idea of what it means to be heroic. That created a great starting point for Alex as he begins his journey to become a true hero in a very different way (one that doesn't involve being a fighter pilot or rescuing people from burning buildings).
I also remembered what it was like to desperately want something and feel selfishly deprived and irate when I didn't get it. I was not the first kid to throw a temper tantrum when I didn't get a birthday present I wanted, and I sometimes lashed out at my parents, just as Alex does at his dad. As we grow more mature, we hopefully gain perspective about which things are truly important in life; I wanted to send Alex on that journey to maturity over the course of a single, powerful day.
I loved my dog, Pokey, when I was a boy. Pokey was a ridiculous-looking basset hound, but to me he was the most beautiful and amazing dog ever, and I would have done anything for him--and that's just how Alex feels about Radar.
And I had a little brother who used to drive me nuts. We even had a "line of death" in the car and in our bedroom that we weren't supposed to cross; and of course we crossed it as often as we could to annoy each other. But if he were ever in trouble or being picked on at the playground, I would become very big brotherly and protective of him. So that kind of love-hate relationship, where your sibling can make you bananas one day but then inspire really protective love when things really matter--I put that into Alex's relationship with his little sister.
And then...I just let my imagination take him to new places so he could become his own person!
Alex grew first out my own memories of what it was like to be an 11-year-old boy. When I was eleven, I used to daydream about being a hero--about running into burning buildings and saving everyone inside, which I figured would really impress all the girls and make them want to be my girlfriend. (To no one's surprise, that scenario never did play out.) What I took from that and gave to Alex was this very immature idea of what it means to be heroic. That created a great starting point for Alex as he begins his journey to become a true hero in a very different way (one that doesn't involve being a fighter pilot or rescuing people from burning buildings).
I also remembered what it was like to desperately want something and feel selfishly deprived and irate when I didn't get it. I was not the first kid to throw a temper tantrum when I didn't get a birthday present I wanted, and I sometimes lashed out at my parents, just as Alex does at his dad. As we grow more mature, we hopefully gain perspective about which things are truly important in life; I wanted to send Alex on that journey to maturity over the course of a single, powerful day.
I loved my dog, Pokey, when I was a boy. Pokey was a ridiculous-looking basset hound, but to me he was the most beautiful and amazing dog ever, and I would have done anything for him--and that's just how Alex feels about Radar.
And I had a little brother who used to drive me nuts. We even had a "line of death" in the car and in our bedroom that we weren't supposed to cross; and of course we crossed it as often as we could to annoy each other. But if he were ever in trouble or being picked on at the playground, I would become very big brotherly and protective of him. So that kind of love-hate relationship, where your sibling can make you bananas one day but then inspire really protective love when things really matter--I put that into Alex's relationship with his little sister.
And then...I just let my imagination take him to new places so he could become his own person!
More Answered Questions
Jason Wein
asked
Tom Rogers:
Hi Tom, I'm wondering if the book Eleven is available as a Spanish translation? I work in a bilingual school and we'd love to read the book to our students but we need a translation so we can read 1/2 in English and 1/2 in Spanish. I haven't found anything so far. Thanks!
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