Michelle Falkoff, author of QUESTIONS I WANT TO ASK YOU, on perseverance being the most important quality to have as a writer

by Jocelyn Rish

We’re thrilled to have Michelle Falkoff with us to share more about her latest novel, QUESTIONS I WANT TO ASK YOU.

Michelle, what scene was really hard for you to write and why, and is that the one of which you are most proud? Or is there another scene you particularly love?

The hardest scene for me to write is the scene where Pack and Maddie go to the hotel after the prom and have sex. There are so many reasons why this was tough for me—I find writing about sex really difficult in general, and it’s particularly hard when writing for teenagers. I wanted it to be real, but there were also some things I wanted to get across in a responsible way. I’m very fixated on the concept of consent and how that’s changed in recent years, and I wanted to explore that in some detail in this book without getting preachy about it. Pack and Maddie have chosen a very particular approach to deal with consent, and in that scene they mess with it in ways that are complicated but that work for them as a couple. I hope I pulled it off; I worked as hard on it as I’ve ever worked on any scene, and I’m proud of it even if just for that.

How long or hard was your road to publication? How many books did you write before this one, and how many never got published?

Oh, it was long! And complicated. I wrote two books for adults that never saw the light of day (though I think one of them was secretly YA, and I’ve since rewritten it). Then I did some freelance work that probably equaled a book or two before PLAYLIST FOR THE DEAD, my first book, found a publisher. QUESTIONS I WANT TO ASK YOU is my third published novel.

What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?

Perseverance is absolutely the most important quality to have as a writer. Talent is useful, as are great ideas for things to write about. But if there’s one thing the writers I know have in common, it’s that they kept working and improving and failing and trying again and learning and trying new things and failing again and persisting and you see where I’m going with this. It’s important to listen to criticism from people who are trying to help you, but you have to remember to use that to fuel your creativity rather than letting it keep you from working. And writing is art, but it’s also work.

What are you working on now? 

I’m kind of bouncing between two projects that I’m really excited about. One is one of the books I mentioned earlier—it started as adult but it turns out it’s really YA, and I’ve been revising it accordingly. It’s about the ghost of a murdered high school football player who’s trying to catch his killer. Another is a new and complicated project I’m having trouble describing but that involves survivalist boarding school kids and a college tour/missing-person search. Any thoughts on which one I should focus on?

ABOUT THE BOOK

Questions I Want to Ask You
by Michelle Falkoff
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 5/29/2018

Patrick “Pack” Walsh may not know where he’s going in life, but he’s happy where he is. Then, on his eighteenth birthday, a letter from his past changes everything.

As Pack begins a journey to uncover the truth about the parents he thought he knew, the family he didn’t know he had, and the future he never realized he wanted, he starts to have a whole different understanding of his life—and where he wants to go from here.

Purchase Questions I Want to Ask You at Amazon
Purchase Questions I Want to Ask You at IndieBound
View Questions I Want to Ask You on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michelle Falkoff is the author of QUESTIONS I WANT TO ASK YOU (May 29, 2018); PUSHING PERFECT (October, 2016); and PLAYLIST FOR THE DEAD (January, 2015); all with HarperTeen. Her fiction and reviews have been published in ZYZZYVA, DoubleTake, and the Harvard Review, among other places. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and currently serves as director of communication and legal reasoning at Northwestern University School of Law. Visit her online at www.michellefalkoff.com.

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Have you had a chance to read QUESTIONS I WANT TO ASK YOU yet? Do you struggle with writing sex scenes? Do you use criticism to fuel your creativity? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!

Happy Reading,

Jocelyn, Halli, Martina, Charlotte, Anisaa, Erin, Susan, Shelly, Kelly, Laura, Emily, and Lori Ann

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who loves researching weird and wonderful animals and sharing what she learns. Her debut was BATTLE OF THE BUTTS, about ten animals that do weird things with their butts. Her latest book is BATTLE OF THE BRAINS, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection about ten animals with mind-blowing brain abilities. When she’s not writing, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her adorable dog. Find out more at www.jocelynrish.com.

Post @ Jocelyn Rish and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: May 31, 2018

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: YA Author Interviews

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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