Ask the Author: Wendy Ledger
Answered Questions (10)
Wendy Ledger
I would like to go back as a child and live in Harriet the Spy's neighborhood. I would ask her help in being a spy. I would see if she wanted to have a joint spy route or whether we would have our own spy routes and meet up afterwards and talk shop. I wonder if Harriet would like to have a friend who was also a spy. I would have loved to have known her when I was a kid.
Wendy Ledger
I am currently working on a coming-of-age novel that involves horses. So I want to read Suzanne Wilding's pony series starting with A DREAM PONY FOR ROBIN. I read these books when I was young and loved them. My sister's name is Robin. The other character in the book is Wendy. In this fictional world, I'm the older sister. What fun!
Wendy Ledger
I'm always interested in the coming of age book, where the story begins with a horrible problem, and the character needs to grow up. I like to end the story with good cheer. So this is the current mystery that I am pondering: Can the world become a kind place again? How does that happen?
Wendy Ledger
I'm going to go with Jo March and Professor Baer. When I was young and first read Little Women, I didn't understand why Jo didn't end up with Laurie. I read it many times afterwards to try and understand. Now that I'm older, I see why she could have a much more fulfilling life that suited her soul with Professor Baer. I love the fact that they started a boys' school together. In my opinion, Jo was not meant for a life of leisure; she wanted a life of service, creativity, and intellectual thought. Professor Baer was the partner for her.
Wendy Ledger
When I was a child, I did play the piano, but when I was eleven, we moved. The piano came with us, but, without my teacher, I didn't play, and I didn't pursue lessons. As a teenager, I had this foolish notion that, in order to be cool, you had to play the guitar. Years later, when I decided I wanted to write this novel, I thought it would be fun to live in an imaginary world for a while, where the piano would again be important.
Wendy Ledger
I listen to myself. I pay attention to my dreams. Oftentimes my stories begin with something that I loved as a child. Then I create a new story and a world around it.
Wendy Ledger
I'm working on another middle-grade book that I hope will also appeal to adults. It's set in the world of horses.
Wendy Ledger
Tune into yourself. Find out what is the best way to write for you to write. For me, it's one hour a day, in the evening, in bed, with the mattress pad turned up full blast during cold weather, and my calico cat by my side. That works for me. Beware of absolutes. If anyone tells you, "This is the way you have to do it," smile and nod and ask yourself if that is true for you.
Wendy Ledger
For me, the best thing about being a writer is that I get to write! I have wanted to write books ever since I was a child. If you are a person who also hears the call, I would encourage you to listen and find some time, even if it's just five or ten minutes a day, to write down your words.
Wendy Ledger
I have a writing practice where I write every day. I have my own business, editing and transcription, and so I write at the end of the day, after a walk. Sometimes I have challenges where I don't know what will happen next, but I don't get writer's block. I think it is because I write every day. Over the years, I've learned to trust my creative process. If I have doubts or fears, I try to listen to them and see them as clues rather than as obstacles. I know that I will have "good" writing days and "bad" writing days. I'm willing to write dreck, knowing that it's part of the process.
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