Member Spotlight: Chris Grabenstein

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world?
For me, it’s a chance to entertain my readers and, since I write for kids, to encourage some of the more reluctant readers to fall in love with the idea of picking up a book and getting lost in a fast-paced story.   Writing allows the reader to actually live inside a story.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block?
Improv games I play in my head.  Say “Yes, and…” and see what happens–knowing that nobody gets it right the first time and that I will have plenty of time to rewrite my rewrites of my rewrites.

What is your favorite time to write?
Morning.  When I am still not fully awake and my irrational, dream side is still readily accessible.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers?
The minute it sounds like writing cut it out.  (And all of Elmore Leonard’s ten rules for writing).

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age?
For me, it’s reaching kids who used to hate reading. The challenge of turning kids into life long readers is exciting.

Chris Grabenstein’s No More Naps!, illustrated by Leo Espinosa, is out now with Random House Books for Young Readers.