The School for the Insanely Gifted has lots of exciting plot twists and turns. Did you have it all planned out before you started writing and how much did it change?
In most of my books, I start with a basic premise and I know the major characters and the beginning, middle and end. In The School for the Insanely Gifted, the first thing I figured out was that I wanted the story to take place at a wacky school full of brilliant kids. I also knew that Daphna, Harkin, and Cynthia would be the main characters (though in earlier drafts Harkin was French and his name was Jean Claude). While some of the twists and turns in the plot were there from the beginning, others came in during subsequent rewrites. I’m definitely the kind of writer who discovers things as he goes. I don’t think of everything at once.
Can you describe your writing routine?
My writing routine is fairly ordinary. I get up, have breakfast, take the kids to school, then come home and work on whatever project I have going on. If I’m working on a book, such as The School for the Insanely Gifted, I’ll try to write in the morning from around 9:30 until 11:30 or noon. Then I’ll take a break and reread what I’ve done. I always rewrite my drafts many times before I show them to anyone or move on with the story. At night, I sometimes print out what I’ve done during the day to read it as a hard copy – I find that helps me see things in a new light. One thing I pretty much always do when I’m getting started for the day is to reread and edit whatever I’ve done the day before. That helps me warm up and get in the swing of things.
You’ve written books for kids, adults and even the book for a hit musical (13). What’s next?
I’m working on a few things now. I’m trying to get an idea for another book but it’s coming slowly. By that I mean, I have an idea but I haven’t worked on it enough to know if it’s good yet. I’ve also been working on a musical version of my novel, Nine Wives. I’ve written the script and lyrics and Douglas J. Cohen has co-authored the lyrics and supplied the music. We’ve had several workshops of the show (called: The Evolution of Henry Mann) and the feedback was been great. Now, we are figuring out what the next steps will be. I was also commissioned to write a play by Theater Aspen on the subject of bullying. That’s finished and will be directed by John Simpkins with incidental music by Joe Iconis, a great up and coming composer – so I’m excited about that, too.
You created a real website for the School for the Insanely Gifted. Do you track your visitors?
I did create a website for The School for the Insanely Gifted, but I don’t track visitors. I don’t know how! I also made a fun YouTube video to promote the book. You can see that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOypeccvSiY
Do you do a lot of revisions and rewriting?
I end up having to rewrite a lot – I think every writer does, or most anyway. It’s a big, big part of the process. The School for the Insanely Gifted went through three or four major drafts. The book really improved between drafts two and three, because the editor suggested that I do more to include the wackiness of the school itself. That really made the story come alive, I think. So revising is key – so is a good editor or a teacher or friend whose opinion you trust.