Ask Eric
Eric enjoys answering questions from his readers. Submit a question and it might even be posted here on his website!
Nathaniel from LaCrosse asks: I love the way you retell the Anansi stories. I have read 4 Anansi sstories and I am wondering if there are any more stories. We made Anansis out of paper and we are hanging them from the ceiling. I think the Anansi stories are funny and awesome. How did you find out about these African stories?
Eric answers: I’ve known Anansi stories since I was your age. A wonderful storyteller named Spencer Shaw used to come to our neighborhood library to tell stories. He told tales from Africa and the Caribbean. I loved the stories about Anansi. He did all the things I never had the nerve to do and he never felt sorry. He was deliciously wicked. Many years later I lived on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The islands were full of stories and music. I got to hear lots of Anansi stories told in West Indian dialect. Two years ago I visited Mali in West Africa. I met Madame Omou, an African griot. A griot must study for years to learn how to share the stories properly. They’re sung, not spoken. Mme. Omou sang the beginning of an Anansi story for me in Bambera, one of the many native languages of Mali. She liked my versions. That was a HUGE compliment.
Will there be more stories? I don’t think so. Janet Stevens and I have both gotten busy with other projects. I still haven’t figured how to get Anansi down from the moon. Do you have any ideas?
Alia from Egypt asks: Do you love being an author? What is your favorite book?
Eric answers: How exciting! I never got an email from Egypt before! It’s a country I’ve always wanted to visit. To answer your question, I love being an author because I’m never bored. I’m experiencing the story with the characters. Every day bring something new and interesting.
As for my favorite book, that’s hard to say. Usually my favorite is the one I’m working on now. At the moment that’s a book that will be coming out in the fall called Omar’s Snake. It’s about a boy who wants a pet snake. I have a pet snake, too. One of my favorite books is about a character from your part of the world: Joha Makes A Wish. I know that in Egypt Joha is called Goha. There are lots of funny and wise stories about him. I’ll bet you know a few. If you can think of a good one, send it to me.
Annie from ??? asks: “Why do you like reading and writing? Who inspired you to become who you are today?”
Eric answers: I’ve always loved reading and writing. I imagine it’s because I’m enchanted with words and stories. Books opened up the whole world to me. If you can read, you can learn anything, go anywhere. As for writing, I loved reading stories so much that I thought a good career would be writing my own. Time proved me right. As for who inspired me, all I can say is I had great parents and great teachers who made me want to excel. They deserve the credit.
Allison from Seattle asks: “Do you brainstorm for most of your ideas?”
Eric answers: Brainstorming is one technique I use, but it’s not the only one. I get a lot of good ideas from other books. Dreams often give me ideas for stories or show me how to solve problems that develop in stories that I’m writing. I also belong to a critique group of several other writers. We meet every two weeks and share what we’re working on. We frequently get ideas and solutions from each other. There are lots of techniques for getting ideas. They all work and you should try them all for your own writing.
Nicole from San Francisco asks: “How do you write a chapter book?”
Eric answers: You do it the same way you write a picture book. First you start with a story. You need a character with a problem. How is the problem solved? Are there helpers along the way? Are there opponents who get in the way?
Once you have your story outlined—or at least once you know where you’re going—then you begin writing. It’s a matter of time and patience. Once your story is done, you go back, re-read, and revise.
Makayla from Portland asks: “Do you think I can write a book?”
Eric answers: Of course you can write a book! The hard part isn’t the writing, it’s the thinking. What’s your story? You need a character, a problem, and a way for the character to solve the problem. Give yourself time to think about your story. When you have those three things in place, then you’re ready to write.
The rest is sitting down and doing the writing. Anyone can do that. So can you!
Jazmyn from Reno asks: “How do you come up with so many great ideas?”
Eric answers: Thanks for the compliment. You only see the ideas that become books. Those were the good ones. You don’t see the ones that aren’t so good. Perhaps that’s just as well.
Don’t worry about whether an idea is any good. What you need to do is take an idea that interests you and turn it into a story. Time will tell if it’s any good or not.
The important thing is to keep writing.
Do you have a question you’d like to ask Eric? Send it in.