CAFE HOST N Werlin: Hey, folks. I'm hosting tonight! And yes, you WILL
behave!

Annette Klause: Naaaahhhhhh

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Hahahahahhaha

gailgiles: I'm gonna 'have. I'm like in total awe of Ellen

ellwitt: Hi, I'm not late, am I?

gailgiles: Waving to all. Who brought the cookies?

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Ellen, you're not late!

Jo: Hey there! I'm in Ellen awe too *g*

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Welcome! Say hi to Ellen (ellwitt) everyone!

Annette Klause: Leg of roast suckling pig anyone?

Andy Says: Hey Ellen!

ellwitt: Hello! I'm glad to be here with such a great crew!

Annette Klause: HI ELLEN!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: WELCOME to the YA Authors Cafe! Tonight's chat will
begin in a few minutes. We're waiting for a few more guests to arrive. In
the meantime, please grab a cup of coffee and introduce yourself to others.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: A reminder: This is a multi-age chatroom with tender
young and old ears alike. Please moderate your language accordingly.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: (Anyone bring candy?)

Andy Says: Anne has cheese.

lola_librarian: I have dark chocolate

heathen: LOL. I was just going to say that, Andy. :)

Annette Klause: Anyone want a frog and peach?

ellwitt: I just finished my ice cream so I'm ready to go.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Eeeew!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: We're going to give it 2-3 more minutes, and then the
chat will begin.

Annette Klause: ooooo! Lots of people i don't know

Annette Klause: And some I do. MaryP

DebbyG: Please excuse me if I leave early... it's only 5:30 here, and I'm
watching my 3 kids

Annette Klause: Why? Are they doing something interesting. <grin>

ellwitt: You're excused, Debby. Kids trump all else.

DebbyG: lol... when they do something "interesting" is when I have to leave

Holly: I'll have to leave early also to close up the library

lola_librarian: lol, I hear that Debby

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Luckily, we'll have the transcript for early-leavers to
read later on.

Annette Klause: OH, no. She's just about to close up the library. (Line from
It's a wonderfil Life)

Jo: Yay for transcripts!

MelissaW: Ha! Annette, I was thinking the same thing

Annette Klause: Couldn't have got into college without one

ellwitt: I love our rainbow names.

Annette Klause: melissa I trust you to get movie refs

Andy Says: Annette, Anne wants to know if you're hot.

Mary Pearson: And you look so nice in red Ellen!

DebbyG: Have to choose green... it's my maiden name

CAFE HOST N Werlin: ****ATTENTION**** The chat is now beginning

CAFE HOST N Werlin: We ask everyone to quiet down now, find a comfy seat,
and hold all your comments and questions until the HOST (that would be me)
opens up the floor.

ellwitt: Why, thanks, Mary. Purple is definitely your color!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Everyone settled?

CAFE HOST N Werlin: OK!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Hello, everyone! Welcome to the YA Author's Cafe! Thanks
for coming! I'm Nancy, the guest host for tonight's chat.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Before I introduce our guest, I would like to explain
our format. I will be asking our guest/s a few questions. Before the last
question, I will invite the audience to get ready to participate.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: At that time, if you would like to ask a question, type
"?", send, and then type out your question so it is ready to SEND when I
call on you. Please do not press SEND until I call on you.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Violators will be asked to buy chocolate for everyone
next time!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: I will make every effort to call on you in the order
that the "?" are posted. I will type: (Your name GA) when it is your turn.
GA stands for GO AHEAD. Let's begin!

ellwitt: You're tough, Nancy!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: I would like to introduce our very special guest, Ellen
Wittlinger.

Annette Klause: YAAAAAAY!!!!

ellwitt: Hello!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Ellen needs no introduction to the YA community, which
is lucky for me. But I'll mention a few things anyway...

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Ellen burst onto the YA scene with Lombardo's Law, a
novel that asked the dread question:

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Can a teenage girl go out with a YOUNGER boy?????
CAFE HOST N Werlin: Her most well-known novel is perhaps Hard Love, whichwon a Printz honor in the first year of the Printz award.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: But all of Ellen's books feature strong, interesting,
and imperfect teens struggling to come to terms with the world as it really
is...

CAFE HOST N Werlin: and with themselves as they really are. (My own personal
fave, by the way, is RAZZLE.)

CAFE HOST N Werlin: With that, let's ask questions of Ellen and put her on
the spot! Ready, Ellen?

ellwitt: Ready!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Your upcoming novel, HEART ON MY SLEEVE, is a modern
epistolary novel, written in emails, IMs, regular letters, and postcards.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Can you tell us about the challenges of writing in this
unusual format?

CAFE HOST N Werlin: GA

ellwitt: I loved writing a novel in various kinds of "letters." The
informality of emails and IMs made it easy to get into the characters

ellwitt: different voices. People will say things, I find, in writing t hat
they wouldn't necessarily say to your face, so that made it fun.

ellwitt: I thought the challenge would be that not having dialogue between
the characters would be hard for me

ellwitt: because I love writing dialogue and dropping character clues within
it,

ellwitt: but the challenge was actually to make sure the reader didn't lose
track of who was who from one letter to the next.

ellwitt: GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: I understand that HEART ON MY SLEEVE originally began as
a collaboration ...

ellwitt: Obviously my typing needs some improvement...

CAFE HOST N Werlin: with Rob Thomas. Can you tell us about the history ofthe novel from that angle? GA

ellwitt: Right, Nancy. My friend (and bookseller) Elizabeth Bluemle first
suggested the idea of a letter book between Rob and me.

ellwitt: We have the same editor which made it a possibility, and we each
like each other's work.

ellwitt: Rob wanted to do it, a contract was signed, and we started sending
ideas back and forth, but Rob had to back out

ellwitt: because of his time commitments to screen writing (which is mostly
what he does now.)

ellwitt: by then I'd become engaged by the idea so all agreed I should go
ahead and write the book. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Follow-up: Would you ever consider a collaboration again
(with anyone)? GA

ellwitt: I did collaborate with James Howe on a short story, but we both
wrote separate stories which played into the other. That was a lot of fun,
but I don't know about doing a whole novel. Just thinking about it was
really difficult.

ellwitt: GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Personally, I can't imagine collaborating on a whole
book, which is why I'm amazed! OK, next question...

CAFE HOST N Werlin: You have quite a distinguished background as a writer,
including an MFA...

CAFE HOST N Werlin: from the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop and a
publication history in ...

CAFE HOST N Werlin: adult poetry. What originally drew you to the
then-backwater YA field? GA

ellwitt: I had written some adult fiction and even attempted a YA years
before, but hadn't done enough reading in the field...

ellwitt: to really understand what a YA novel was. In 1989 I took a job as a
children's librarian in my local library.

ellwitt: and was drawn to the YA shelves. I read lots of YA fiction and
found so much there I loved...

ellwitt: Brock Cole, Lois Lowry and M.E. Kerr were my first
inspirations--that I started writing for this age group.

ellwitt: and found it was a perfect fit. Turns out, emotionally I'm still
15!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Next Q: You are a writer who works with equal facility
with both male and female characters.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Why do you think that is? What considerations are in
your mind as you decide whether a book will have a male or a female MC? GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: (oops! We lost Ellen for a bit. Welcome back! Ack!)

ellwitt: Sorry... I got logged off but I'm back!

ellwitt: I try to build my characters from the inside out--that is, I don't
think of t hem first as male or female...

CAFE HOST N Werlin: (I asked you about writing male vs. female characters)

ellwitt: but rather as people who act psychologically in certain ways
because of their life experiences.

ellwitt: Where the main character is a boy or a girl depends on who I need
in a particular situation I've set up.

ellwitt: Also, I like to go back and forth between the two so th at I don't
get stuck with a reputation for only writing "girls' books"...

ellwitt: I hope for a readership of both sexes.

ellwitt: GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: As we all know, HARD LOVE won a Printz honor among many
other awards and recognitions. But having a big success can be hard for a
writer, as well. ....

CAFE HOST N Werlin: In retrospect, what do you think are the good and bad
aspects for a writer of having a 'hit' like HARD LOVE?

ellwitt: Well, there isn't a BIG downside. Hard Love made my name morerecognizable.

ellwitt: It continues to sell well and perhaps my other books are taken more
seriously because of it.

ellwitt: Of course, every new book of mine is also compared to it, so that
might be a downside.

ellwitt: But HL wasn't my first book, so I didn't fall into the trap of
thinking, "Oh, no, I'll never be able to do that again."

ellwitt: And it's not necessarily my favorite of my books either.GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: One more question before we open to questions from the
floor....

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Do you have a favorite character from all your novels?
Someone you'd maybe like to revisit in another book?

CAFE HOST N Werlin: GA

ellwitt: I've always said I didn't want to do a sequel because I was afraid
I'd disappoint fans.

ellwitt: I'm often disappointed with sequels myself... but lots of people
have asked for a HL sequel..

ellwitt: If I ever did one, I'd write it this time in Marisol's voice.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: (All right gang, get ready to ask your questions. Type
your "?" at any time to indicate you have a question, and then get your
questions ready to send and for me to call on you.)

ellwitt: And I wouldn't close the door on Razzle either. She's a character I
th ink could still be explored further and in her own voice too.

ellwitt: GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Oooo, I'd love to see more of Razzle! Also Marisol.
OKAY!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Heathen, GA.

heathen: Do you hear from many teen readers (letters, email, zines, etc)?

ellwitt: I do and sometimes they send me zines they've written after reading
HL, which is such a thrill.

ellwitt: GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Lara, GA.

Lara Zeises: What sorts of things do you do to stay abreast of teen culture?

ellwitt: Well, for years I had two teenagers in the house which was a huge
help.

ellwitt: But now my son is on the brink of 20, so those days are over. I
watch some teen TV (although I still mourn Buffy's demise)...

ellwitt: and read teen magazines and of course lots of YA lit. Doing school
visits helps too, although I don't love them at the time. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Alex, GA.

Alex Flinn: You're a fairly prolific author, usually bringing out a book a
year. Do you find it difficult to shift from project to project?

ellwitt: Not so far. Usually I have the next idea kind of percolating in my
head as I'm working on the current book. Sometimes that's a problem because
I'm in a hurry to get to the next one! GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Heathen, GA.

heathen: Have you had any interest in writing for other age groups?

CAFE HOST N Werlin: (ooo, tell the truth here, Ellen. Let 'im have it!)

ellwitt: Well, I do still do some writing for adults, though I've had less
success in publishing it. Ditto for picture books. I do have one
middle-grade, Gracie's Girl, and would do others. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Debby, GA.

DebbyG: Do you spend more time drafting or revising? Or thinking?

ellwitt: Okay, Nancy. Simon and Schuster wants me to keep doing YA even
though I'd really LIKE to do another middle-grade now.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: (Grrrrrr.)

ellwitt: Good question. The thinking time is usually done while other things
are going on. Probably the first draft takes the most time. Or maybe I just
t hink t hat because I actually enjoy the revision part more. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Kay, GA.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Kay?

Mary Pearson: Going back to how prolific you are, Ellen, can you let us in
on your writing routine? Everyday? How long? Are you a very disciplined
writer?

ellwitt: My deep dark secret. I USED to be very disciplined when my kids
were younger and I needed to slip in working hours around their schedules...

ellwitt: but since they're out of the house I've gotten very lax. I'm not a
morning person so I tend to sleep in and ease into work gradually, email
first...

ellwitt: Although when I'm working on a first draft I can often work long
hours and even into the wee hours because I just want to GET IT OUT. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Annette, GA. (And remember, you're behaving!)

Annette Klause: You mentioned Buffy. Have you ever tried writing a vampire
book? Any supernatural stuff?

CAFE HOST N Werlin: (Ah, she IS behaving. Wow.)

ellwitt: HA! I can't compete with yours, Annette! They're the best! I don't
think I COULD write supernatural stuff–

ellwitt: I think it would be laughable. GA

Annette Klause: blush

CAFE HOST N Werlin: WriterRoss, GA. (Hi, Pamela!)

WriterRoss: Hi Ellen. What do you feel you =can= do in a MG that you can’t
do in a YA? Do you need a change of scenery or content?{{}}}

ellwitt: Hi Pamela! I just wanted to try something a little different. For
one thing I thought I'd try writing in 3rd person. Not that I couldn't writea YA

ellwitt: in third person, but somehow that's not how they come to me.

ellwitt: And, truthfully, I felt a little tired of the kind of odd romances
I'd been doing. GA

WriterRoss: Can you let loose more in a MG?

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Debby, GA.

WriterRoss: Or the other way around?

DebbyG: Do you think the U of Iowa people give you the same respect as those
alumni who've published for adults?

ellwitt: I don't know if I'd say "let loose." My head would just work
differently (or something.)

WriterRoss: {} Thanks, N and E

ellwitt: No, absolutely not. Most of my writer friends from years ago still
write for adults and are a bit bemused by my new genre.

ellwitt: Comes with the territory. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Gail, GA.

gailgiles: Ellen, do you find that you direct you characters or find that your characters start
directing you?

ellwitt: Well, I start out trying to direct them, but you always have to
follow to some extent where they want to go. Then, during revision, I
sometimes have to rap them on the knuckles and point them in another
direction. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Kimmar, GA.

kimmar: You talked about your routine, but how long does a first draft
usually take for you to get out?

ellwitt joined the chat 11 minutes ago

CAFE HOST N Werlin: (Ah, poor Ellen. Sorry. Bad software, bad.)
ellwitt: Back again, sorry. I'd say a first draft takes from 4 to 6 months.
But entire process is close to a year. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Blair, GA.

Blair: What part does your editor play in your final book? Do you
leave anything on the cutting room floor?

ellwitt: Sure, sometimes. David Gale is my editor and we seem usually to be
on the same page. I'd say more often he suggests an addition rather than a
deletion. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Jo, GA.

Jo: Can you offer any words of wisdom/inspiration to ya writers trying to
"break in"? (sorry, hate that term, but...)

ellwitt: That's tough one. I guess the best thing to do (at least for me)
was to immerse myself in the genre and really understand what was already
out there and what I had to add to it. Lots of reading, lots of writing. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Kay, GA.

kay: My original question was: please talk about how you go about choosing
names for your characters. But NOW,
kay: I'm really interested in the distinction you make on pov for YA vs.
middle grade - it's true that almost every YA nowadays is done in 1st
person. Any thoughts on this?

ellwitt: It seems to be the convention that middle-grades are mostly 3rd
person and YAs mostly first. For me, first person is just an easier way to
get into the characters.

ellwitt: And I think we THINK YAs like the immediacy of first person. I'm
not really sure...

ellwitt: but I would eventually like to try the greater distance of a third
person novel. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Last official question of the chat: Kat, GA.

kat: Can you talk more about NOT enjoying school visits? what's the
interaction w/ teens like?

ellwitt: I do enjoy the kids--I just don't enjoy the hectic nature of a
school day and being put rapidly through the paces of one class after
another...

ellwitt: Also, high schools almost never invite me--it's always middle
schools--and I really feel like most of my books are a little old for the
kids I'm talking to, which is odd. GA

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Our "official" time for tonight is up--many thanks to
Ellen (and especially considering the connection glitches!). APPLAUSE!!!!

Lara Zeises: Thanks, Ellen! Great chat!

heathen: woo! Thanks!

ellwitt: Thanks for having me--it's been lots of fun!

Mary Pearson: hurray! Thank you, Ellen!

kat: clap-clap-clap!!

Annette Klause: Cheer!

LindaJoy: Applause! Great job!

kimmar: Thanks Ellen

ellwitt: [bows deeply]

kay: Thanks, Ellen, love your books.

Cindy: Thanks, Ellen and Nancy! This was terrific!

Alex Flinn: Yayy!

Blair: great chat

Annette Klause: David gale was my first editor, Ellen

WriterRoss: Glitches... Forget LOMBARDO.. Bring in Murphy. <g>

DebbyG: Yes, Thank you!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Some of us need to go--but the rest of you are welcome
to stay and chat as long as you like. Don't forget next week! Drumroll . . .
ellwitt: Yeah, t hanks, Nancy.

mindy: thanks, I enjoyed chatting with you

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Next week is open chat.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: The following week, Lara Zeises will be celebrating the publication of
CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE (her second novel!) with us at the cafe!

Mary Pearson: Thanks, Nancy! You were terrific too!

LindaJoy: WriterRoss--nice to see you again!

Mary Pearson: yay, Lara!!!

Annette Klause: Yay! Nancy! Been good to long..must moon someone...

Alex Flinn: Thanks, Nancy and Ellen. Looking forward to Lara. Good
night.

WriterRoss: Bravo to Lara! Ellen-- when is the new book coming out?

ellwitt: Congratulation in advance, Lara! I'll definitely try to be here.

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Thank you all for coming! See you next week! Invite your
friends!

CAFE HOST N Werlin: Ellen, you were fantastic! Yay! (and a trooper... sorry
about the connection stuff.)

ellwitt: Pamela--end of this month... nervous, much?

DebbyG: I liked Hard Love a lot. Thought it was unique.

Jo: oops, bumped but back just in time to say, THANKS Ellen and Nancy!

Annette Klause: Now, who asked if I was hot?

ellwitt: AOL is never this bad to me--wouldn't you know it would rotten
tonight?

heathen: oh, god.

WriterRoss: Don't be nervous. Rejoice. Title again? {}