 Ally Condie  Soman Chainani  Brendan Reichs |
What: Texas Book Festival 2018 program Fantasy Meets Reality Subject: In fiction, there are some fantasy and some reality in all writing. Three authors talked about their writing and how they dealt with reality. The authors on this panel all write dark dramas about how best friends helped. Their discussion was not so much about their books, but how they write. The authors: Ally Condie - is an author of young adult and middle grade fiction. She won the Edgar award for Best Juvenile with her middle-grade novel Summerlost in 2017. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Matched Trilogy. A former English teacher, she lives with her husband and four children outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, and is the founder of the non-profit WriteOut Foundation. Soman Chainani - is an American writer and filmmaker, known for his children's book series The School for Good and Evil. He believes in fairy tales wholeheartedly. When studying at Harvard, he practically created his own fairy-tale major. He is an acclaimed screenwriter and a graduate of the MFA Film Directing Program at Columbia University. His films have played at more than 150 film festivals around the world, and his writing awards include an honor from the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. He lives in New York City. Brendan Reichs – has a YA series called Project Nemesis and is co-authoring a book series (The DarkDeep) with Ally Condie. He is the co-author of the six-volume Virals series. Brendan is also a member of the Executive Board for both YALLFEST and YALLWEST literary festivals and has received a MFA in Creative Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, son, daughter, and a herd of animals that tear up everything. |
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Soman Chainani started things out on the panel by saying there is a total of six books in his series, The School of Good & Evil. The fourth book in the series is out. It is all about good vs. evil and boys vs. girls. Ally Condie said she's been working on The Dark Deep, which she co-wrote with her friend and fellow panelist, Brendan Reichs. She said they both love Stranger Things and the Goonies. She said she likes stories with kids trying to solve mysteries. She said that as she collaborates with Reichs, they both bring different strengths to the writing. Brendan Reichs said that when he and Condie collaborate, they don't fight, but they do bicker on every line in the book. They overwrite each other and then edit the piece as they go along. They each have an idea how each chapter should go so when they come back together, they write it a third way and that works out. Chainani said he never gets bored with his writing. He's hoping the sixth book in his series will be the best. There's just more to tell in each book. As he writes, he doesn't take notes on his writing. He keeps it all in his head even though there are so many characters to keep in his head. The books are each getting longer as the series progresses. It does take a toll on his mind as he completes each book. He said it is hard on a subconscious level. He needs two months between the books when he doesn't write. Reichs said writing is a skill, not an art. You work really hard to write your piece and then you edit it over and over. Everyone can do this: you write to become a better writer. Chainani recommended that when you're ready to write a story, make it one that only you can tell. It's easier to work on a story when it's your story – no one else can do it. Condie said her favorite book is Anne of Green Gables. She also said that sometimes you have to read four chapters into a book to realize whether you like it or not. If you don't like it by then, then drop it. Reichs said it doesn't matter if kids read fiction or non-fiction. It's all about reading. As far as he's concerned, graphic novels are fine. Condie said childhood is about play. Fiction is play. It's important for children to try on different lives and they experience that role playing from fiction. Chainani said when you read, your imagination gets involved. That's the difference from other media. When you read a book, your mind works and imagines. You uncover layers of your own being when you read. Reichs said the book is always better than the movie because the book takes you deeper. Condie said a book is personalized to you when you read it. Chainani said the author usually doesn’t have control over the movie that's made from their book. She's been fortunate that she's been able to chose the producer to work on the movie. I've been able to talk to the director a lot, she said. The movie has been following the book with only a few changes. I could be on set 100% of the time, but then I wouldn't have time to work on new stuff. |