Marion Dane Bauer

INTERVIEW

Marion Dane Bauer is the author of two writing books for young people, WHAT’S YOUR STORY? A Young Person's Guide to Writing Fiction, and A WRITER’S STORY: From Life To Fiction. In September 1999, TBB Writer Audrey Marie Danielson interviewed Ms. Bauer about her books and teen writing. Find out why she likes to write books for teens, how teens can make money writing, how long it takes her to write a book, and more in this interview. Don't miss the reviews of her books also in this feature.  

TBB: Why did you choose to write these two books for young adult writers rather than for adults?  

Marion Dane Bauer: When I was writing A WRITER’S STORY I knew it would be a successor to WHAT’S YOUR STORY, so I knew it would be for a young audience.  But I also intended it to be for an adult audience --- those adults who love and are involved with children’s literature.

TBB: As a teacher, what do you gain from your students?

Marion Dane Bauer: What I have gained from my students is a deeper, clearer understanding of my own writing process and what I need to do to make my own stories work.

TBB: Have other writers influenced your work, and who are they?

Marion Dane Bauer: I am sure that dozens of other writers have influenced my work, but it would be difficult to pick out any one and to name that particular influence. I read constantly, and everything I read feeds into what I know as a writer.

TBB: On an average, how long does it take you to complete a novel, market it and see it published?

Marion Dane Bauer: Completing a novel falls somewhere between six months and two and a half years. Since I have only one or two publishers I show novels to, marketing takes no time at all. Once I have completed all revisions the publication time ranges from nine to eighteen months.

TBB: What advice would you give a young writer who wants to make a living writing?

Marion Dane Bauer: Try to set up your life so that your primary work is your writing. I don’t mean to give up your day job, if that is what supports you. But if you must work at another job, treat the time you have to devote to your writing with the same respect you give to the time required by your other work. If you treat your writing as a hobby, that is all it is ever apt to be. Even now, however, though my primary income comes from royalties, I cobble together a satisfactory living with a combination of writing, teaching and lecturing.
     
TBB: Any final thoughts on teens and writing?

Marion Dane Bauer: I wish all developing writers well. If you love writing, if putting words down, one after another, feeds your soul in a way that no other activity does, then work at it...hard.  The deepest reward lies in the writing itself.

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