Award Winning YA Writer: Amanda Jenkins - Page 3© Sue Reichard
Page 3
Oct 1, 2004
epiphany when someone pointed out to me that you have to pin down your scenes, you can't just have them floating in space and time. You have
to look at dialogue, action, description, etc. and balance them so that they create a scene that holds the reader's interest. Later, what
opened up another world for me was talking with other writers about editorial advice, and seeing that when editors tell you something that's
not working, they almost always are pointing out a valid problem--but they aren't always pointing to the right way to fix it. I learned that
it's better for your writing if you can pick out what is bothering the editor, and then feel out a way to address it that seems right for the
characters and the ms. It's a mistake to blow off an editor's advice just because you don't agree with their fix. Lately, I've been
learning to trust the process--to put aside the fear that dogs most of us, and to believe that if I keep working with an open mind, eventually
the ms will come around to where it needs to be. If I can hold onto that, I won't get bogged down by doubt. It's very hard to work when
you're full of doubt. Oh, another thing I learned is that it's a freakin' waste of time to ignore any little voice that tells you to try a different approach to a ms you're working on. If you're working in third person past, say, and a little voice inside your head keeps hinting that you should try first person present--just go ahead and try it. Get it over with. Because if you don't, if you think "No, that's too much work to start over from the beginning," then months later you'll get stuck and have to go back and start from scratch anyway, worn out and completely confused. It's best to stop and try the new thing right then, let it play out and see
if it works. It saves time in the long run. And, I think, it makes you a more flexible writer.
SR: 7. Can you describe a typical writing day? How much time to you spend each week on marketing or "fan mail" speaking engagments, etc.
AM: I try to write every day. Right now I'm writing hours and hours a day--it's summer, and I don't have to be somewhere every five seconds,
and my kids aren't toddlers anymore, and I'm trying to get a book finished. I spend almost zero time on marketing and such; I don't do
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