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Michelle Harrison Interview
Posted on 16 March 2009. © Copyright 2004-2024 WriteWords
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WriteWords talks to Michelle Harrison, whose debut novel for young readers recently won the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize
Tell us something about your background.
My first novel for children, The 13 Treasures, has just been published and I’m now working on its sequel, The 13 Curses. I’m currently two thirds of the way through it.
I work full-time as an editorial assistant for a children’s publisher, which I’ve been doing for nearly a year and a half now. It’s my first publishing job and has been a real insight to me as an author to see the process a book goes through from acquisition to publication. It makes you realise why publishers need material so far in advance of publication for one thing - for the various departments to be able to get to work designing the cover, planning marketing strategy and selling it in. It’s also made me a lot more open to editing on my own work!
How did you start writing?
I first began writing when I was a teenager, and this was inspired purely because I loved reading so much. It made me want to write stories for other people to enjoy and lose themselves in. I wrote lots of short stories, most of which were horror, and attempted a novel which didn’t progress past the first four chapters. I also took any writing opportunities that came my way, such as school magazines and newspapers.
Who are your favourite writers and why?
Roald Dahl for his dark humour, Enid Blyton for her sense of adventure, Anne Cassidy for her grit and skilful story-weaving, and Julie Hearn for her prose
What’s specific to writing for children/young adults?
I think the key thing is to hook a young reader’s attention from the first line, and to keep it. Make every sentence count and leave chapters on a cliffhanger. Younger readers are less likely to stick with something that’s slow to start. Adults will hold out for a bit longer before moving on to another book. Another important thing is to not ‘talk down’ to a young reader.
How did you get your first agent/ commission?
With a lot of perseverance! I had quite a few rejection letters, which resulted in me doing three major re-writes, the last of which got me my agent. As I finished that re-write I felt confident that I’d finally got it right. The other thing was that I spent an entire evening working on my covering letter, something I’d never done before that point. I re-formatted it totally to make it as appealing and attention-grabbing as possible, and it worked.
What's the worst thing about writing?
There’s not really much that I don’t like about it. My only niggle is thinking you’ve got a good idea or plot-line only to find that someone else has already done it. This has only happened to me once and luckily it was with a very small part of the story, but it can still be frustrating.
And the best?
Knowing that the only limit is your imagination; it can take you anywhere. Also hearing from people that have enjoyed your work is brilliant!
Tell us what kind of responses you get from audiences\ readers.
It’s been a very positive response so far. I’ve had messages from both adults and children who have enjoyed the book, and winning the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize is also a real boost. It has affected my writing in two ways: firstly it’s given me more confidence. But I also feel more conscious of how my second book will be received. It’s interesting to read comments where people have written that they want to know more about a particular character, which varies from person to person. I think in the end you just have to write the story in your head – if you tried to cater to everyone’s needs you’d end up going a bit mad!
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Comments by other Members
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 NMott at 10:07 on 17 March 2009
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Welcome to WriteWords, Michelle 
"You’re walking on a path in a wooded area. Suddenly, you come to a clearing and see an object on the ground. What is it?..."
Oh, yes, I recognise that exercise. Our CW tutor had us doing it as a visualisation execise at the star of the course, making us close our eyes and relax as she went through it. I can still remember it very clearly one year on.
The 13 Treasures was mentioned recently on the Childrens Forum and I'm lookng forward to getting hold of a copy to read (actually, I'm sneaking off to Waterstones this morning)
- NaomiM
<Added>
oops, typo: start
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 MHarrison at 20:26 on 17 March 2009
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Hi Naomi
Thanks! I'm still learning my way around and enjoying skulking on the forums.
I did that creative writing exercise over 10 years ago at college and it still sticks in my mind for some reason. I do remember enjoying it, though it started off in the same way as yours (being told to close our eyes and concentrate on our breathing etc) but once I got over feeling silly it was fun.
Hope you enjoy The 13 Treasures!
Michelle
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nessiec at 15:22 on 18 March 2009
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Lovely to see you on here, Michelle. Look forward to hearing more about the new book as and when.
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