Meet the Creator: Sarah Armstrong

Q&A WITH SARAH ARMSTRONG

Can you remember the kid's book/s that made you want to be an author?

In terms of a specific book, I do remember my mum reading me The Little Grey Men, and I can still recall that blissful feeling of being swept away by the story. I read it to my daughter when she was little and was surprised by how scary some bits were. I had to do some editing on the run!

When did you first decide you wanted to write a book and how did you go about it?
I just always knew! But because I didn’t know how to go about ‘becoming an author’ I ended up studying journalism and getting a traineeship at ABC Radio. I hoped that the writing I did there would fulfil me. And while it was super interesting being a journalist in ABC Radio Current Affairs (and then a researcher and occasional field producer on ABC TV’s Foreign Correspondent program), I still felt this huge longing to write fiction. But I had no time to do it. Basically, I didn’t want to look back at the end of my life and wish I’d had a shot at writing a novel. So I resigned from the ABC and moved to northern NSW where I wrote my first novel (for adults) Salt Rain.

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I’d been playing with an idea for a kids’ book before I wrote Big Magic and my agent Pippa even sent that first idea around to a few publishers who made positive noises but didn’t actually want it. So I put it to one side and looked at my ‘ideas’ folder. I saw that I’d been playing with a parallel universe idea for my next adult novel (before abandoning it because it was too dark and heavy) and I decided to write a parallel universe story for kids. That became Big Magic.

What do you love about middle grade? Are you tapping into your experience as a parent, yourself at that age, or something else?
When I’m writing or reading middle grade, I’m definitely remembering what it was like to be 10, 11 and 12. I actually think I felt most like my true self at that age – before puberty hit! I remember how much I observed the world and the people around me, especially adults. I was way more aware than adults knew, and I remember that when I am writing for kids. I don’t want to write down to them. It’s also helped having a young person in the house while I was writing my first three middle grade books. She’s 15 now, though, so she’s leaving me behind. I won’t be writing YA any time soon though; I’m very happy to stick around in the realm of the younger reader.

Was there anything that surprised you about the publishing process when you were first published? Did the experience of publishing a kids’ book differ?
When I was first published (Salt Rain) I didn’t know anything about the publishing process. I was pleasantly surprised by the degree of detail and care in the notes I received for the structural edit. And I’d say that the editorial process at Hardie Grant – who publish my middle grade books – is really next level in terms of detail and care. I have long Zooms with my publisher Marisa and editor Luna and we brainstorm and talk over ideas for the rewrites. They are story geniuses, and having them engage so thoroughly in a story that I dreamed up – and help me make it better – is one of the great delights of publishing.

You've just been hit by a new idea in the middle of work/life/a shower/the night. What's next? How do you record it and how and when do you tackle it?
I jot down some notes in my ‘ideas’ folder (or record myself talking on my phone if I’m out and about) and put it to one side and go back to the work in progress. It’s too easy for me to be distracted by an amazing new and surely-so-much-easier-to-write idea when wading through the morass of a second act.

Do you jump between projects or follow one through til the end?
I follow it through to the end. I know other writers can jump between projects, and maybe this speaks to some lack of flexibility on my part, but I need to stay in the world of the story. I cannot leap between worlds (clearly my love of parallel universes is only theoretical).

Huge congrats on your new middle grade novel, Run! When did the idea come to you?
Thank you! I’d always had in the back of my mind to write a survival/adventure story – because I LOVED those stories as a kid. I think it was when a writing buddy recommended I read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (it came out when I was in my late teens, so I missed it) and I adored it, that I decided to have a go. And because I love playing with tension and stakes and pace… I decided to try and make it a real page turner. (I think each of my books has become progressively more tense and page-turning. Who knows where I will end up!) It’s not just a page-turner – it explores ideas around family and the law and forgiveness.

Run is the story of Cas who thought running away from home would solve all his problems. But he didn’t count on getting hopelessly lost in the Australian bush. Alone and afraid, he’s given up hope of rescue when he stumbles upon a strange family hiding out in the wilderness. He won’t survive without their help. But he discovers they’re also on the run – from something so big, they won’t even talk about it – and he realises his problems are just beginning.

What do you enjoy most about writing for kids? What do you enjoy most about writing for adults?
The kids are the best thing about writing for kids. Just hanging out with kids and librarians and seeing the joy young people get from reading. Receiving a message from a reader who has loved one of my books fills me with happiness every single time, and motivates me to write books that young people will enjoy and that also offer them the chance to ask questions and explore interesting ideas. Writing for adults – which I’m not doing at the moment – gives you freedom to explore aspects of life and use language that are not appropriate in a book for kids. But I’m absolutely okay not writing about sex and violence and some of the darker sides of human experience. Which is not to say that my kids’ books are saccharine, or that kids’ books shouldn’t explore difficult issues – but you have do have to tread with more care when writing for kids, and I think you need to offer hope at the end. It can be bittersweet hope, but hope nonetheless. My adult novels didn’t always end with hope and I think it’s better for me and my mental health to be writing books where I have to – very consciously – show the good in people.

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