Revelation of the Revolution: Adam Gidwitz Interview

In March, we were introduced to our community read, The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz. Mr. Gidwitz is one of the 2017 recipients of the prestigious Newbery Award for this

book and in April, Mr. Gidwitz visited BB&N Middle School to talk about this work of art. Prior to speaking in front of the middle school community, Mr. Gidwitz spent lunch time with Lit Club and answered some of questions from its members. I was given the pleasure of recording some of his answers.

What was the hardest thing about writing The Inquisitor’s Tale?

I’d say the hardest thing about writing any book is finishing it. For any aspiring authors out there, I want to encourage you to finish whatever you’re writing! And indeed, that may prove itself to be the greatest challenge.

What was your favorite subject in school?

English was definitely my favorite subject. The homework was relaxing. The teachers would assign you a book to read, and you’d read it. The next day, I’d come back and my teachers would say, “Good job” for reading a book and that was that. In college though, I also found that I enjoyed history.

Why do you write?

The job is essentially just thinking about the coolest things, writing it down…and getting paid for it! I don’t have to dress up or go to an office everyday. I can run things more at my own pace and I enjoy just sitting down, thinking of something interesting to write, and writing it down.

What’s your Hogwart’s house?

Okay, so my results to the quiz were a little bit odd. And, if you add up the percents, they don’t equal 100! So I’m 68% Ravenclaw, 66% Slytherin, 64% Hufflepuff and I’m not at all in Gryffindor. These results really astonished me! I wasn’t expecting to be in Ravenclaw.

You have written books inspired by The Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Did you read the originals?

Yes, I have my own copy of the very original Grimm’s Fairy Tales. To write the Grimm Series, I read all of the original versions. After, I made a list of my favorites, the funniest, weirdest, and bloodiest stories. Then, I made up a plot that could tie all of them together and that is what created the Grimm Series.

In The Inquisitor’s Tale, you mention stinky cheese. What is the background implementation of it in the story?

At one point, I lived in France with my wife. One day, I came home after running some errands and I smelt something repulsive in the house. It literally smelled like a dead rat! And I thought there was something dead in our house! My wife came home and together, we searched the whole house for that dead thing we thought we’d smelt. And soon we came to realize that it was actually the cheese in the refrigerator that we were smelling,

How much do you get paid?

It’s an interesting and valid question and one that I get a lot. But I’m going to be completely honest with you; I get paid approximately $1 for every book that I sell. To be exact, I am paid around $1.25 for a hardcover book and 75¢ for every paperback that is sold.

Have you ever stopped halfway through a book?

Yes, I have. I was a teacher, and I was writing a book on Ancient Egypt. I was teaching second graders and as most of you know, second graders love stories. They asked to tell a story one day, so I went home and I wrote a chapter for them and read it the next day. They loved it, so I went home and wrote another chapter. Each night, I would go home and write the next chapter…since second graders will kill you if you don’t tell them what happens in the story! What I remember very vividly was the memory of a second grade girl. After I read one of the chapters I’d written the previous night, a second grade girl came up to me, pointed her finger at me, and looking very determined and assertive, she said, “That, was good.” That was what motivated me to get my book published. So I quit my job and worked on revising what I’d written. I sent it to a publisher and the Grimm Series was published; I’d stopped writing my book about Ancient Egypt.

What do you do when you get writer’s block?

This is a sort of complicated answer, because I think there are at least 2 different kinds of writers block. There’s the kind that I like to call “Painting yourself into a corner.” Visually, think about it like you’re painting a room. You start at the door and you work inwards. You reach the last corner of the room and you’re just about to paint it when you realize that you can’t get out of the room anymore since the floor’s wet everywhere else. In situations like that, I like to rewind a little bit. I’ll reread what I’ve already written and take something out. After that, I try to reroute of the path a little bit and find another place to take my story.

The second kind of writer’s block is the kind where you stare at the blank page and have absolutely no idea what to write about. In these situations, I like to steal an idea. And no, this isn’t plagiarizing! You can’t steal words, but you can steal ideas. Just think about Star Wars and Harry Potter. The plots and characterization of the two main characters two are very similar! I like to think about stories that I’ve enjoyed, and I like to borrow a couple of ideas from different stories here and there.