Stephanie Watson | Pratfalls of Parenting Ep 58

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“When I started writing this I was a lot closer to these girls than to being the mother of a girl”

Writer Stephanie Watson talks about writing for young audiences and being a single parent.

“I’m hoping to teach her about following her own passions by example”

Stephanie talks about getting into theater as a child working at the Guthrie theater as well as the Children’s theatre. She talks about being encouraged by her mother to try theater and dance and how that along with her father working as an art teacher made for an environment that welcomed creativity. And she talks about her early ideas about careers.

“Secretly I would read Ramona Quimby books in my dorm after I’d finished my required reading”

Stephanie talks about writing for middle grade audiences and how she decided to write for that age range. She talks about enjoying reading kids books but feeling like they were considered less important than adult books. And Stephanie talks about deciding to secretly write a children’s book so that no one would know if she failed.

“I remember as a kid wanting my life to be more exciting”

Stephanie talks about wanting to write simply with a focus on letting the words get out of the way of the story. She talks about wanting to create strong female characters in her writing and how having a daughter has enhanced that. And she talks about trying to steer her daughter away from certain books and stories and towards more positive ones.