Melissa Rotert - Children's Author and Co-Editor-in-Chief
- litkidsmagazine
- 13 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Melissa Ruth Rotert is a kidlit writer whose short fiction helps to explore genres and themes that novel-length writing doesn't always allow. She is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Epistemic Literary and Nimblewitlit Magazines. Her work includes her debut MG series, which starts with SUE B AND THE RIDDERS, as well as short fiction published with OxMag, Wild Ink Publishing, and others. Born in the Midwest and raised in Western New York, Melissa is an avid Buffalo Bills fan who enjoys exploring every day with her family. Find out more at melruthwrite.com.
1. Are there venues or resources that allow kids to publish work, like chapter books, art, poems, etc.?
I love this question, because not only am I a kidlit writer, but I'm also a literary magazine editor. Our main magazine is geared towards an adult audience (though we do get teen writers as well), but our new kid-focused magazine called Nimblewitlit is both for young audiences and accepts writing and art from young writers and artists as well. In October, we announced the next theme and submission period. We'd love to have some of you join us. Visit us at EpistemicLit.com/nimblwitlit.
2. If you could choose only one thing to do/have to inspire yourself, what would it be?
My favorite tool for inspiration is a sense of playfulness that I thought was lost as I got older, but I rediscovered it when I had my first son. Having kids, and being around kids as a former teacher, helps me latch onto that playful side and explore it through language. Puns, playing with words, and even "dad jokes" are a great way to come up with titles. A lot of writers won't know the title to their books until after they've written, but I guess I do it backwards because I often create a silly title and make up a story that fits it. For instance, I have a story that started when I changed the word Fireball to Furballs of Fire and imagined a fire-breathing cat.
3. Who is your favorite author?
I absolutely love the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. He's written over 100 books for a variety of ages. He is funny and clever and quirky and brings me infinite joy with his fantasy books. His Discworld series is 41 books that took me over two years to read, and when I finished, I wished I could erase every memory of them and read them from the beginning.
4. Have pets ever gotten in the way of your writing?
I kind of feel like you all created this question just for me. I have two dogs, Otis and Ophelia. Ophelia is a seven-year-old chocolate lab, and Otis is a one-year-old pug. My family also fosters dogs through a local rescue, and as I write this, a sweet French bulldog named Jody is snoring so loudly that it's hard to think. Earlier today, as I edited short fiction for Epistemic Lit, Otis jumped into my lap and fell asleep across my keyboard while Ophelia whined to go outside for the millionth time that hour. It's a good thing I love them.
5. Do you let people read your work before it is finished?
My very best friend Rachel is also a writer and anytime I'm questioning something I've written or can't come up with a solution to some writing problem I can't get myself out of, I have her read what I've written and help me. She's also the best line and copy editor ever, which makes my first drafts very "clean" (mostly without grammar and spelling errors) which makes the editing process easier later on.
6. Do you write more than one thing at a time?
There are times when I'm writing 3 or more books at once. This works best for me when the stories are very different. Writing a serious scene can take a lot of energy for me, so I like to have something light and funny to switch to when I need to take a break. Often, I have a middle grade horror book as my third. Writer's block is sometimes more about the project than an inability to write at all. In this way, switching projects keeps the creativity going, and I don't get hung up on what's going wrong.
7. What’s your favorite genre to write?
Most of my stories are middle grade fantasy, but they aren't high fantasy that takes place in a make believe world. I like to write stories that exist in our world with some magical element that helps the main character solve their problem and grow. Sometimes the fantastical element is a portal that takes them into a new world. Sometimes a character discovers something magical about themselves. I write my horror the same way, with a paranormal element instead of magical.
8. Why did you begin writing? Was it because of a person or something else?
When I was younger, I wrote poetry to process my feelings and express myself. As an adult, my first story came to me first in a dream. When I woke up, I knew it needed to be turned into a book. It took eleven years to finish because I was busy parenting, teaching, and going to school myself... but that book, SUE B AND THE RIDDERS, became the first book of my published Ridders Series.
9. What are common traps for new authors?
New writers tend to focus too much on doing things the right way. The problem is, anyone you ask could give you a totally different answer. There simply is no right way to write a book. I have friends that spend months writing detailed outlines before they ever write a word of their books. While others like me sit down in front of a blank page with a blinking cursor and let the words fall onto the page with next to no planning. Some writers call their first draft "draft zero" because they don't edit at all while writing and only focus on getting the story down. While I prefer to reread and edit as I go, you can be successful using any of these methods. The most important thing is finding what works best for you.
10. If you could travel anywhere in the world to do your work, where would you go?
My biggest dream is to move to the shores of Cape Cod in a small cottage where I can write like so many writers that came before me. Being near the ocean feeds my soul, and I feel like I'm home every time I visit the Cape.
Melissa, thank you so much for taking the time to provide writing guidance for young (and old) creatives! Please follow Melissa on social media and find her middle grade fantasy novel, Sue B and the Ridders, in our Bookshop! Keep shining!
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