Six Questions with Elayne Crain

Elayne Crain is a proud writer of childish things. Her debut book, There’s Something Odd About the Babysitter (illustrated by John Ledda), was selected as a Kids Indie Next List pick. When Elayne is not reading or writing, she loves walks in the woods with her sons and partner, photography and karaoke. Elayne serves as a regional volunteer for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators – Western Washington and is active in several writing communities. Learn more at elaynecrain.com.

1. What three things bring you joy?

I find so much joy in the “puzzling out” of a picture book! Figuring out what, exactly, I’m trying to make—and then HOW to make it!

Wildlife is another joy. Everyone who walks regularly with me knows I parade past a leashed pet without even noticing, yet I can’t help but stop and take photos of every squirrel, crow, or frog. What can I say? #bornthisway

Lastly, one of my greatest joys is “cracking up” with my partner and kids. We spend a lot of time trying to make one another laugh—and over the years, we’ve gotten pretty good at it.

2. What are your daily or weekly habits or practices?

I used to work in marketing and communications, where I managed many simultaneous projects at differing stages, and I still prefer to work in Pomodoro-style spurts throughout the day. I’m so grateful that I can work from home, to use my attention efficiently. Need to ponder? Time to do laundry! Sick of dishes? The blog calls!

I think of my work as a joyful sculptor, chipping away. Alas, while my time and focus are the chisels, each material reacts differently to them. I try to accomplish as much as I can during school hours, and use self-imposed weekly deadlines: a Substack post (which requires me to think bigger-picture), reviewing a jealousy-inducing picture book (which demands a lot of reading), revising at least one manuscript, spending a few hours on my visual art, and at least once a month, drafting a new manuscript. So, I suppose there is a very loose sort of weekly rhythm as a side effect.

Where the Pomodoro system can break down is when I need to work on something long-form, like revising a novel. That’s when I look at retreat options.

3. What do you feel you’ve gained from being a part of the children’s writing community?

Amy Poehler has a great quote (about improv) that sums it up: “Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you; spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.” So much has changed (for the better) from my kidlit journey, it’s really hard to know where to start! But it’s all the things: creativity; friendship; inspiration; humor (sometimes dark, sometimes light); and, most of all, hope for the future. 

4. If you could tell readers one secret about your new picture book, what would it be? 

Oooh, I would say: if you see a phone number, why not give it a go?

5. Where do you get inspiration for your characters? Are you influenced by people you know?

I do sometimes model secondary characters on people I know, though, of course, through my own lens, as I feel strongly that humor demands a personal point of view. More often, though, it’s not a real person, but a “kind” of specific person—for example, I might think of a spunky character as “Leslie Knope as a kid—meaning a young goat.”

For main characters, yes—if “the people I know” is me. While I might model a situation on others, I’m not really interested in writing an emotional experience I haven’t had. This is why my characters tend to have character flaws that, alas, I also have. It’s a sort of comedy therapy for me. Luckily, I have many flaws to choose from.

I especially enjoy manners-based comedy—Schitt’s Creek, for example—so that’s often what I enjoy working through—a character’s expectations of others’ behaviors, and how they might react when the other character(s) have different ideas about what’s normal, polite, or rude.

6. Was this the book that landed you your agent? If so, what was that process like?

Yes, but maybe not in the way that someone would think! Meaning, I was one of the weirdos lucky enough to get a book offer before an agent offer. Luckily, I had recently queried many of my favorites, so the offer kicked things into overdrive (and you can read more about that here). If anyone here ends up in the same boat, my current agent passed on a link to this helpful article by agent Kate McKean. Highly recommend bookmarking it, just in case!