NIKKI GRIMES: Crafting Compelling Characters

Nikki Grimes is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of dozens of children’s and young adult books as well as a poet and journalist. Throughout her prolific career, Nikki has highlighted stories and characters from communities that have been largely underrepresented in young people’s literature. Her latest novel, "Between The Lines", is the thought-provoking follow-up to her critically acclaimed "Bronx Masquerade", where readers follow the lives of a group of classmates that School Library Journal calls “a perfect blend of the many facets of American teens’ lives.” It also shows the capacity poetry has to express ideas and feelings, and connect us with ourselves and others. Nikki received the Coretta Scott King Award for "Bronx Masquerade", and has also received four Coretta Scott King Honors. In 2017, she was awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. She has written more than fifty books, including "The Road to Paris", "Jazmin’s Notebook", the "Dyamonde Daniel" series, and the New York Times bestseller "Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope". In Nikki’s episode, we discuss how writing first became Nikki’s survival tool and coping strategy as a way to express herself during her younger years in and out of foster homes and we get a glimpse into her younger years. Further into the conversation, Nikki brings us behind the scenes into the inspiration behind “Bronx Masquerade” and “Between The Lines”, and how she is a very character-driven writer. Storytellers, this episode is such a special treat especially for our craft-focused writers who could use some inspiration and advice for creating compelling characters. We dive deep into Nikki’s writing process and even deeper into the way she creates characters. From how she organizes the differences between all of her characters to why it’s important to instill hope in them. We also kick off the conversation talking all about traveling as y’all know I love my travels, and we wrap up the episode with advice from Nikki about coping with cutting large chunks out of our drafts during the revision process. Say 'Hi' to Nikki on Twitter! Head over to her shownotes page by clicking here. Happy listening! Xo, Yin PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word! --- If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page! --- Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group! --- Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here! ---  “When I had things on my heart or on my mind that I needed to get out, the way I got them out was to write.”  -Nikki Grimes (Click to tweet!) “There’s always a deep, emotional connection for me with each of my books because, for me, the most important thing about writing is making an emotional connection with my reader and in order for them to go there, I have to go there first.” -Nikki Grimes (Click to tweet!) "I had fun pairing various characters to explore one another’s stories because I think you really can’t come in as an adult and tell kids what to think. Really, the stories and the truths have to be revealed from their perspective.” -Nikki Grimes (Click to tweet!) “Everything has a place. Nothing is ever, ever, ever really wasted. Even if you don’t use a character or storyline again, you learn so much from the process of doing it that you then are able to apply to the next thing you write. So it’s never wasted.” -Nikki Grimes (Click to tweet!)  --- WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:  How writing first became Nikki’s survival tool and coping strategy as a way to express herself during her younger years in and out of foster homes We discuss the inspiration behind “Bronx Masquerade” and “Between the Lines”  How deep diving into your character’s backstory provides fuel for writing your characters A look into Nikki’s writing process and how she organizes the differences between her many characters Why it's crucial to instill hope in your characters  Coping advice on removing large amounts of content from your story during the revision process