Elvira Woodruff

 

 

Biography

     Elvira Woodruff is the author of many popular books for children.  She has been writing for fifteen years.  She writes both picture books and novels for middle grade readers.  Some of the books she has written include:

         Awfully Short for the Fourth Grade

Dear Levi: Letters from the Overland Trail,

George Washington’s Socks

Ghosts Don’t Get Goose Bumps

The Magnificent Mummy Maker

The Orphan of Ellis Island: A Time-Travel Adventure, and

The Summer I Shrank My Grandmother.

 

    Her works have won many awards and honors.  She was born in Raritan, New Jersey in 1951 and has lived for the last twenty years in Martin’s Creek, Pennsylvania, with her two sons, Noah and Jess.  She is a former children’s librarian and professional storyteller.  When she isn’t writing she likes to travel to research her stories, work in her garden (Morning glories being one of her favorite flowers), and bake cookies and pies in her kitchen.

 

Interview

     We were very fortunate for the opportunity to communicate with Mrs. Woodruff to ask her some questions about her writing.  You can see the questions and her answers below.

 

 
Q:  What are the steps of getting your books published?
A:   1. Write a great story that an editor can't resist.
      2. Send it to her.
      3. Don't expect the first editor you send it to to like it or buy it.
      4. Don't expect the second, third, or fourth editor you send it to, to rush it into print.
      5. Don't give up.
      6. Pay attention to every rejection and take note if someone gives you some
          good critical advice.
      7. Keep your day job until the book is on the shelf of your local library.


Q:  What was the first book you wrote?
A:  Awfully Short For the Fourth Grade
 
 
Q:  How long have you been writing?
A:  Fifteen years 
 
 
Q:  How long does the writing process take?
A:  That depends on what kind of story you write. A picture book could take a 
      weekend, while a novel could take months and an historical novel even longer with all
     the research involved.
 
 
Q:  Where do you get the ideas for your stories (character names, plot, etc.)
A:  Ideas come from everywhere. All a writer need do is take a breath, listen,
     and feel....
 
 
Q:  Where do you do most of your writing?
A:  I do most of my writing in my study.
 
 
Q:  Why did you want to be an author?
A:  I want to be an author because it is something I'm good at and it gives me the
     excuse to do research...I love to research historical pieces.
 
 
Q:  Who is your favorite author now?
A:  One of my favorite authors is Charles Dickens. I also admire James Barrie (who
     breathed life into Peter Pan) I just read a great book of essays by Thomas Lynch
     who is a poet and undertaker living in Michigan. He has great wit, humor, and
     compassion- things I look for in a writer.
 
 
Q:  Who was your favorite author as a child?
A:  As a kid I loved E.B. White and still do.

 
Q:  Do you ever get writer's block?  How do you solve that problem?
A:  When I get writer's block I read. It usually jumpstarts me and makes me want to
     write again.

 
Q:  Do you have any advice for young authors?
A:  Read. The more you read, the better you write.
     Good luck, kids, and May The Muse Be With You..........best, Elvira

 

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