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How does author Jeff Kinney write the ‘Diary Of A Wimpy Kid’ books?
As the man behind the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, Jeff Kinney is something of a rock star among kids. The series follows the misdaventures of the so-called wimpy kid named Greg Heffley as he navigates the murky waters of puberty. Everybody, particularly those of us thankfully past that awkward phase of our life, can certainly relate to that.
Now up to 11 books with the publication last month of the latest called Double Down, the series has now sold over 150 million copies worldwide.
But Kinney himself remains good-natured and down-to-earth. When he was in Manila last weekend, he took the time to meet hundreds of kids (and their parents) who waited hours in line just to have him sign their books.
Luckily, I got to meet Kinney the day before for a quick chat. Before I had even sat down, he asked me if it was okay for him to draw while we talked. Of course I said it wasn’t a problem. It’s not everyday that you get to talk to a New York Times bestselling author and watch him work at the same time. Excerpts:
GMA News Online: You’ve done these things before, talking to the press and going on book tours and stuff. How do you like this part of being an author?
Jeff Kinney: It’s interesting because what an author is supposed to do is hole themselves up somewhere…
Yeah, like most of them are introverts…
Right. I’m a bit of an introvert too, but it’s been really exciting for me. I told my wife when I headed out I said, I really want to leave it all on the floor, empty myself out with these kids and the publishers and journalists. It’s like I really am very committed to try to be the best version of myself that I could be while on this tour.
All of these accolades that you’ve gotten over the years – NYT bestseller list, being on Time’s most influential people of the world, Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Book—all of these things, have those sunk it yet for you? What do those citations mean for you?
That’s a good question. Of course, I love those kinds of achievements. But my normal life is very plain. In fact I literally live in a town called Plainville (Massachusetts). It’s a really simple place; the population is about 8,000. Most of my life is going to my kids basketball games, driving them around, working on homework with them. And then I own a bookstore. So that’s my normal life.
And then I get to have this other life that almost seems like The Truman Show, like a make-believe. The fact that I’m talking to you in the Philippines, is as strange for me as probably for you to be in Dallas, Texas, talking to somebody. It’s just a strange life in a strange world. But it’s very wonderful.
When you first sit down to write a new book, how does that go? Can you take me through the process?
Yeah. It starts for me in January basically when I get off tour. And I start really thinking about jokes. I know from experience that I need about 350 jokes to make a good book. Sometimes I come up short. But 350 jokes will give me a good book. So I start doing anything I can to try and trick my brain into coming up with comedy. It’s always very hard for me. There are lots of days that go by where I don’t come up with anything at all. And then as the deadline gets nearer and nearer it gets very intense. Like I need to do something to write jokes.
So last year, for example, I knew I needed to get away from the family to sort of concentrate. I literally drove to the airport not knowing where I was going. And at the last second I went to Iceland. It’s not that far from the US, it’s only like four and a half hours, I think. So I thought I’m gonna do something different. And it ended up working, which is like a small miracle.
Wow. How long were you gone?
I was gone for about five days.
So you just call your wife and say, ‘Hey I’m going to Iceland.’
Yeah, pretty much! (laughs). This year I feel like my brain is like an oppositionally defiant teenager in a way in that it knows I need jokes but it won’t give them to me? So it’s just a real struggle.
That part of the writing takes a long time, about four or five months. And then after I write my jokes, then I sit down to write my manuscript. And usually at that point I don’t even know what the plot is going to be. So I don’t even know what the theme is. So it’s always a highwire act. I write the manuscript for a month, and then I do all my illustrations from about a month to a month and a half. And I draw for about 13 hours a day. Sometimes 17 hours a day. And it’s very physically demanding, to stay in one place and just draw and draw and draw. And that’s how a book gets done.
So from the time you first start thinking about the jokes to when you send off the manuscript to your publisher, how long does that whole process take?
Typically on a good year, about nine months. Sometimes I have less time than that This year was the most compressed. It probably took me…five months. That’s the fastest I’ve ever done it. It’s a little too fast. Too compressed.
You’ve done 11 books now, a few more including supplementary books. Have you ever thought about the end? Or do you think this will go on for a while?
I hope it goes on for a while. Actually the title Double Down (the latest book) is really meant to reflect my state of mind. This is where I am in my creative thinking; I thought from time to time about writing a new series, because then I would be able to prove that I could do something else.
But I think that that would be a little misguided. I think if I created a new series, just to prove that I could do something else, I don’t think that’s a good artistic choice. So what I’ve decided is that I will try to write this series as well as I can.
I think that most people are very lucky to have a success, you know, a single success. And I certainly feel very fortunate for having had that. So I’m very committed to this series and I want to see how far and how long I can take it.
Have you ever thought about doing a book geared towards adults? Like a novel or maybe even a graphic novel?
I think I’m too slow to do a graphic novel. It’ll take me too many years. Maybe I’ll do one one day. But I like what I’m doing now, like longform comics. I might write a business book for adults. A book about innovation that I’ve been thinking a lot about. I’m partnering with a team that works on innovation. I might end up doing that, but I think that what I am is a children’s writer. And that’s where my talents are best used.
Lightning round questions:
Favorite city?
I really like Riga, Latvia. I didn’t know anything about it and I went there at the end of my tour last year. It’s a classic European city. So that was a surprise. I like what I see of Manila, but I haven’t fully explored it yet.
Favorite snack?
Hmm, I’m gonna go with Chips Ahoy!
Favorite song or artist?
I really like Third Eye Blind.
Favorite TV show?
Gonna go with Lost. I like it a lot.
Favorite ice cream flavor?
Mint chocolate chip. That one’s easy.
If you were to arrange a dinner party for 3 living authors, who would you invite?
I would have JK Rowling, Bob Dylan and…Mo Willems.
I’m sure you’ve heard a lot from your fans here in the Philippines…
Yeah. Actually it was very exciting for me a few years ago when I started getting invitations to come to the Philippines. That was just really wild for me, to think that the books were reaching that far. And so this is actually a culmination of a long-gestating dream. When I was growing up in the Washington DC area, maybe somewhere between 10 to 15 percent of the kids in my class were Filipino, so it’s just really interesting to come to the place where it all started. So this visit really has a special meaning for me.
Have you thought about what kind of gift you want to get for Christmas this year?
I did see this kind of cool thing. It was like an iPhone projector. So you put it inside a litlle box and it kicks out a larger image. I thought that was cool.
If there was one thing you wish you knew when you were first starting out as a writer, what would that be?
I think if I had to do my books all over again, I would’ve made them a little less American. I think that sometimes I write about holidays like Thanksgiving, or holidays that are really specific to the US. I’ve learned that my books are better when they’re more general or generic. Because then kids can see themselves in the characters, which is where I think my books are the strongest. — BM, GMA News
The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid books are available at National Bookstore.
Paul John Caña is a magazine writer and live music geek. Check out his blog manontheotherside.blogspot.com. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @pauljohncana.
