Publish or Be Haunted!
Creators on Creating with William B. Wolfe
This week, writer William B. Wolfe takes on the Wiist Lore Five Question challenge. Years ago, Bill and I were colleagues at Louisville, KY's Courier-Journal. He worked as a writer in the fourth-floor newsroom, and I worked as a designer in Creative Services on the second floor. Our jobs overlapped for Newspaper in Education, where we used our skills to create a weekly middle-grade page called 4YourInfo. It was indeed a highlight of my professional career. You can find out more about our work together by taking this ride in the wayback machine, Since then, my friend has gone on to write an excellent middle-grade series about a boy who encounters famous ghosts. You can read my review of his first book, The Phantom Files: Twain's Treasure here, but before you do that, here’s Bill…
1. What are you currently creating?
I’m finishing the third book in the Phantom Files series, which will feature the guest ghost Nellie Bly, a famous American journalist, widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days.
2. Who or what lit the spark of creativity in you?
I always loved reading and writing, and I owe a lot of credit to a high school English teacher who lovingly told me, “If you don’t publish, I will come back to haunt you.” I spent most of my writing career in journalism, but I always had that drive to move into the literary field.
3. How do you stay creative?
It’s easy to be creative. I can think up story ideas in a heartbeat just by walking down the street. The hard part is to take that creative idea and turn it into a truly original, enticing story that will resonate with readers.
4. What word of advice do you have for young creatives?
Take a few words from the shampoo bottle instructions, “Lather, Rinse, Repeat.” But with books, the lesson is to “Imagine, Write, and Rewrite.” Part of those instructions are to take the time and effort to make all your writing squeaky clean. If it’s not, flush it down the drain and try again. And again. And again.
5. If you could be any kid lit character who would it be and why?
I think my favorite character would be from the delightful series “The Magic Thief” by the amazing writer Sarah Prineas. The character, named Conn, is a pickpocket in a city that runs on magic. His fate changes when he picks the pocket of a wizard, and as a result is drawn into a life of wizardry and adventure. I would love to have the heart and courage of Conn as he takes on an evil attempt to steal all of the magic from his city.
Thank you, Bill, for participating in this month's Creators! I hadn't heard of Sara Prineas until you mentioned her. The Magic Thief has now moved to the top of my must-read list. I'm also tremendously excited to learn that your next book will feature Nellie Bly as a character!
The Phantom Files can be purchased from Amazon by clicking the covers below:
Having a little extra time this week with the holiday, I put the finishing touches on another oil painting for my middle-grade book, The Mystery of A Nubbins. Much like Wolfe says above, painting often requires working and reworking until you get it just right. This one in particular required a tremendous amount of thought, but I’m finally happy with the results and now can show her to you. Meet Greer!
Until next time, Always Be Creating (and Reworking)!
—Bill