Posts Tagged contemporary realistic middle-grade fiction

Let’s give a warm welcome to Pablo Cartaya for joining us at the Mixed-Up Files blog. Pablo is an internationally acclaimed author, screenwriter, speaker, and educator. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC, and on Oprah’s Booklist. Thank you so much for joining us! It’s a pleasure to have you. Let’s talk about your books and writing!

Pablo! You have had some of the coolest jobs! Umm, Ricky Martin’s body double, for one? When do you find the time to write? Seriously, do you have a daily schedule, or is it buckle down because the book is due, or somewhere in between?

I’ve had some pretty fun, wild jobs (movie equipment truck driver, Spanish dubbing actor, hand model), there’ve been a lot of odd jobs. I think when you endeavor to work in a creative field, you have to figure out any way to keep working to support the dream you have to be a creative. I’ve learned over many years of working odd jobs that if I wanted to dedicate time to my craft, I had to compartmentalize myself and the responsibilities I had. I don’t really do daily schedules per se, but I do have “assignments” that I know I have to complete. Those assignments could be book deadlines, answering interview questions (which, by the way, thank you!), or any number of speaking gigs I may have. And I’ve learned to put each “assignment” into a category, and I set out to check them off one by one. That way, the amount of work never feels overwhelming. Can it get overwhelming even with this compartmentalized structure? Oh, for sure. But the guideline helps!

Speaking of writing schedules, let’s talk about how you write. You write all of your drafts in longhand. Do you just get the draft out, or do you also edit as you go in longhand? Once you type it into the computer, are you working in Word, or do you use a program like Scrivener?

I like the tactile process of writing longhand. Is it an efficient way to write when there are deadlines and loads of planning to do to organize a novel? Probably not. But I think artists need to find the way of working that suits them and go with that. I love the way a pen glides across a paper. I love doodles and scribbles and seeing words crossed out. Because of time constraints, I don’t try to write an entire draft longhand anymore, but I do begin every story I write with a pen and a pad. Then, I open Word and begin drafting what I call my messy draft. I actually call it something else, but this is a family blog. I don’t worry about that draft being perfect. I just need it to be on my computer. My long-time editor said to me once, “The purpose of a first draft is to merely exist.” I think that was a nice way of saying my draft was total garbage, but the idea stuck with me. I don’t need the draft to be perfect. I just need it to exist. From there, the revisions are where I uncover all the things I’m trying to say in the story. I love the art of discovering the story.

Having had all of these exciting life experiences, how many of them come into play when you’re writing? How much of your life shows up on the page?

There aren’t always direct life experiences that show up on the page. But there are amalgamations of feelings, family history, experiences, and things that I read that inspire the questions I’m trying to answer when I write a story. I read a great deal. Newspapers, magazines, books. Loads of books. I believe that’s a great way to understand what you like, what you’re questioning, and what you want to learn more about. From there, feelings take a central role in the process, and I guide my writing from that space. Then, my editor comes in and tells me to clean everything up. Haha.

Did you always want to be a writer? You have so many credits as a performer. Was that your first choice? How did you land your first credit as a professional writer?

I always wanted to be a storyteller. And that has taken many forms throughout my life. I played sports up to college and loved the drama and excitement of competition. As an actor, I was always drawn to the interiority of a role I was playing. Even if it was an extra in a commercial. I wanted to know the character’s story. Writing was a natural progression of that love of storytelling. I took a break from acting when my daughter was born. And I co-wrote a picture book with a pastry chef friend called Tina Cocolina: Queen of the Cupcakes. When the book came out, I visited schools and gave interactive performances, and loved how the kids responded to not only the book but the performance. After graduate school, I turned my focus to writing books about the middle-grade years and began to travel the country talking to middle schoolers about those books. But I did it in a performative way that spoke to the storytelling aspects of writing and being inspired by life’s experiences. Now I travel everywhere talking to kids, educators, and parents in communities all over the world about the power of storytelling. I’ve gotten to blend the performance side of me with the writing to be the kind of storyteller I always hoped to be. I even get to play ball sometimes with kids when I visit a school. It’s pretty dope.

Let’s talk about your latest book, A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation (Penguin May 2025). How did the idea for the book come about?

Remember my editor’s kind words about the purpose of a first draft is to merely exist? Yeah, well, the first draft of A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation had that kind of first draft. To be honest, it wasn’t good. I turned it in May 2020, and it didn’t have my very best work in it. Then, draft after draft, I kept dealing with many personal tragedies, and I just couldn’t find my way to finishing. But I was on a contract, and I had to deliver something. So, I started collecting all the iterations of drafts I had started and stopped, and tried to understand what I was trying to say with the variations of the story I was attempting to finish. I gave myself a guidepost (using the Hero’s Journey) to help frame the story. And then I began using different narrators to help guide the story along. Adding a road trip gave me a clear start and stop to work with. Gonzalo, the thirteen-year-old main character, starts in Mendocino, California, and has to drive cross-country with his ornery and very famous children’s book author grandfather, Alberto, down to Miami, Florida. By keeping them in a confined space like an old car with no air-conditioning, I was able to dive into what the characters were trying to tell me. From there, I discovered the characters were using their art to try and give a voice to their grief. And as my main character, Gonzalo, travels across the country, he discovers his own voice and becomes the hero of his own story. It wasn’t a straight line to get to the end, but we got there. Like any good road trip.

How much did the book change from inception to finished draft?

Like I mentioned above, the book changed quite a bit, but also didn’t really change at all. It became a journey. The variations of drafts became foundational pieces to the story that was ultimately trying to be told. I’m eternally grateful to my editor and the team at Kokila for their patience and faith in me to get it done.

What do you love about writing for middle graders (as opposed to YA or picture books)?

I love the blunt honesty of middle graders. They are emotional, rowdy, hilarious, and don’t suffer fools. I respect the heck out of them. I love the littles (the picture book ages). And I admire the YA readers tremendously. But there’s something about middle graders that I just love. Probably because I remember what it was like to be in middle school. I want to talk to them and write stories for them in a way I would’ve wanted someone doing for me at that age.

What advice would you give to those wanting to write for middle graders?

If you’re an adult writing for middle graders, keep your adult voice out of the story. Kids can tell when someone is trying to talk down to them. Be honest. Be respectful. Have a little fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously, but treat your story with respect.

What are you working on now? What big adventures do you have planned next?

Oh, I CANNOT WAIT to tell you!!! It’s gonna be super cool. Check back in with me in a bit. 😊

Bonus Question: What’s the most memorable comment you’ve received about your work?

I’ve received so many wonderful comments over the years. I’m grateful to every educator, parent, and kid who has ever honored me with reading or hearing and connecting with my stories. One time, my son’s principal called me into the office. She was crying while holding one of my books. The office staff was looking like, what the heck is happening? The principal approached and stretched out the book towards me, then said, “Thank you for this.” Then she said, and I’m paraphrasing, something like, “Our family used your book as a way to finally say goodbye to our grandmother.” It was very special. During one of my school visits, an educator said after a presentation, “He speaks middle school.” Heck yeah, I do. And I think one of my favorites is a kid standing up in the middle of one of my talks and saying, “Pero, like, why is your story exactly like mine??” I love my job.