Advertisement
Jeff Kinney, the bestselling author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories 2 (out August 11), spent a few minutes with On Scouting to talk about his childhood, Scouting and the Wimpy Kid book series.
On Scouting: How is writing from Rowley Jefferson’s perspective different from writing from Greg Heffley’s? Do you have a favorite?
Jeff Kinney: It’s funny because when I started writing for Rowley, I wasn’t sure I had another voice. Greg’s voice is very similar to my own middle-school voice, so when I started writing from Rowley’s perspective, I felt like I was in alien territory.
But I found that Rowley’s voice is actually really easy for me. Rowley is such an innocent kid. Despite Greg’s best efforts to get him to act his age, Rowley stays this purehearted, optimistic character.
Something that surprised me was that I hadn’t written in Rowley’s voice for about six years. Before starting this book, I thought, “I’m going to have to go back and read the last Rowley book and remind myself how he talks.” But I never did. I just started writing, and the voice came right out of me. That made me feel pretty good.
OS: If Scouts are reading your spooky stories in tents, cabins or around campfires, what do you hope they’re talking about afterward?
JK: I hope they feel like the stories are original. I think there are some stories in this book that are genuinely different from most spooky stories kids have read before.
Recently, I saw an interview with another author who said that books travel by word of mouth. That’s exactly how Diary of a Wimpy Kid got started. Kids read the books and recommended them to friends. She said something that really stuck with me: No marketing campaign and no advertisement can make a bad book successful.
So I hope readers tell their friends about these stories. I hope they tell them just enough to get them interested — but not enough to spoil the ending.
OS: Greg and Rowley have remained friends through dozens of books. What makes that friendship so fun to write?
JK: I think about their relationship a lot because it’s a little twisted.
Honestly, Rowley should probably find a different best friend. But he admires Greg and looks up to him. Somehow the friendship works, even though on paper it probably shouldn’t. The relationship is heavily inspired by my own childhood friendship.
I had a best friend who I went through Scouts with, and we were almost inseparable.
We learned how to use bo staffs together. We put on a magic show. We created a haunted house. We did all sorts of projects and adventures together. When I write Greg and Rowley, I’m really drawing from that friendship. It makes it easy to add authenticity to their relationship because I lived something very similar.
OS: Do you still keep in touch with that friend?
JK: I didn’t for a long time.
Then about two years ago, he reached out and said he wanted to come visit me. We’re both in our 50s now.
He came up and spent a few days with me, and it was really special. It was cool to reconnect after all those years and realize that a connection was still there.
OS: What still excites you about writing?
JK: Writing is hard.
People sometimes assume that after all these years the ideas just come easily, but that’s not true. It’s a struggle. It’s a grind. Every so often, though, an idea will pop into my head, and I’ll know instantly that it’s going into the book. Those are the moments that put a smile on my face.
That’s the fuel that keeps me going.
I’m also in a very fortunate position now. I don’t have to introduce myself to readers anymore. People know the books. That gives me the freedom to experiment and try things that interest me.
I really enjoy that part of the process.
OS: Was there a moment when you realized Diary of a Wimpy Kid might become something much bigger than you expected?
JK: The first sign was when the original book hit The New York Times bestseller list just two weeks after it was released in 2007.
My wife and I were in our son’s tiny bedroom with the slanted ceiling, jumping up and down on the bed because we couldn’t believe it. The book debuted at No. 7. Then it slipped to No. 8 and No. 9. I remember thinking, “Well, that was fun. I’ll have something to talk about for the rest of my life.”
Then it started climbing again. The moment it really hit me came around the third book. I showed up at a bookstore for a signing, and I’d done plenty of events where one person showed up — or nobody showed up.
This time there were somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 people packed inside. You could literally feel the heat coming off the crowd.
My editor and I looked at each other and thought, “Whoa. This is something.”
That was the beginning of everything that’s happened since.
OS: What are your best parenting tips?
JK: One of the best things you can say to your child is, “I’ve been there.”
Most of the challenges kids face are things we’ve experienced ourselves at some point. It’s important for them to know that you’re human, that you’ve made mistakes, that you’ve failed and learned from those experiences.
Coming from a place of understanding instead of judgment can make a huge difference.
My kids will ultimately decide whether I was a good father, but that’s one lesson I believe strongly in.
OS: How would you encourage a reluctant reader to pick up a book?
JK: Give kids choice.
One of the rules in our house was that we never said no to a book. Even when money was tight, if our kids wanted a book, we would find a way to get it.
I also think parents should pay attention to their children’s interests. If they’re obsessed with Pokémon, give them Pokémon books. If they love sharks, find shark books.
Reading builds on itself. Once a child experiences the satisfaction of finishing a book — any book — they’re much more likely to pick up another one. And I think it’s important not to judge what kids choose to read. The goal is to help them discover that reading can be enjoyable.
OS: You’ve sold more books than Led Zeppelin sold albums. How do you process something like that?
JK: I don’t know that I can.
What amazes me most isn’t the number — it’s that these books seem to connect with kids almost everywhere.
I could travel to China, Japan, Turkey or Brazil, and kids relate to Greg and Rowley in much the same way. I think that’s because the books are about ordinary things. They’re about parents, teachers, homework, pets, friendships, bullies and all the little struggles that come with getting through the day.
When I grew up, I lived in what you might call a monoculture. Everybody watched the same TV shows and listened to the same music. Today, everything is much more fragmented.
So I feel lucky that Diary of a Wimpy Kid might be one of the last shared experiences that kids around the world have in common. A kid in the Philippines and a kid in the U.S. might be reading the same book at the same time.
That’s a pretty amazing thing to think about.
Advertisement