Interview with Susin Nielsen

Lily Patterson, Word volunteer and long time fan of Nielsen’s novels, had the opportunity to interview Nielsen and ask about her writing process, career, and new works.

Lily: Tremendous Things is your most recent novel; what drew you to the setting of Toronto over your more common setting in your books, Vancouver?

Susin: The idea came from my publisher: would you ever consider setting a book in Toronto? I lived there for 12 years, so I knew some things. I’m ot sure how my Vancouver fans feel about it because all my other books are placed in Vancouver. But I think I made it work, in a narrative about living in a new city, and I got to claim the research trip to Toronto for my taxes!

Lily: I liked the change of scenery! It was nice to learn more about Toronto.

Do you think that in the future you will write more children's books like Princess Puffybottom and Darryl?

Susin: I would like to write more… Picture books are really hard. Alot of people think they’re easy because they’re short, but it’s really hard to write a decent story in such a short amount of time. Coming up with an idea that is that succinct and full is hard, and I’m always impressed with people who do that well. I do have another picture book idea, but I don’t know if anyone will like it.

Lily: How about novels for adults?

Susin: I’ve actually just finished a draft on one. I’m not sure if there will be interest, but a different voice started speaking to me, so I’m writing it and we’ll see how it goes.

Lily: What is your writing process like?

Susin: Normally I don’t have gobs of ideas. I really envy writers who have lists of ideas to pull from. I’m really a monogamous writer in that I have one idea at a time. When I have a draft that I’m happy with–which usually has gone through 10 rewrites–only then will I get another idea. I’ll get a thought about a person and a scenario and write down thoughts about it: “maybe this, maybe that”. Often what happens is an opening chapter or a scene in the middle of the book comes to me, and then I just start writing. I don’t write an outline for book-writing; maybe because I also write for TV. I always have to write outlines for TV writing, so I like the freedom of getting to write without one. It’s a long process. Usually it takes 9 months to get a draft that I’m happy with.

Lily: Speaking of TV outlines – how do you think writing for TV has affected your writing career?

Susin: It’s been really beneficial to me. I think maybe it gave me an edge with dialogue—keeping things snappy and realistic. I’m good at writing chapter endings in a way that adds tension and makes you want to keep reading. I think I’m also really good at not having flab in my books; in TV you're so limited with the time you have, that everything has to count. You can’t have anything superfluous that doesn’t add to the main story. I like that in novels you can get more introspective with the characters. That all said, I think my experience in TV writing has made it more challenging to write descriptions because TV does that work for you.

Lily: Who are your favourite author and what books do you enjoy reading?

Susin: Oh, this is always a tough one. I read a lot, but I’m kind of a slow reader. I like so many different authors and books too… though I don’t really read a lot of fantasy. 

I like Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, and Fayne by a Canadian author named Ann-Marie MacDonald.

In the world of middle grade YA – honestly I dont read alot of it unless it’s for a panel for work – but in that universe I really like a guy named Christopher Paul Curtis. I just think he’s a terrific writer and certainly an influence on me in terms of how he tells a story.

By the way, how old are you Lily?

Lily: I’m 12 years old.

Susin: Ok, I don’t know if you’d like Demon Copperhead… Maybe wait a few years ( laughs ). What about you, who are your favourite authors?

Lily: Hm… I really like Jenny Han. She’s pretty popular now, and a lot of her characters are half-Korean which is really relatable to me. I think that’s why I like your books too, because the characters are my age and live in Vancouver.

Lily: This is related to my earlier question about TV writing; one of your first TV jobs was Degrassi – how has that influenced you?

Susin: It influenced me a lot—I was pretty young, it was amazing to get involved in it, and no one knew it would become a global phenomenon. I was always writing and trying to write screenplays and had no idea what I was doing. Thinking back, it was so bold of me to write a script and just give it to the screen director and ask him to read it. He read it and said it wasn’t very good, but he saw a spark in me and said I could have a shot writing an episode. I was around 23 years old when I wrote my first episode, so not that far from being a teen myself!

I was known as the Queen of Tween in Canada. I wrote for Degrassi, Ready or Not, Madison, Edgemont…

When I wrote Degrassi they did novelisations and asked me if I wanted to write one. I wrote four: Shane, Wheels, Snake, and Melanie. They paid me a flat fee, and it took stories from the show. I had to expand the world and add new stuff in there. And I thought it was so fun, and that someday I’ll write my own novel. That took 20 more years, but it was a really defining moment for me.

Lily: Something that’s been on my mind about your books is that they’re all in the same universe—characters from different books sometimes know each other. Is your novel for adults also set in the same world?

Susin: It is set here in Vancouver! But… I’ve never done an actual character crossover. You’re making me think I should try harder… ( laughs ). 

[..] time has passed for my characters so now I’m thinking, some of these characters have grown to be in their 20s. They’re not frozen in time. It would be so fun to sneak one in. You’ve got me thinking, Lily.

Lily: That would be really cool. Are there any other projects you want to talk about?

Susin: Not too much else. I've been doing a TV show called Family Law. It’s filmed up to season 3, they’ve just finished airing season 2, and were hoping for a 4th season, but we’ll see.