Friday, April 27th Chat Session with Jenny Han
10:00-10:55 (11:00-11:55am EST)
**THIS SESSION CHAT HAS ENDED**
Shugnow available at all major book sellers.
About the Author
My name is Jenny Han. Han like Han Solo, Han Dynasty, or Hawn, Goldie.
I was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. I have a mom, a dad, a dog named Jack, and a baby sister I used to call Triple-Chin. (She no longer has a triple-chin, but when she did, it was just precious.) I went to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and then I moved to New York City for graduate school. I just this year finished up my MFA in Writing for Children. Right now, I live in Brooklyn, and I’m a full-time writer and a “paid companion” to the most amazing 14-year old girl ever. Love her to bits.
My favorite dessert is cold chocolate cake with white icing, preferably Betty Crocker because it is very moist. My favorite book is a tie between To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and the lesser known but equally magnificent I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. (Please, please read it. It will make you cry it’s so good, and then you will want to be my best friend because I told you about it.) If I could be a super-hero, I would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If I could be boyfriend-girlfriend with any character from literature, I would pick Mr. Darcy or a young Atticus Finch, when he was in law school, maybe.
I love TV, and I’m not ashamed. My favorite TV shows of the moment: Freaks & Geeks, Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Entourage. I could go on and on, because there are the new favorites, and then there are the old faithfuls, those shows that can never be replaced in your heart– Buffy, Felicity, Twin Peaks, Wonder Years, My So-Called Life 4ever. Favorite music: Otis Redding, Led Zeppelin, Lauryn Hill, Nina Simone, Biggie, Van Morrison.
I enjoy falling leaves, baking cupcakes, dark and stormy nights, ballroom dancing, and staying in fancy hotels. I have never actually stayed in a truly fancy hotel, but I imagine I will one day, and I am sure I will enjoy it. Can’t you just picture me in a thick white robe, eating a hot fudge sundae on Egyptian cotton sheets?
My dream jobs: soap opera writer, hotel reviewer, ice cream tester, celebrity shrink, Santa’s helper. And oh, yeah! Book-writing most of all. (Well, behind Santa’s helper, anyway.)
Dislikes: White jeans, heavy perfumey perfume, canned peas, dog breath, Everybody Loves Raymond, the smell of roses
Likes: Cupcakes, thunderstorms, Christmas trees, the beach, sundresses, clean sheets, knee socks, school supplies, corn on the cob
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hey yall! I hope I’m where I’m supposed to be…
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Hi Jenny!
Yeah! I was worried you would find your way here okay. This is where you need to be but I believe you’re early. I’m on Tokyo time and have to work through two different time zones. You’re due to start in less than an hour EST. It’s 10am for the Central Time folks. And I hope you’re still hanging around to read this.
I won’t be moderating this. That will be up to the teacher Ms. Allan.
Thank you so much for participating. If anything goes wrong, please drop me an email. Hope you enjoy the chat.
Patrizia
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Oh, I did get confused with the times! Okay, I’ll be back then. Thanks Patricia!
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Terrific!! We’ll see you then. Have fun!
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Hi everyone
Hope you’ll give a big warm welcome to Jenny.
Your moderator will be your teacher Ms. Allan and she’ll be making sure the chat goes smoothly. To make that happen we have some rules for you to follow. Thank you for your cooperation and enjoy!
Rules:
- If you have a question to ask the guest, please type a ? and you will be put into queue to ask your question. When your name is up, please have your question ready.
-Please refrain from obscenities, personal questions, or any other unprofessional behavior.
-The moderator has the right to delete or remove any questions or answers deemed inappropriate.
-Please do not chat among yourselves. Try to keep on topic and keep questions and answers between the guest and the class member. Remember the chat is only 30 minutes long.
-Anyone that violates the rules will be asked to leave the forum.
Remember to click the refresh button on your browser to regularly update the comments. If you have questions, ask the moderator.
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Good morning you guys! Thanks for having me!
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?Ashley
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Good Morning
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?Dacia.
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Do you have any special routine you do before you write?
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?tung
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No, no special routine for me. Although, I do like to have a sweet treat of some kind nearby!
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After reading parts of Shug, I noticed that the teenager portrayed in the story was very advanced for her age. Were at all like this when you were a child?If not, what were you like?
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?Kim
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Hmm, well I don’t know about advanced, but I did (and still do) love to read and I think that’s part of it. Reading books introduces you to all kinds of things.
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How many times did you think about quitting? You know, put your foot down and says “No way, writing is too boring, I’ll learn to fly instead.”
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I’ve tried to write stories for fun, but unsuccessfuly. I always find myself at a blank. Does this ever happen to you? If so, how do you combat this problem?
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Haha! If only that were possible. I’d be hanging off the side of a billboard right now. I think in the beginning, I thought about quitting, definitely. Writing is hard work. There’s no clear and simple right answer, you just have to keep going at it until it feels right. That can be frustrating. But after Shug came out, I feel like this is what I want to do. It’s my career now, and I’m going to keep doing it until I feel like doing something else!
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Sam, it definitely happens to me. When it happens, I play around with it and write “the fun parts” before I do the hard parts. OR, I work on something else and come back to it later.
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If you could have been ANYTHING else besides a writer, would you have changed your career?
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When you decided to be a writer, were there people who disapproved of your decision? How did you overcome the negativity?
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Hmm, that’s an interesting question, Ben. I don’t know, I don’t think so. My life is pretty good the way it is, I think. I feel really lucky!
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being a writer, how does it feel to have piece of yourself that is “immortal?”
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Actually, no. My parents were really supportive and so were my friends. In fact, I was my own worst worrier– I worried whether or not I was doing the right thing, whether or not I would get published. But it ended up great!
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When you first start to write a book, do you already know how you want it to end or do you just make it up as you go along
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I let the story tell me what to do. I usually start with a character, a situation– and then I let everything else unfold.
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I read about a writer who would stroll through cemetaries for names of characters. How do you decide on the names of your characters?
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Kim, that’s a really neat idea that writer had! I guess I do the opposite– I have a book called 10,001 Baby Names. When I’m stumped, I like to flip through and see what stands out. I also write down names when I hear one I like. I was on the subway once, and there was a police officer with a nametag that read Officer Sipsy. I liked that! So I named a character after him.
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Hey Jenny! ^_____^
In your life, what are the things or events that inspire you to put your feelings and emotions directly onto paper?
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Can I just say that you guys have some of the most interesting questions I’ve ever been asked?? It’s a treat to get really creative questions like these.
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Hi, Jordan and Mehek! Any kind of event that involves tears! Haha. The happy kind and the sad kind– I’m always saying that writers need to embrace the pain and write through it! I think it’s the only way that emotions feel real, when you use your own to inform the characters.
But specifically, like in Shug, I definitely had some embarassing moments in middle school.
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For starters, how old are you? When did you first start writing? What would you suggest to a high school student who is interested in writing?
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where did you get the nickname for shug? i can’t help but think of Shug Avery from the Color Purple everytime I hear it, any connection? Or is it just a shorter way of saying sugar?
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i can’t think of a question. What do you want to tell us?
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I’m 26. I first started writing when I was about 7– I wrote books about stuff I had no idea about, like parents getting divorced or kids with leukemia.
I would suggest to a high school student that they should write about whatever they want to write about. If you like fantasy, do it– just use your own real life experience to make it real. I would also say that you should write and rewrite and rewrite– polish your writing and make it as shiny and smooth as possible before showing it to anyone else! You only get one chance to make a first impression. (Wow, does that sound really preachy? Sorry.)
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Hi Jenny;
Bless you for your generous gift of time to my students. I have a few students who did not have time to ask questions. May I post those questions and, when you have time, you could send an answer by email directly to me>
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Um, be good to people and to yourself? How’s that, Tungaroo?
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Christa, of course! I’m sorry everyone’s questions didn’t get answered. Sorry yall!
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On another note, please forgive Tung. He just likes seeing his name on a screen!