Who are you?
My name is James Ponti, and I’m a middle-grade author living in Orlando, Florida.
What do you write?
I write spy and mystery fiction and am the author of four different book series, including City Spies and the upcoming Sherlock Society.
I decided to be a writer when I was in elementary school, but didn’t know what type of writer I was best-suited to be. I wasn’t a strong reader as a kid, so that pointed me toward film and television. After graduating from film school, I started writing for Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.
I didn’t really discover middle grade fiction until I was a father reading with my son. I was really drawn to the diversity and scope of the stories. Over the last fifteen years, I’ve segued from television to books and couldn’t be happier.
I absolutely love everything about writing for kids and am blown away by the feedback I get from them.
Where do you write?
The move from working in television to writing books full-time coincided with my wife and I moving from our home on a suburban cul-de-sac where we raised our kids to a hundred-year-old house in downtown Orlando. It is a fantastic place to write. I have a home office surrounded on three sides by windows looking out onto the street and an endless stream of passersby. It is full of natural light as well as books for research, which makes for a very creative workspace. I do all of my writing on a Mac and have plenty of index cards nearby for outlining and brainstorming.
When do you write?
I write every day that I’m home. (I’ve tried to write in hotels, but the results have been seriously lacking.) I start in the morning after taking my dog Lucy for a walk, usually around 8:00. I also usually like to loosen up my brain with a crossword puzzle or two before jumping into the manuscript.
My writing schedule is not very regimented, although my hope is to write around 2,000 words a day. (That usually doesn’t happen at the beginning of the manuscript, when I’m still laying things out, but does as I advance.) I have two books a year, so it seems as though I’m always under a deadline, especially when I factor in the travel for research and book tours.
When I finish chapters, I always run through past my wife, who is a great initial editor.
I have a tendency, that I have tried to fight with no success, of constantly going back and rereading and editing big chunks of what I’ve written while I’m still writing the first draft. It slows things down, but it seems to be my process and I think it helps with pace and flow.
Why do you write?
I write because I love it. Everything about it. I love the process. I love the results. I love my circle of author friends. And I absolutely love the connection with readers. I have only ever wanted to be a writer and it’s the only thing I think I might be any good at. I’ve had three separate careers – scriptwriter, television producer, and author – and while they seem different on the outside, to me they are all just different angles of one job – storytelling.
As for inspiration, I am deeply impressed and inspired by young people. I consider it an honor that I get to write for them and hopefully help encourage them to become avid readers.
How do you overcome writer's block?
For me, writer’s block tends to be an issue of establishing the voice of the book. Even though I write series, each book has its own voice that is consistent with the others but unique unto itself. When I’m really stuck, I go for walks – I live within a few blocks of two lakes to walk around – and try to work it out in my head away from the keyboard.
Bonus: What do you enjoy doing when not writing?
I love to travel and am on the road a great deal. I love mysteries of all kinds. And, unlike my younger self, I love to read.
My thanks to James Ponti for today's interview.