ReadWonder: An Inside Look #225 (Author INTERVIEW)

An Inside Look with Jennifer Ziegler

(Author of Worser)

*Season #ONE (June of 2016 to March of 2017)

*Season #TWO (Summer of 2017)

*Season #THREE (School Year 2017/2018)

*Season #FOUR (Summer/fall of 2018)

*Season #FIVE (School Year 2018/2019)

*Season #SIX (Summer 2019)

*Season #SEVEN (Fall 2019)

*Season #EIGHT (Winter/Spring 2020)

*Season #NINE (Fall 2020)

*Season #TEN (Winter/Spring 2021)

*Season #ELEVEN (Fall 2021)

*Season #TWELVE (Winter/Spring 2022)

*I'm excited to present season #THIRTEEN with brand new interviews/authors.

*It has been such an honor to connect with authors and "chat" about their novel, characters, and thoughts about the story.

*This is the TWELVTH interview in which I'm calling Season #THIRTEEN.

*Thank you to Jennifer for being the Two Hundred Twenty-Fifth author I've had the pleasure of interviewing. I truly appreciate it.

Worser

by Jennifer Ziegler

(March 15, 2022)

How did you come to know Worser?
Worser popped into my head one day and started talking to me in that precise way that he has. I realized he was a bit of a know-it-all. He used big words and was very exacting with his speech. It was this realization that I hooked into and it helped me understand him. At that point, with characters I’m creating, it’s mainly a matter of widening the lens. Who is this person? Where are they? What are they grappling with?

I came to understand that he was the child of two college English professors. That his father died when Worser was very young. That he was misunderstood and bullied by other kids, so it had been just him and his mother for years – him, his mom, and their shared love of words. And that his mom had recently suffered a debilitating stroke which, sadly, caused her to lose her words.

Like all my characters, I believe Worser is an amalgam of people I’ve known over the years – most of them young people I had in my classes back when I was a middle school ELA teacher. Plus, also like the rest of my characters, there’s a fragment of me in him.

Do you and Worser share any similarities?
Most definitely! Like Worser, I have a passion for words. I was that kid who enjoyed MadLibs, Scrabble, Jumble, crossword puzzles, and anagrams. I still love word games. (And, yes, I am totally addicted to Wordle. I am so glad there is just one puzzle a day or I would get nothing else done.)

Also, Worser and I both feel at home in libraries and bookstores, don’t mind being alone with our thoughts or creative projects, and feel overwhelmed in shopping malls.

What do you think is Worser’s most admirable quality?
I love that Worser owns his intelligence. He’s smart and erudite and isn’t going to pretend otherwise. I have seen too many teens and tweens de-prioritize intelligence as something to admire. I can’t say for sure, but I think it happens because those in middle school and early high school are more focused on socializing and figuring out where they belong.

As a middle school teacher, I met many Worsers – the kind of young people who don’t try hard to fit in but will correct their teachers if they make a mistake. They could be exasperating, sure, but I adored them. They were unapologetically themselves, no matter what. They kept me on my toes and taught me a lot. I imagine many of them went on to do amazing things.

Is there anything you wish he would have changed or done differently in his story?
Had I been a character in my story, I like to think I could have recognized his hurt and loneliness and done something about it. I would have tried to gain his trust and lend a sympathetic ear. Maybe if Worser had had more people looking out for him, he wouldn’t have made such harmful decisions. But, as an author, I have to understand my characters instead of judging them. As hard as it was to write him making terrible mistakes, I knew it was true to who he was at the time. It was a wake-up call – one that led to some real growth.

What do you think Worser can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what he went through?
It’s always validating to see yourself in a story. I know I feel far less alone when I read about someone with a similar problem or outlook on life. If some readers are going through major loss and upheaval, I hope they will see that there is a path forward for them, too, and that they can seek help if they are struggling.

If there are readers out there who haven’t yet found their communities – people who accept them for who they truly are – I hope they find some faith that it will happen and that they shouldn’t give up.

And for all the word-lovers out there, I want them to know that this is my love letter to them. Words matter!

How did you research Worser and the circumstances he found himself in?
I had many brilliant and generous people help me. Doctors, therapists, fire experts, insurance experts, and legal experts. I always start with the library and read as much as I can on subjects my stories delve into. Then I come up with a list of questions to ask experts – or scenarios to run past them. “What would you do if…” is how many of my questions start out. Often, just chatting with professionals will bring up lots of details that I didn’t come across in my research. Their personal tips or experiences. For example, the big calendar on the dining room wall came out of a conversation with a speech therapist.

What was the hardest scene to write about him?
(I am going to be somewhat vague here because I don't want to give away a major plot point.) Late in the novel Worser makes a terrible decision. I knew why he was making this choice. I knew the consequences would be disastrous, but that it would also lead to him accepting certain truths that he'd been avoiding. I knew it had to happen, story-wise. Still, that scene was the most difficult to write. It required lots of research and many, many drafts.

Who do you think was his biggest supporter and why?
This is such a fantastic question, and I really had to think about it. During the course of the book, there are two people who really support Worser. First and foremost is his Aunt Iris. She goes out of her way to take care of him, but she also pushes him to be better. Worser is grieving the loss of his old way of life and does not appreciate this. At first, he sees her as an intrusion and a nuisance. So her support isn’t recognized as such – at least in the beginning. She is pretty much the exact opposite of Worser in temperament, personality, and interests. But she cares. She truly loves him.

The second character who supports Worser is Mr. Murray. He also goes out of his way to make a safe space for Worser. In fact, he goes against his own nature to do so. He and Worser are alike in their preference for quiet and solitude – but they also need others more than they’d like to admit.

Why do you think some young people, like Worser, are able to show strength, resilience, and courage when dealing with personal struggles in their life?
Another great (and difficult) question! In the case of Worser, I think his resilience comes from having to look out for himself for so long, due to the way his mother raised him. Plus, he’s already been through a lot – his father’s death, his mother’s depression, and bullying at school. He’s a lonely kid, one who’s learned he can’t depend on others, but one who’s learned how to do things for himself.

I’ve met many young people who have, essentially, had to be their own parents. I’m not saying it’s how things should be—not at all. And Worser is in no way a shining example of how adolescents should be parented or how they should behave. But I do think young people are capable of much more than our society gives them credit for. We, the adults in their lives, should take a step back more often and say, “I think you have the ability to do this by yourself.” When young people solve their own problems, they feel strong and capable, and it makes them less anxious about the world and other situations they might find themselves in.

Of course, it’s not quite that simple, and I’m sure there are genetic differences that give some of us more grit and determination. But in general, I believe if we want young people to become confident, independent adults, we need to trust them to do more for themselves – even if it means they make mistakes or don’t do things perfectly or seek books or information that make us uncomfortable.

What do you think Worser is doing at the present time?
I like to think he’s hanging out with his fellow word-loving friends, crushing on Donya, helping Mr. Murray, doing more for his mom and aunt, and is about 53 pages into a new Masterwork.

Of course, he’s still Worser. I’m sure it still irks him if his aunt starts singing or wants him to get a haircut. And if someone misuses a word around him, no way would he let it pass.

Book Pages

Monday, August 22, 2022

An Inside Look #225 (Author INTERVIEW)

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