NATIONAL NEWS
February 20, 2009
Meet Meg Cabot
The author of the Princess Diaries and the Allie Finkle series talks about her life, her characters and her craft
TFK:
Your latest book, Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Best Friends and Drama Queen's comes out in March. It's the third book in the Allie Finkle series. How did you come up with the idea for this series?
 |  TFK Kid Reporter Morgan Mullings with Meg Cabot |
I had many readers from the Princess Diaries series come out to book signings with their little sisters. They would ask, "When are you going to write a book for girls my age?" I decided that's something I need to do, and I came up with this character Allie Finkle, who is 9.
TFK:How has Allie changed from the first book to the third?
Cabot:In the first book, Allie is very upset because her family is moving from one side of town to the other. She's worried that she'll have a hard time making new friends at the new school that she has to go to. By the third book, she has made all new friends, and she's really happy at her school. In the first book, she's the new girl. But by the third book, another new girl comes. Allie is excited because she thinks she's going to get to show this new girl around. What she doesn't know is that the new girl is pretty confident. She doesn't need anyone to show her around.
TFK:Allie has a problem dealing with a mean girl. Do you have any advice for girls who are going through the same thing?
Cabot:I do, because everything that happened in this book happened to me. I think it's important that that you not let yourself get bossed around and that you stay true to yourself. That is really hard to do because your friends let themselves get bossed around by the mean girls and you don't have anyone on your side. But it's really important that you stick to what you believe in. Allie's problem is that she doesn't like kissing and she doesn't like boys. But this (new) girl wants everyone to kiss. Allie thinks it's gross. She doesn't want anything to do with it. But she's getting a lot of pressure.
TFK:Which character in the series relates to you the most when you were a kid?
Cabot:Definitely Allie because she's really based on me. Everything about Allie is just like me. I had two younger brothers who drove me crazy, and I got a new kitten just like Allie did. When I started a new school, there was a mean girl who moved to my school from Canada, just like in the book. I knew I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up, like Allie, but of course, that didn't happen because I'm a writer now.
TFK:Your real brothers' names aren't Michael and Kevin, are they?
Cabot:No, I changed them a little bit. My real brothers' names are Matt and Nick.
TFK:You must get a lot of letters from Allie Finkle fans. What question are you asked the most?
Cabot:I'm asked a lot about the cat. People always want to know: "Was there really a cat?" and "How long did the cat live?" My cat was a female. In the book, the cat is a male. I had that cat for 20 years. But also people want to know about Allie's life and friends. They ask, "Were the friends that Allie had based on real characters?" They all are, and I'm still friends with them today.
TFK:What is your advice to kids who want to become authors?
Cabot:The number one thing I would say is to write a lot. If you like writing stories—which is what I liked to do when I was a kid—then write stories. Just write however you want. Make them as messy as you want because you're writing for yourself. Don't worry about spelling and grammar at this point. In the future, you will have to worry about that. I kept a diary when I was a kid. Another piece of advice is to keep a diary so that you remember (things). Also, you should read books—comic books, articles, websites or anything. Reading can help you with your writing. And if you really like to write, write a little bit every day. Don's let yourself get discouraged and, if you love it, keep trying.
TFK:When you were Allie's age, what was your favorite book?
Cabot:Probably A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L'Engle or Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.
TFK:How old were you when you started writing stories?
Cabot:I wrote my first story when I was seven. It was called "Harry the Puppy." It wasn't very good. It was part illustration, part words, but mostly illustrations.
TFK:You've written more than 50 books for kids, teens, and adults. Do you have a favorite?
Cabot:I really like this one, Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Best Friends and Drama Queens. It's something that really happened to me, and at the time I was really upset when the mean girl came to class and was just really mean. It's really kind of fun to write about something that happens. When I stood up for myself in front of the whole class, and how the shocked the mean girl was, is something I will never forget.
TFK:In the Allie Finkle books, you write from a kid's point of view, and it sounds very realistic. How do you do that?
Cabot:Like I said, I kept diaries so I can just flip back and look up what I wrote down about that day.
TFK:Do you hang out with kids?
Cabot:I do actually. There are some fourth grade girls who live in my neighborhood. Sometimes, I hang out with them. Sometimes, I pretend I'm talking to their moms when I'm really listening to what they're saying. That helps a lot. I don't want to blow my cover though—maybe they'll read this and they'll find out!
TFK:How do have the time to create so many characters and stories? Do you devote a particular time of the day to write each book, or do you write each book one at a time?
Cabot:I write each book one at a time. So when a book is due I'll spend a couple of months writing that book. I work just like everybody does—9 to 5 every day, until it's done. And then, I'll move on to the next book.
