Lorraine Jean Hopping • Hopping Fun Creations

I grew up in Northville, a small town in southeast Michigan. I have a small family: my Mom (a teacher), Dad (a manager), an older sister (now a teacher), a younger brother (now a lawyer), and Clyde the cat. I went to a small college, Kalamazoo College. I'm small, too—just 5 feet 2 inches.

Right after college, I ended up in New York, a really big city. I lived there for 10 years, working as a magazine editor and freelance writer. Then, I met my future husband, Chris. Like New York, he's big—about 6 feet 4 inches.

Chris and I moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, a medium-size city. We live in a quiet country home with our two cats. I work at home, editing and writing and inventing games.

Our life is big.

I love to visit local classrooms to keep in touch with kids and teachers. The common denominator of every visit is the bottomless curiosity. Here are answers to a few of the many, many questions that kids ask me during my chats with them.

Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

A: More or less. When I was 10 years old, I started a neighborhood newspaper with the cheesy name Hopping Readums. I typed it on an old manual typewriter with carbon paper (ask your parents or grandparents) and sold it for a dime. I also wrote short stories and a little poetry in high school and took all the English and French language classes I could.

On the other hand, I loved math and thought about a career in engineering. It wasn't such a stretch. I grew up near the Motor City, Detroit, and was surrounded by technical types—including several cousins and good friends. IOW, engineering was cool where I grew up. Halfway through college, though, I realized I had to do something creative to be happy. I couldn't draw, act, sing, or dance. (Still can't.) Writing was my best bet.

Q. How old do you have to be to be a writer?

I started writing a steady stream of letters to a favorite uncle when I was in kindergarten until the time he died, when I was 17. Those letters were never published, but I still look at them as some of my earliest and most honest writing. My uncle, who worked at a publishing company, encouraged me to include stories, poems, and anecdotes about daily life, and then never failed to comment on them when he wrote me back. His comments and questions made me a better writer, without me realizing it at the time.

I think a lot of people say, "I'd love to be a writer," but then they don't write. It sounds really basic, but being a writer is about writing--as often as you can. And you can do that just as soon as you know how.

Q. Do you have to go to college to be a writer?

A. I went to college to learn how to think. I chose a small liberal arts school, Kalamazoo College, in order to think about lots of subjects. I ended up with a double major in French and English literature, but took classes in philosophy, history, math, etc. I'm really glad I did. I've had to write about almost every subject under the sun, and so I've put that broad thinking to serious use!

The big point, though, is that I'm still learning, and not just by taking classes. By being a writer, I get to explore topics that aren't even taught in the schools, often by interviewing amazing people who talk to me because I'm a writer. (See "Adventures," above.)

Q. Do you ever write just for fun?
I used to, but not so much anymore. Now, after a long slog trying to meet a deadline, I'd rather read than write. I do invent games for fun, especially language games to play with the immigrants I tutor. I also do puzzles (acrostics are my favorite, but crosswords are okay), play volleyball, and cook to relax.

Q. How did you get your first writing job?

A. For three months, as a teenaged college student, I lived in New York City and worked as an intern at Dynamite!, a colorful magazine for kids aged 8-12. They even let me write some of the articles: how ice cream is made, the history of Frisbees, flower decorating, the artistic weirdness of Magritte, you name it. It was fun! Two of my bosses were Jane and Bob Stine. You might know Bob better as R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps series. Back then, he was the editor of a kids' magazine named Bananas, and Jane was in charge of all the magazines in that group.

After graduation, the publisher, Scholastic, hired me as an entry-level editor for a new computer magazine. I'd never seen a personal computer (this was waaaay back in 1982), but I learned fast. Above all, that job taught me not to be afraid of new or difficult topics and, again, that education definitely doesn't stop at graduation.

Q. What other jobs did you do?

A. As a teen, I worked hard at a parade of jobs: doughnut maker at a local cider mill, cafeteria worker at a fast food place, waitress, film factory worker, office assistant, bookstore clerk. Those experiences taught me to work harder—at becoming a writer.

For four years, I worked as an editor on two computer magazines. Then, I decided to work for myself. I became a freelance writer and editor, mostly for magazines. A job opened up as editor of SuperScience, a new science magazine for kids. It was too good to pass up.

Next, I had the incredible opportunity to invent board games for a living. That job was definitely too good to pass up! I moved back to Michigan and worked for five years at Aristoplay, a small educational game company. What fun! One of my favorite games, Mars 2020, is still in print (see "My Creations").

Now, I'm back to freelancing.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. Learning new things, like computers and science, is always fun. I'm rarely bored. I get to interview fascinating people—astronauts, scientists who chase tornadoes, pilots who fly through hurricanes, and so on. I read tons of great books and magazine articles as part of my research. I surf the web for both ideas and information.

I also enjoy the creativity—making new things. The math lover in me isn't dead. Inventing games and puzzles has stretched both the creative and logical parts of my brain. In fact, at various times, I've become temporarily addicted to games: chess, Scrabble, Tetris, Mine Sweeper, and others. My current distraction is Atomica, at popcap.com.

Q. How much of your work is the publisher's idea and how much is yours?

A. For the first 20-25 years, almost everything I wrote was on assignment. An editor called me up with a project--a book, a radio script, a software program--and asked if I could do it. Some assignments have a long list of specific rules; others are more flexible, and you get to make suggestions or go down a road that the publisher might not have considered.

The bottom line, though, is the bottom line if you want to make a living at writing. Working on assignment is easier in that regard, but you have to write what the publisher wants. If you can just follow directions, you're ahead of many other assignment writers. I worked as an editor for years and was amazed at how many freelance writers don't listen to the specifics and go off and do something completely different (and unusable).

From time to time, I come up with ideas, write a proposal, and approach editors I know. It's harder to get published that way, a bit like making a key and then looking for a door that fits it. The advantage is that you have more creative control. You can make the project your own. You still need to pay attention to the publisher's needs, the audience, and the bottom line, but there's more freedom.

Q. How can I get published? Do I just approach publishers with ideas?

A. No, ideas are rarely enough unless you're a top author with a long track record. Everyone has ideas. Writing is about putting those ideas into words (or pictures or sounds or code, if you're writing computer games or screenplays).

If you're a new writer, you need to prove to publishers that you can write. And, again, that means actually writing. Spend some time polishing, revising, editing a piece that you really like. Hold it up and say to yourself, "Is this the best I can do?" If not, let it rest for a while and then approach it with a fresh brain.

When the answer is "yes," show it to some friends and teachers. See what they think. Listen to their ideas and criticisms. You don't have to do everything they say, but you need to be open to their advice. Then, revise some more.

When you feel in your heart that you have a showpiece, a piece of work that's as good as it gets, then you can approach publishers with confidence. You need to sell yourself, as well as your writing, and it helps to have pride and to know that you've worked as hard as you can.

Q. What's your favorite thing you've written?

A. Fiction. In the 1980s, I wrote fictional computer scripts for software programs, including "Escape from Antcatraz" about an action-adventure ant colony and "The Balloonatics" about a high-flying, 'round-the-world trip. These worked like those Choose Your Own Adventure stories, where the reader gets to pick what happens next. I also wrote humorous science mysteries for the Kinetic City Super Crew, a children's radio program. Having grown up with TV, writing for radio was an exciting challenge. I'd love to do more fiction!

Q. Are there any topics that you didn't want to write about or that were boring?

A. Ultimately, no. Sometimes, a topic strikes me as boring at first, but a big part of my job as a writer is to ask, "What makes this interesting? Why will people want to read about it? Why do I want to write about it?" From computers to hovercrafts to American history or whatever, there's always a way to dig into a topic and make it sparkle.

An author who's incredibly good at that is John McPhee, who wrote a whole, big, long piece about what merchant ships carry. He turned a simple manifest (a list of goods) into a fascinating read. He brought in modern-day pirates, cool technology, sea history, and some interesting personalities on board the ship.

Q. Have you ever missed a deadline?
Sure, it happens. I'm pretty good about that, though, for a couple of reasons. I usually don't get paid until I finish the job. And, when writing professionally, there's a whole team of people on the same tight schedule (photo researchers, editors, graphic designers, marketing folks, production and printing companies . . .). We're all depending on each other to step up to the plate when it's our turn to bat. If one person misses a deadline, it's like a Slinky reaction, with everyone having to adjust.

Q. If you weren't a writer, what would you be?

A. Languages and international cultures are a major interest of mine. In college, I spent a semester in France and really soaked it in. Now, I'm a volunteer tutor of English as a Second Language (ESL) and love it. I organized a weekly group of immigrants who learn English by playing games--much more fun than formal lessons. My group includes Chinese, Moroccans, Nicaraguans, a Russian, a Senegalese, and occasionally other internationals. I probably would have gone into education if writing hadn't panned out. Or maybe travel.

Q. Do you have any pets?

A. We have two cats, Sosa and Boris. As a kitten, Sosa showed up on our doorstep the night Sammy Sosa hit two home runs—numbers 60 and 61--during his race with Mark McGwire to beat the record. Sosa (the cat) is a long, skinny, gray tiger whose nickname is "El Destructo." Boris is a short, chubby, sweetie from the local pound. We call him "The Butler" because he's always the first one to greet people at the door.

Q. Are you famous?

A. No. I'm not rich either. :) Most of us writers are just like other professionals; we work really hard at something we love and feel grateful for the privilege.