Wisconsin resident James DeVita has been a professional actor for 15 years and, although he's written a number of plays and stage adaptations -- and he's currently the Resident Playwright at First Stage Milwaukee -- he's just published his first novel.
"Blue," aimed at young readers age 10 and up, is described as a "comic 'Metamorphosis' for kids...poignant, gently humor, and highly original."
DeVita recently fielded a few questions from OnMilwaukee.com.
OMC: When did you decide that you wanted to write a children's novel?
JD: This novel actually started out as a theater piece that I wrote about nine years ago. It was a three page monologue in a piece that I performed around the Milwaukee area -- it was an adult play.
Right around the same time I had begun writing for children's theater. My first commission was for First Stage Children's Theater, where I am now the resident playwright and have been for 8 years. Anyway, the monologue was the most successful of a series of them which I performed. I extended it at first to about 30 pages and showed it to a few people I trust and to some young readers. I got some positive feedback from them and...I just wanted to see if I could actually write a novel length story.
I had no experience in writing and I am not formally educated as one, but I had been in theater for many years -- I think that's where my real love for storytelling came from. Just being steeped in so many great plays I think taught me something. The book took about three years writing off and on, followed by three years of rejections. All in all, with revisions and the making of the book, it's taken eight years to get the book out.
OMC: What do you like about writing for kids?
JD: Their lack of agenda. Young readers, I find, want a good story, period. They're not judging the book on how they would write it, or how somebody else would write, or the way it should be written, etc. If the story holds their attention they will let you know it --and if it doesn't, if they're bored -- they'll let you know it twice as fast! They're refreshingly honest. It's also so wonderful to be able to write toward a target audience that still believes in so many things that, as adults, are no longer believable.
OMC: When did you first get the idea for this book? What inspired you?
JD: The book was inspired from that first monologue I mentioned above -- but that was inspired from my growing up on Long Island. I've been in the Midwest for about 17 years now, and I've always missed the ocean terribly. So, the idea of a boy returning to the ocean from where he came was a big theme through the book, and nostalgic for me. I also was intrigued by the idea of trying to become something that you have no idea how to become. Morgan's journey to becoming a marlin sort of paralleled my journey to becoming a writer. We both sort of figured it out on our feet. I wasn't aware of that, however, in the writing of it.
OMC: Although you were 10 once, how difficult was it to write from the viewpoint of someone that age? What else was challenging about the book?
JD: I think it's wonderfully freeing to write through a child's viewpoint. As I said, there's so much that they still believe in, so much that is still a wonder to them. They're still curious, still amazed at things we as adults take for granted.
This being my first book, I'd have to say one of the hardest things about writing the book was thinking that I could actually write a book! I was turning down jobs so I could have time to write and I had no idea if it was any good, or if anyone would want to read it --never mind publish it. I also did a major revision two years into the rejection period that was terrible! It was rejected so much that I thought I would completely overhaul the story -- I did, and lost completely whatever was unique about the piece to begin with. HarperCollins rejected that revision, but I was lucky enough that they set me back to work on the original manuscript.
OMC: How much is drawn from your own childhood?
JD: Much of the book is drawn from my childhood. Although I have no place names in the book, I drew directly from my grandmothers apartment house in Brooklyn -- my memories of the city from visiting her. And my life growing up on the beach, fishing, working as a fisherman, etc.
OMC: Do you have a fascination with water?
JD: That's an understatement. Yes, I always have. I literally grew up on the beach and always wanted to work on the water. I fished since I could hold a fishing pole, played in the ocean before I could walk. It's really quite amazing how much the ocean has influenced my life. I was also a first mate on a fishing boat for five years before returning to college. I dropped out twice. That's what I did before becoming an actor, and, eventually, a writer.
OMC: What's the difference between writing a play and writing a novel?
JD: Good difference: the length. You can take your time and expand and describe things in a novel that can sometimes come across as clunky exposition in drama. Most of my plays have been for children's theater, so I'm also limited by a time constraint -- usually 70 minutes on the outside. It's very hard, sometimes, to get a fully developed story into that time frame.
Scarier difference: the length. I can get myself overwhelmed when I think of it as writing a novel - -just the sheer bulk of the word. I found a wonderful book -- Anne Lamont's "Bird by Bird," a great book on writing. (It) really taught me that I don't have to write the entire novel each time I sit down -- helped me to train myself to shut that little voice in my head off and just write.
OMC: Do you hope that adults will enjoy this too or does that not concern you?
JD: Absolutely. I write for both readers at the same time. I always have, particularly in my plays, and that carried through into my novel writing.This may sound odd -- but I really don't feel like I set out to write a story for kids. I write a story that interests me through the viewpoint of a young person. To me, that opens up so many other things that I can write about. Of course, I'm aware of the target audience, but I've always tried to write for both adult and young reader at the same time. And, of course, there are themes in "Blue" which will probably only be picked up by adults -- and I like that. It's the kind of stories I like to read.
OMC: What have you learned about writing from this experience?
JD: Wow. This is all so new to me. I feel like every moment of it has been learning something. It's taught me patience...in writing at least. It's not an immediate result event. There are days where the writing is fast and furious, days when it feels like slogging through, times when the story has to sit for a while...I'm learning that, to let it happen the way it wants to. But I have to be honest -- I'm learning everything. I didn't even know what proofreader's marks were. I got the first edited pass in the mail and I was too embarrassed to tell my publisher that I had no idea what any of the marks on the pages meant. I ran to the library and copied them out of the back of a dictionary. So, I'm learning a lot.
OMC: What are you working on now?
JD: I started another book about two years ago. It's set about 20 years in the future and it deals with youth violence. I hope to finish it this winter. I'm also writing a play for First Stage Chidren's Theater about the underground railroad in Wisconsin.
James DeVita shares his book, "Blue," at Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop, 4093 N. Oakland Ave., in Shorewood, Mon., May 21, at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Call (414) 963-3111 for more information.
