We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cynthia Platt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cynthia , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I started college without much of an idea of what opportunities and types of jobs were out there in the world, so was firmly convinced that I was going to become a lawyer. It turns out, there’s a lot you can do in the world though, and being a lawyer wasn’t something I really wanted once I found out what it entailed.

So when publishing—being an editor—came up as a possible career I knew that I not only found my path but that the area I wanted to work in was children’s literature. As a child I was that kid: the one who always had her nose in a book. Disappearing into a fictional world played a huge role in my middle school years in particular, but throughout my childhood. It was magical to me the way I could lose myself in a story, feel the elation of the characters I loved, and even deeply mourn the losses of people (or, you know, very clever spiders) I never met in real life. It still feels magical to me now.

With every book I’ve edited or written and with every student I work with, I’ve tried to keep that feeling in mind. You never know what book is going to grab a kid and keep them rapt because it’s different for every kid. But stories are for everyone and everyone has stories that are deeply meaningful to them.

After many years editing other writers’ work—and thinking that writing was some impossible task that I couldn’t tackle—I finally realized I had nothing to lose by trying my hand at writing my own work. And then I wrote and revised. I practiced the craft of writing. A lot. Because like any skill, it’s one you learn as your do it. And I had a lot of learning to do.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a writer, a teacher, and a freelance editor, so I wear a lot of hats. Almost everything I do, however, revolves around children’s literature. I’m on faculty at Lesley University’s MFA in Creative Writing program (where I also got my MFA) teaching in the writing for young people track. This means I get to work not only with brilliant writers as colleagues but also with a wonderful constellation of student writers at different stages of their creative journeys. In other words, I’m really lucky! I’m also adjunct faculty at Montserrat College of Art, where I teach liberal arts classes.

On top of that, I’m the author of board books, picture books, middle grade and young adult novels, and a whole lot of Curious George books. My most recent books include the picture books Grow and Easter Starring Egg; an illustrated young middle grade novel, Parker Bell and the Science of Friendship; and a young adult novel, Postcards from Summer. In fall 2024, my board book Happy Halloween, Teal Pumpkin!, featuring a story about kids with food allergies, will be published.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There’s a real joy when I’m writing and something just clicks. The voice of a character falls into place or the proverbial light bulb goes off in my head when I figure out how to solve a plot issue in revisions. Just as I’ve always lost myself in reading, I can do the same in writing as well. Of course, the fact that things often don’t click make these moments all the more meaningful and exhilarating.

There’s also the joy of hearing from readers. These include little kids who’ve read my picture books and who have a LOT of questions and thoughts on the stories, which I love (and always respond to). But I hear from older readers, too. When my YA novel, Postcards from Summer, was published in 2022 I didn’t expect to hear from readers over Instagram, and then I started getting DMs from readers—some hilarious and others really heartwarming. I’ve gotten to chat with them online, which has been a gift.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I think I tried to follow too much writerly advice for too long. For instance, getting your butt in your chair every day to write is a lovely idea, but when I’m juggling more than one job and parenthood, it’s not always realistic for me. It left me feeling frustrated with myself that others who juggle the same real life stuff can do it while I can’t seem to. It took a while to give myself a little grace about this and to write in a way—and at times—that work for me. Sometimes that means writing a lot and sometimes that means I don’t have the time or headspace to write as much.

The creative process isn’t something that’s linear—it’s always going to have many bends in the road and plot twists, and that’s okay!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cynthiaplattbooks.com
• Instagram: @cynthiaplattbooks
• Twitter: @cynplatt
• Other: @cynthiaplatt.bsky.social

Image Credits

I have credit for all of the images.