Edgar Smith asked Julia Alvarez:

I've been a fan of your work for many years and always admired your versatility and adaptability, especially your willingness to go from deeply historical, grown-up topics to YA books and even children stories. As a writer, I can go from genre to genre within fiction (a lot of poetry in-between), but never from one audience to the next. Anything you can share about writing YA after mostly writing for adults? Thanks.

Julia Alvarez You can tell Edgar that what I do—and it might not work for everyone—is immerse myself in the story and in my characters and that’s where I center my focus. Also, it helps to access your own self as the age group you are writing for. What would captivate you at seven, at seventeen, at seventy. What I do not find helpful is always thinking about my audience, what will sell, what they want to hear. Then you sell your characters and story short—and they do not appreciate this! Good luck with your own lived answer to this question, because remember, what works for one writer might not work for another! Julia

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