Blogfest 2009 » Hopkins Ellen

Ellen Hopkins on “If one of your books got banned from somewhere, how would you feel?”

Hopkins Ellen — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:30:04 +0000

Angry. Censorship is a hot button issue for me. No one has the right to decide what someone else can or can’t read. I mean, a parent can try to influence what his or her child reads (but good luck with that, once they become teens). But that parent has no business deciding what someone else’s kid should or shouldn’t read. Let alone other adults.

Ellen Hopkins on “How do you feel about stuff like sex scenes in books? Inappropriate or okay?”

Hopkins Ellen — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:00:46 +0000

Depends on who the book is being written for, as well as the subject matter of the book. For instance, my upcoming novel, Tricks, is about teen prostitution. Kind of tough to explore that issue without a mention of sex. As long as it’s not gratuitous or pornographic, I think there’s a place for it.

Ellen Hopkins on “When you’re writing a book and making up characters, do you feel like you become that character, as well as that character becomes a part of you?”

Hopkins Ellen — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:00:30 +0000

My characters are very real to me. It’s not so much that I become them than that I channel them. They talk to me. Tell me their stories. Sometimes they even wake me up and insist I get up and go write what they’re telling me. That’s really annoying, especially at 5 a.m.

Ellen Hopkins on “If you could have any super power, what would it be?”

Hopkins Ellen — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:00:59 +0000

I would be a shapeshifter. That way I could run fast, fly, jump over stuff, go invisible. Whatever it took.