From the time he could read and started loving books, Author and Illustrator Gene Luen Yang has kept an “awesome shelf” of books. One book on that shelf about graphic novels convinced him that the medium of comics/graphic novels could carry any story he wanted to tell.
As a kid, Author and Illustrator Gene Luen Yang often felt “in between.” Not surprisingly, most of his books are based on the theme of finding oneself.
Author and Illustrator Gene Luen Yang did pull heavily from his own experiences growing up between Chinese and American cultures when writing his graphic novel American Born Chinese.
“Can you write a character who is very different from you?” Author and Illustrator Gene Luen Yang understands the challenges around writing characters different from oneself, but it can be done with research, input from people who have lived that life experience, and humility.
Hours of exercise early in the day help Author M.T. Anderson settle down to write, usually late at night, for several hours, when his brain is best poised create stories, scenes, and characters.
