Isn’t it just the quirkiest thing how some characters practically jump off the page, while others feel like they’re stuck in a cosmic traffic jam? Well, in the delightful chaos of storytelling, Jeff Kinney spills the tea on his writing process, revealing how Rowley is a breeze to channel, leaving Greg Heffley doing a bit of a cosmic shuffle. Writers may face the fiery retrograde of revision (23 drafts, anyone?), but it’s those transformative moments, the ones that shake things up, that truly propel a story forward. So, what happens when a character who’s terrified of confrontation finds themselves cornered? Buckle up, because this joyous ride through Jeff’s mind might just take a turn into the unexpected. Will there be growth, laughter, or perhaps a plot twist worthy of Mercury in motion? You’ll just have to keep reading to find out! LEARN MORE.

Jeff: Weirdly, Rowley is really easy for me to write in his voice. I wrote Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid, and then I thought, Oh, this is kind of easy for me. I wrote a few more of those books, and Spooky Stories 2, which just came out. I didn’t even look at the other books to make sure I could match a cadence. I just knew that voice. He’s the easiest for me to write.

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I don’t know why the Wimpy Kid books are so difficult. I go through something like 23 official drafts. I have to read through it repeatedly, and then it finally falls into rhythm at the very end. Even on the last day, I may make hundreds of changes to the manuscript to make sure it hits a particular cadence.

I often don’t understand the work until very late. In Fight or Flight, the breakthrough for me was that storytelling requires a transformation. If the character on page one says, “I’m a coward. My worst nightmare is to get in a fight,” that’s setting off Chekhov’s gun. That guarantees that the character has to transform and get into a fight.

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I thought that was satisfying, but it wasn’t satisfying enough. I realized there were further-out brackets that were bigger and more thematically interesting. 

I didn’t crack that until the end of the writing process — but you’ll have to read to find out what happens!

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