Meet Alicia D. Williams

author of Genesis Begins Again

What is your writing process?

I'm still learning my process. But for now, I allow the project to guide me. With Genesis, it was all about the character and her world. Most of the supporting characters were built from people I've met since childhood. It's funny the memories that came back to me as the story developed. Also, I don't have a writing program. Yep, I still scroll back and forth through my Word doc. In my notebook, I'll mind map, write character backgrounds, timelines, plot ideas, research notes, and questions that may arise. I have to admit, I started Genesis Begins Again in grad school. So many eyes have seen parts of this story and helped me to dig deeper. For my process, I'll also read. I'll read craft books on what I'm struggling with, books that handle those issues well to glean how those writers did it.

There is no specific process for me. I feel like I'm still a student in this area, trying to figure it out with my new WIP.

How did your being a teacher influence the story?

Influence comes from so many different corners in the classroom. I’ve even been inspired by afterschool conversations with peers. While working on Genesis, I was a Teaching Assistant in kindergarten. During circle time, I took note of how children viewed themselves and their world. Also, at the beginning of every year, we’d notice the children of color, regardless of ethnicity, would never choose a brown or dark skin tone crayon from the multicultural crayon selection. Or, they would lightly, barely shade in their faces. I explored the why in my story. I also listened to their curious comments to the stories being read aloud and wondered again. When observing or interacting with students, I’m constantly wondering what life is like for them--at school, home, or even out and about. All of these different discoveries are filed in my mental rolodex to be used as needed.

What advice would you give young writers?

Don't be afraid to dream and imagine. Record your memories and your thoughts, you'll use them later. Don't be afraid to feel both the good and bad, you'll use it for your characters. Write what moves you, makes you angry, what you love, what you'd want to change, to makes you happy--write it and let it be your truth. Only you can tell the story the way you can. 

Tell us about Jump at the Sun!

Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston, my picture book biography about folklorist Zora Neale Hurston is newly published by Atheneum Books and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara. I hoped to capture the storytelling voice because this particular biography lends itself to that sort of creativity. I love Zora! So many people have read her novels, i.e. Their Eyes Were Watching God; yet, many tell me that they didn't know Zora's history. I'm super excited about this picture book!

What's next? 

Shirley Chisholm Dared, picture book biography about the first Black Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, published by Schwarz & Wade and illustrated by Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Award Winner April Harrison will be out this summer. This one is told in a more traditional format. When writing, you'll learn what works for one story might not work for the other. For me, picture book biographies should ensure that children see themselves. It should also answer: who is this person, what did they do, and why is it important that I should know (and remember) them?

About Alicia

Alicia D. Williams is the author of Jump at the Sun and Genesis Begins Again, which received a Newbery and Kirkus Prize honors, was a William C. Morris Award finalist, and for which she won the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent. A graduate of the MFA program at Hamline University, and an oral storyteller in the African American tradition, she is also a teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina.