Author Body-Swapping:
As a YA writer, Janet Gurtler often has to embody the lives and emotions
of her character. This time, we’re
asking her to channel Sam and tell us some of the character insight we’re dying
to know – first crush, most embarrassing moment, favorite books, music, &
more! And Janet reveals a little of how
she creates such realistic teen characters.
***
“Sam, Sam, Sam. What are we going to do
with you?”
If you can’t tell, I’m using my mother
voice. Also I’m talking to a fictitious character. But we’ll ignore that part. When I write teen
characters I have to turn my mother voice off. (And embrace the crazy.) Truth be known, I am able to remove my mother
voice pretty easily and I find it kind of natural to slip inside the head of a
teenager.
I had a tough time when I was a teenager. I
had a lot of internal struggles. I majored in insecurity and angst. And I
remember many of those feelings really well. Really, really well.
So, getting inside the head of a teenager
isn’t as hard for me as if should be. Of course, my characters aren’t me. I give them different challenges and
different personality quirks. And then I have to try to think the way they
would think. I have to slip into their shoes.
Fortunately, I enjoy imagining getting
inside a character’s head. I like to go deep inside and look at things people
sometimes try to hide. From themselves and from the world. I like to go there.
To places that are uncomfortable. Especially with the challenges of today’s
world around them. Technology. Expectations. Social media.
I took Samantha to some uncomfortable
places in Who I Kissed. Imagine feeling responsible for the death of someone
else. How horrifying would that be? How
would you possibly get over it? Especially when you’re dealing with your own
issues. Sam had some things to overcome
even before the accident, but the accident brought them to the surface with a
rush. Ultimately, Sam has to learn to
let other people in. And that’s not
always an easy thing to do. To me she’s
a fully formed person with a history and built in likes and dislikes. So let’s
take a deeper look at Sam. Let me slide back into her skin for a moment and
tell you some of her secrets.
***
***
Favorite Book- The Absolutely True Diary of
a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
Favorite Song- Tonight Tonight by Hot
Chelle Rae
Favorite Movie- The Avengers
Favorite Food- Jelly Bellies of course! But
as far as real food goes, she likes Mexican.
Bean Burritos. Even though they give
her gas. She probably wouldn’t eat them
on a date.
First serious crush. Zee. First heart aches. Zee. Best kiss ever. Zee.
Celebrity Crush- Corbin Bleu. She is waiting for his acting
career to extend beyond High school Musical
Personal Hero- Missy Franklin
Secret Talent- Sam loves to dance. She
practices in her room with her iPod. At some point, she’s going to try to convince
her swim team to record a dance dare (dancing behind people without them
knowing) for the Ellen show. She knows every dance step to Party Rockin by
LMFAO.
Most Embarrassing Moment- When her bathing suit
split down the butt at a swim meet and she had to finish her race, which was
thankfully backstroke. 
