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"You have control over imaginary worlds. You can push your characters around and set the stage the way you want to. It gives you a sense of power."

Children's novelist Sonia Craddock is talking about the control she enjoys when she's creating her own world in a book. "In life, you don't always have a lot of power or control over things," she explains. "When you're a writer, at least you can summon up the characters you want."

Craddock admits there doesn't always seem to be total control, even in her own stories. "Well, the characters sometimes go off in their own directions," she says. "But at least you put the story where you want. You can even make up a total fantasy world, where you really set all the rules and parameters so nobody can argue with you."

Craddock has written five children's novels. She also teaches creative writing and children's literature part time, to supplement her income. But it's the writing she really enjoys.

Writing for children, as opposed to writing for adults, has extra rewards, says Craddock. "One of the greatest rewards is when you get letters from children saying how much they like your writing," she says. "For children to set pen to paper and actually write a letter is quite a compliment in itself."

On the other hand, says Craddock, children are also the best critics. She travels to many schools, talking to children about her work and she says she enjoys the kids' honesty.

"They're not like adults; they don't sit there and say nothing. They're very honest. So when I talk with children, it's a very energizing activity and makes writing very rewarding."

Michael Turner has published two books of poetry and a novel. For him, the thrill of writing comes from being able to reach his audience directly. "I could probably have had a career as an academic, but I guess I was more ambitious... [about] my ideas to get my messages out. There's more immediacy to it."

Turner describes his desire to write as if it were an illness or a compulsion. "I feel I have to write," he says. "It's like an athlete who just has to run. It's something I just really feel the strongest impulse to do."

Even though these writers are compelled to write, it's still a stressful occupation. "I think art making -- or problem solving, which is a big part of art making -- is a totally stressful thing," says Turner.

"People think, 'Oh, you sit back, scribble a few things down and you're done for the day.' Well, it's not like that.

"It's a very active thing. You feel your body stiffen up as you're working through a problem, or you realize, after you've finished working through something, that your shoulders are still up. It's a very intense thing."

Even the littlest details can be a source of stress for novelists. Occasionally, the stories Craddock writes contain historical or factual information that should be accurate, information like dates and place names. It can be embarrassing when she gets things wrong -- and those honest children let her know when it happens.

Craddock remembers one time when she had just finished a novel, set in a real community, and sent the final revisions off to the publisher. In the next few days, 25,000 copies would be printed.

"I was giving a talk to a group of librarians," she says. "I read them the first chapter and at the end of the reading somebody came up to me and said, 'You know, you might like to change a couple of things on your very first page.' I asked him what and he said, 'You have referred to this community as a town. Well, I'm from there and they're very proud of the fact that it is a city.' I thought, 'Oh my goodness, it's already gone to press.'"

That wasn't all, either. Apparently, Craddock had placed the city near the wrong arm of a lake. Astonished and embarrassed, she rushed home to call the publisher about changing the words before it was too late. She was lucky -- the book was printed with the right words.

Craddock's advice to those with the urge to write? "Keep your day job," she says. She also agrees with Turner when she says, "If you want to be a writer, it's got to be because you want to write and nothing's going to stop you."