The Trouble with Twelve, a guest post by Kat Zhang

For whatever reason, twelve felt like a pinnacle age to me when I was a kid. Maybe it was because the characters in my favorite books were often twelve—the last age before becoming a teenager; the last age, it seemed, for fantasy and kid games and messing around. Once I turned twelve, I remember thinking that this was “it.” That I’d reached the end of growing up, and from then on, I might get older, but I’d already matured.

And because I took myself so seriously, I took my writing seriously, too. One of my favorite books growing up was a collection of A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories, which included his poems for children in the back. I learned to read by reciting those poems aloud, and copied his style to compose poems of my own. I also loved creating plays for my stuffed animals, doing all the different voices as they “acted” them out. I did all these things without ever worrying about how “good” they were.

But at twelve, that changed. Poems about “twirling squirrels” and bird poop falling on heads (topics of actual childhood works) seemed suddenly infantile. I didn’t want to just write anymore. I wanted to write well.

I started looking at my work critically, and was both eager and terrified to show it to anyone. What would they think of it? What would they think of me?

That niggling voice in the back of every artist’s head that says I’m not good enough rings especially loud at twelve, and while writing The Magic Paintbrush, it was important to me to show Amy grappling with self-doubt. She wants so badly to be as good as the artists she admires, to the point where she’s too paralyzed to create anymore.

Amy faces a lot of challenges over the course of her story (a nasty villain bent on stealing the magic paintbrush, a journey from the United States to China on a magical aircraft, and several brutish monsters, to say the least!), but her greatest hurdle is her own lack of confidence, especially in her art.

While Amy’s greatest champions are her imaginary friend (who gains new life through the brush’s magic) and her grandmother, for many kids, this can be a teacher or librarian. At twelve, I felt far more awkward sharing my writing with friends and family than I did sharing it with teachers. As luck would have it, I stumbled across a small writing forum where one of the prominent members was a teacher. Though we never communicated in more than emails and forum posts, I carried her encouragement for years afterward. By the time I published my first book, we hadn’t spoken in years, but I still had a letter from her printed on my childhood wall.

Librarians and educators can be such heroes to young artists by giving them safe spaces and opportunities to share their work. Workshops, writing clubs, and contests are great spaces for kids to share their pieces, learn how to take constructive critique, and get support both from their peers and from someone whose opinion they hold in high regard. They’re also the perfect way to realize that the great beauty of art is that you never stop growing. There will always be the next thing to improve, and the best art often comes from not taking things too seriously.

Every time I lead a workshops for preteens, I marvel at their talent (and their bravery!). And I always try to impart that the thing I want them to remember most—far more than any lesson on character arcs or three-act structure—is how to be gentle with yourself. How normal it is to feel like you’re “not good enough,” and how you should keep creating anyway.

It’s been a long time since I was twelve. And as it turned out, there was a lot more maturing to do after that birthday, both as an artist and as a person. But I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for the people who helped me get through that early, rough period of trying to figure out how to be a writer.

Meet the author

Kat Zhang loves traveling to places both real and fictional–the former have better souvenirs, but the latter allow for dragons, so it’s a tough pick. She is the author of the novels the Hybrid Chronicles, The Emperor’s Riddle, and The Memory of Forgotten Things, and the picture books Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao and Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon. When not writing, spends her free time scribbling poetry, taking photographs, and climbing atop things she shouldn’t. 

About The Magic Paintbrush by Kat Zhang, with Eric Darnell, and illustrated by Phoebe Zhong

In this highly illustrated series launch, Amy, a Chinese American girl picks up an ancient paintbrush and unwittingly unleashes the power to make her art real—and sometimes dangerous. Perfect for fantasy readers who love Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor and Dragon Pearl series.

“Gorgeous and gripping, The Magic Paintbrush swoops readers off on rip-roaring fantasy adventure that unfurls like a magnificent scroll…Brimming with imagination and heart…”  Soman Chainani, author of THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL series

Amy has always loved art, but lately her drawings have been less than impressive. There’s no passion, no personality, no…magic. Until Amy visits her Lao Lao, her grandmother, and finds an ancient paintbrush that brings anything Amy creates to life!

Now her creation Luna has taken over her bedroom and is running through the streets of Flushing, Queens. What awaits: an international adventure filled with an ancient Chinese legend, a greedy adversary and ghastly beasts!

Award-winning author Kat Zhang teams up with Eric Darnell, the writer and director of the Madagascar series and the Chief Creative Officer of Baobab Studios, to create a captivating highly-illustrated middle grade series debut about finding your own path, the power of imagination, and the strength of family.

ISBN-13: 9780593179932
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Publication date: 05/21/2024
Series: The Magic Paintbrush
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years

Filed under: Guest Post, Uncategorized