Ep. 1: The Magic Seed

Episode Summary

Dan Gutman and Hannah, age 11

3/5/2020

On this episode, best-selling author of the My Weird School series, Dan Gutman and 11 year old Hannah hash out Hannah’s story idea at Dear Mama Coffee on the Columbia University science campus in New York City. Join them as they drink yummy hot chocolate, brainstorm on index cards, and meet a tree named Jude. The episode ends with a storytime segment where Dan Gutman reads the original short story, “The Magic Seed” that he grew from Hannah’s story seed. Click here for complete episode notes. 

This Episode Features

 

Hannah, age 11

My Story Seed is ... Two kids: a girl and a boy find a magic seed. They take it home and plant it, thinking that it could be a strawberry plant or something. Instead it grows into a tree that sparks whatever they want on command. Then the trouble begins!

My special skill is … climbing trees and acting 

I’m unique because ... I am the first born, of a first born, who is also the first born of a first born. This goes back many generations. All the way to when our family came over from Scotland.

I Love to Read ...The Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series

If I Met an Alien ...I’d show them ice cream, a movie theater, fuzzy blankets, and a water park. 

Dan Gutman

What I liked about Hannah’s Story Seed was ... It encapsulated the whole story chapter by chapter, the way I would've written it if I'd written it myself. And I said, "This is a kid I could work with. Our brains kind of work in a similar way."

I’m most famous for … My Weird School series (over 10 million copies sold)

My special skill is …  I am pretty good with a frisbee, I play guitar, and I can eat enormous amounts of watermelon and ice cream!

Here’s a writing tip for you ... When you write your stories, try planning things out using index cards. 

Where I get my Inspiration … Some of my best ideas come to me while I’m in the shower! 

Bonus Episode

On this special bonus episode, host Betsy Bird chats with Dan Gutman and gets the behind the scenes scoop on what it was like to grow Hannah’s story seed. You’ll also hear more about how he decided to become an author, get an insight into his writing process, and get a few Dan-approved writing tips! Click here for episode notes and transcript.

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