An Interview with American Girl Author Valerie Tripp

With opening of the new American Girl store in Tyson’s Corner Center in McLean this weekend, excitement continues for local girls who love the brand. The new store includes dolls, books, a doll hair salon and a restaurant. 

The store launch sparked a special visit to the new store by the writer of many AG books, Valerie Tripp. Tripp wrote the six books in each of the Felicity, Josefina, Kit and Molly book series, and three of the books in the Samantha series. Currently, Tripp lives in Silver Springs, Maryland. Although she is a freelance writer for American Girl, Tripp has been there from the beginning when her friend Pleasant Rowland started her doll company. 

“I never expected a career in writing," Tripp said. "Pleasant hired me out of college and I had so much fun doing that.” It’s been 30 years and she’s still writing.

Tripp explained some of her writing techniques and thoughts to Patch:

Patch: How do you prepare to write from a character’s perspective from a historical time period? 

Tripp: I create a character the reader will care about and make friends with so they care what’s going on. After I come up with the character, I do enormous research which includes reading, travel, talking, cooking lessons, fashion, movies, everything regarding the time period. 

The period forms the personality of the character and then I give them lots of problems. The goal is to distill major social problems in the period. The characters are an allegory or metaphor for the major social and political problems. 

An example is Felicity from colonial Williamsburg before the Revolution. I made her impulsive, wishing for freedom even more than she could have. Her story is the same journey as the colonies. Or, the character Kit represents grit and determination to overcome the economic hardship of the Depression to face the difficult time.

Patch: Is there a message to your readers?

Tripp: The overall message is that change is inevitable and the only thing that’s definite. Things will change and you have what it takes to get through it.  Girls are equipped with what they need to face challenges and problems. The stories are gentle life lessons, humorous, sad, and an honest portrayal.

Patch: Do you have a set formula to writing a book?

Tripp: Each book is a different formula.  As you write you surprise yourself.  You have certain goals in mind.  Each book has its own arc.  All characters have an arc that travels through all their books.

Patch: Any advice for aspiring writers on the writing process?

Tripp: The main thing is that the world is abundant. Don’t discourage yourself out of writing. Give yourself time and a chance if it’s something you want to pursue.

Don’t self-edit. Creativity is chaos. This is one of the few times in life when a mess is a good thing. You won’t see neat and tidy until the end. Sit down and enjoy the process. I make circles with ideas with arrows around them to different possibilities for the story and try out all the possibilities. Just relax into it and maybe for fun try changing your story into a different view like First Person.

Patch: Do you get Writer’s Block?

Tripp: I’m never at a loss for ideas. You have to think of the image of a tree, nature with having experience and adventure. It will grow and expand into a multitude of ideas. You must pick which branch is most plausible and fun. I have too many ideas and not a lack of.

Patch: How long does it take you to write a book?

Tripp: About a year and a half, I research. AG has researchers too that can find out, for instance, what Josefina would find at a picnic lunch or how much it would cost Kit to dry clean in that time. It takes about eight weeks to write the first draft.  Then the editor, I go back and forth with her. It takes about three years sometimes. There are finishing touches, first draft, second draft, and the proposal to pitch to AG. When I write, I always have something on the front burner and back burner and dreaming up something new at the time. 

Patch: How does it feel to see one of your books be turned into a movie played out on the big screen in front of you?

Tripp: Very exhilarating and exciting. You hear and see emotions and actions you described and the world you imagined for the character. It’s eerie too. For the Molly books, something my father said to me that I put in the book was said in the Molly movie.

Patch: How do you feel about your readers?

Tripp: I get thousands of letters and I reply to every one of them. I am impressed with the connections that they make to different periods of time and the characters there, how the periods inspire and comfort them. They even have their own suggestions. One girl wrote me about how she broke her arm and wanted to see this in a book, so Felicity broke her arm. Sometimes they’ll ask what happens to a character after the book.  I have many pen pals still from these letters. One just graduated high school and we write back and forth.

Patch: How do you have the time to write back to all of the letters you receive?

Tripp: I love the letters.  If a girl writes me a letter, then she has begun communication, so the least I can do is write back.  I write at the end of the day after my walk.  No emails, but yes, I write back to snail mail every day.

Patch: Do you like making AG appearances?

Tripp: I love going to the AG stores. I meet readers, girls with their families. Usually, in the Fall I visit a few stores. Locally, I also visit Brownie troops, libraries, church groups and classrooms. I have even visited the Library of Congress.

Patch: What do you think of the new Tyson’s store?

Tripp: I am delighted to have a store in my own backyard. American Girl is a wonderful thing to share with people. The stores are beautiful. I know the manager. It will be delightful and enchanted.