Interview with Maria Scrivan, Author and Illustrator of Nat a Chance
Welcome to Smack Dab, Maria! Please tell us a bit about Nat a Chance.
Thank you, I’m happy to be here!
Nat a Chance is the sixth book in the Nat Enough graphic novel series. Nat is sure she’s not an athlete. She’s either falling on her face, in the nurse’s office, or both. She considers herself a failure at every sport, and is consistently picked last for gym. After a few mishaps, her best friend, Zoe, persuades Nat to join her to train for a triathlon. This is way out of Nat’s comfort zone; so much so that on the first day of training she tells the coach that she doesn’t belong there because she’s not an athlete. The coach responds, “that’s just a story you’ve been telling yourself, don’t believe it.” Nat a Chance is about the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when we challenge those false beliefs.
I’m a total sucker for a humorous voice, so of course I fell in love with Nat on page 1. How’d you tap into MG humor?
When I first had the idea to write Nat Enough, I just started writing vignettes of things that happened in middle school, without having any idea where it was going. The more I wrote, the more I realized that while many things that had transpired were not funny at the time, years later there was a lot of great material in all of the mishaps and life lessons along the way. Having a syndicated comic for over a decade taught me to look at life through the lens of humor, and I applied that same filter to my middle grade experiences. It was exceptionally cathartic to relive those experiences with an entirely different perspective.
I can also empathize with and relate to Nat. I've always been the completely non-athletic bookworm. You speak quite a bit in the Author’s Note about not being an athlete, either. Can you say a bit about those limiting stories we tell ourselves?
I share the same story as Nat, that I wasn’t an athlete, and I carried that to college when some friends invited me to join the rowing team. This was so far out of my comfort zone, extremely challenging, and fostered a life-long love of sports, and a realization that the story that I wasn’t an athlete was entirely false.
We are so used to hearing messages about who we are from ourselves, our parents, friends, teachers, and often adopt these ideas as our own without question.
We can carry a story around for a long time — whether we’re not an athlete, we’re bad at math, can’t sing, or think we’re shy. Those thoughts become beliefs, and those beliefs shape our reality, and our definition of who we are. I have done so much research about how much our words and thoughts matter, and this book was written as a reminder to myself to be mindful about the internal language I use to describe who I am.
In the beginning, it’s friendship that motivates Nat. Friendships are so incredibly important at this age. How important was friendship in actually crafting Nat’s character?
Friendships are especially volatile and challenging during middle school. In Nat Enough, Nat’s best friend from second grade, Lily, no longer wants to be friends once they get to middle school. I had this same experience, and while devastating at the time, I realized the importance of surrounding myself with people that lift me up instead of put me down. Nat learns a lot about herself through her closest friendships. Zoe gently guides Nat out of her comfort zone, Flo is always there to offer wisdom, and Luca becomes her partner in creating a comics club in Nat for Nothing. Through their own kindness, and willingness to show up for her, Nat’s friends teach her to be a better friend by example.
I also enjoyed how Nat lists being Zoe’s training partner as just another impossible thing in her life. The book really challenges the concept of natural talent. What did you want young readers to know about innate ability?
I think the idea of innate ability can also be a limiting belief, and can stop us before we even begin to try. Nat a Chance explores the concepts of perseverance and determination. There is so much power in just showing up, and letting each of the next steps be revealed to us along the way. I loved exploring the idea of “impossible things” both in the main story and in the Nat in Wonderland mini-comic at the end. I know from personal experience that stepping out of our comfort zone and achieving one ‘impossible thing’ opens the doors to realizing so much more is possible than we imagined.
I also enjoyed the way Nat battles doubts and struggles with training throughout, asking herself, “Why is this fun again?” How did you go about depicting how really hard it can be to persevere while maintaining an encouraging tone?
Growth is hard! Especially when we're moving out of our comfort zone and trying something new. I've been in that place so many times in my life, and have realized time and time again that the greatest growth comes from the biggest challenges. The encouraging tone comes from knowing that there is a reason for the challenge, and even if I don't want to have that experience at the time, I always know that I am stronger for it.
I’m an author who recently got back into art. Any drawing tips for the young or young at heart?
My best advice is to draw a lot and read a lot of illustrated books and comics. Keep a sketchbook with you at all times for any tiny moment that you have to yourself. Waiting for a friend at a coffee shop or being in a waiting room is a great opportunity to draw. Participate in events like Inktober and Hourly Comic Day to help create self-imposed deadlines. Above all, have fun. Art is meant to be joyful. There are no mistakes in art. Each drawing leads to the next drawing, no matter what happens on the page. Every time the pencil hits the paper, it’s an entirely new adventure.
Often, I find graphic novelists are frequently more tightly organized plotters than writers. How did you go about plotting Nat a Chance?
Once I know what the story is, I start out by writing a brief outline that only takes about three pages. This is purely a roadmap, in the same way that on a road trip I know where I’m headed but have no idea what I'm going to see along the way. Watching what develops is the magic of writing. I like to have a basic idea of what the plot points are, but I never really know what will happen in the story, until I start sketching. My first draft is rough drawings of the entire book. I sketch as much detail as I can including expressions, body language, and dialogue. I work best to write and draw simultaneously.
The end of the book also doesn’t stop with the race. We see how life changes for Nat after conquering this goal. What did you want young readers to see with this extended resolution?
My hope is that readers realize they have the agency to change their thoughts and beliefs about themselves to remove self-imposed limitations of what is possible. I also hope that readers laugh, have fun, and realize they are not alone in their feelings.
What’s next?
I have a few projects that I’m so excited to talk about but can’t announce just yet. Keep an eye out on social media @mariascrivan for more details, coming soon!
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| Photo Credit: Kyle Norton |
Where can we find you?
You can find me at http://www.mariascrivan.com as well as @mariascrivan across all social media. If you’re looking for me in person, I’m at my drawing table, in a coffee shop, or running on the trails in the nearby woods.
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Maria Scrivan is a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning syndicated cartoonist.
The first book in her graphic novel series, Nat Enough (Scholastic/Graphix), launched on April 7th, 2020, became an instant New York Times bestseller. It was followed by: Forget Me Nat, Absolutely Nat, Definitely Nat, Nat for Nothing, and All is Nat Lost. Nat a Chance will be available in Spring 2025. She is also a contributor to Marvel’s Super Stories which released in October 2023.
Website: https://www.mariascrivan.com/
Instagram: @mariascrivan
Facebook: Maria Scrivan
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