HOW TO PEE YOUR PANTS: THE RIGHT WAY (A Q&A with Rachel Michelle Wilson)

One of my favorite picture books of the year, How to Pee Your Pants: The Right Way is out on October 15th. I had the chance to talk with debut author/illustrator Rachel Michelle Wilson about how the book was made.

Travis Jonker: Hi Rachel! Thanks for taking my questions.

Rachel Michelle Wilson: Thank you for having me, Travis! Huge fan of 100 Scope Notes over here. You always ask great questions.

TJ: Thanks! I’ve been wondering: How many people have told you their pants peeing stories since you announced this book?

RMW: So far I’ve heard approximately 48.5 stories (one was unfortunately interrupted).

Some stories had never been told before due to lingering embarrassment from childhood. Isn’t it fascinating that we can still experience an emotion now the same way we experienced it thirty years ago?

It’s truly an honor when people share their stories with me because I get to witness the shame melt away. That special moment – that space of shared understanding and laughter – is actually what inspired the book.

TJ: I’m always curious about how all the parts of a story come together. Did this story come to you fairly complete, or were there parts that took a lot of trial and error to get right?

RMW: This was one of those rare stories that came to me pretty intact. The title and structure stayed the same throughout the process. Though the first draft felt right in second person, I experimented a bit with the collective “we.” In the end, I found it most effective to only use it once: “We’ve all been there.” A collective shot of empathy after the dam burst.

I also played with a lot of jokes trying to figure out the right beat at the right time. For me, humor is a sort of music. I read the manuscript in my head and out loud until it sounds right. One word or even a comma can interfere with a joke, so I get very particular about all that.

TJ: How did you make the art?

RMW: The trickiest part of making this book was figuring out the illustration style, probably due to fear. I’ve always thought of myself as a writer, but only in the last five years or so have I given myself the permission to be an illustrator. Sometimes the hardest work is sorting through all of the expectations, fears, and doubts so I can actually hear myself. Until then, the process is pretty messy.

I painted my character over and over again in different colors. Is he a blue bird? Green? Purple? Nothing felt right. So I tried painting backgrounds instead. A million color studies later, I was still struggling. Until one day, I was looking for inspiration across the depths of the internet, and I found my way (like I often do) into some favorite mid century illustrators like Bernice Myers, Evaline Ness, etc. They inspired me to turn all of my awful illustrations inside out – to lean into a playful use of white space and a limited color palette. Only then could I figure out my main character.

I’m actually terrified of sharp lines. It sounds silly but it’s true. Because of that, up until this point, I’d used linework more as an accent in my art. But in this story, linework was the key to everything (ah!). So I gathered up all of my art supplies and tried them one by one until I had what I now affectionately call My Watercolor Pencil Epiphany. It sounds dramatic, but this moment opened up linework to me forevermore and changed me as an artist.

After all that exploration and discovery, I finished the final art using screen printing ink, acrylic paint, and watercolor pencil. I layered these digitally in Procreate and added a few details using digital brushes.

TJ: Last Question: What snack puts you in peak creativity mode?

RMW: I’m very food motivated (just like my dog), so any time there is a reason to celebrate like “Wow, I drew a line today!” I get a lil’ dessert or seafood as a reward. I save lobster rolls – my all-time fave – for the big “I finished a book!” moments. Do those count as snacks? If not, my favorite snack is the classic combo of grapes and cheese. It makes me feel fancy. And all of the studies show that fancy people get a lot of creative work done. Feel free to quote me on that.

TJ: Thanks for taking my questions! Here’s a little more about How To Pee Your Pants: The Right Way, out October 15th from Feiwel & Friends.

Well, it happened. You peed your pants.

You probably regret that second (okay, third) lemonade.

We’ve all been there.

This book has some tips to get you through it (including but not limited to traffic cone pants, extraterrestrial negotiations, food fights, and other very practical techniques).

With her playful retro palette, debut author-illustrator Rachel Michelle Wilson offers a space to
laugh with yourself through one of life’s most embarrassing moments and remember that you’re never as alone as you think.

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