Landon, from Powell, Ohio asks, “Why do you tell some stories from a girl’s perspective like in Charlotte Doyle?” Well, Landon, as I understand it, slightly more than half the world’s population is female. I do not think I want to ignore that many people. I have many good friends, boys, girls, men, and women.
The story is that Robert Louis Stevenson’s stepson, Lloyd, asked for a map, a treasure map, such as pirates might use. Stevenson drew it, and then wrote a story to fit it. It was called The Sea Cook but later the book was renamed Treasure Island, the title by which we know that book (and
A New York Times article, 3–26–14 “Literary City, Bookstore Desert,” describes the demise of bookstores in New York City. The cause, apparently, is huge rental costs. A very sad story. The story, however, reminded me of my days growing up in NYC, and the many, many bookstores around town. Best of all was what I believe
Samuel Johnson was the preeminent 18th century English literary lion, essayist, critic, and creator of the most important dictionary of the English Language until the OED. When I sent in a new manuscript to my editor, I remembered his words: “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his
One of the difficulties that confront new writers is the myth that writers work alone. I am sure you know the legend: the writer in his/her garret, struggling through the night, creating the perfect bit of writing. Done. Published. Fame and fortune. Despite the fact that the author’s name stands alone on the book, it
Every once in a while, my regular writing life comes to an abrupt halt. I am at such a moment: I have two books at publishing houses, and must wait for copyeditors to complete their work before I dive back into those texts. I have another book—not nearly so far along—sitting with an editor. I
Damon, from Bedford, Pa, asked, “You say you revise you books so many times. How do you know when to stop?” A fair question. Since I don’t believe there is such a thing as a perfect book, there is always something to revise. The question is, are you making the writing better? The point is, changing
As some of you know I do Skype visits with classrooms around the country on an almost weekly basis. The impact, to be sure, varies, but here is a response from a teacher that suggests how well it can go. If you are interested in setting up such a visit, please go to my website.
One of my key techniques when I am approaching the completion of a manuscript is a one day read through and re-write. I did this yesterday. It works like this. I got up early—you will see why—and bring up the complete text of my manuscript (in this case 263 pages) on my computer screen. Then
My next book, Catch You Later, Traitor, will be published early next year. It is, as they say, in production. I get the first copy-edited pass this week. The story is told by Pete, in the first person. Today, I received this note from my editor’s assistant: “One more thing: Our art director has asked me