Ben, from Omaha, Nebraska wrote, “I want to write books the way you do. I find your characters interesting. How do I make readers care about the characters I invent?” I am not sure there is one way to do this. Moreover, I suspect different writers would answer this interesting question in many ways. For myself,
First off, thank you all for your kind and generous comments. I am truly grateful, so glad that I can be supportive of what you do. I love the fact that all of us share in this great community of writing and reading, this wonderful desire to add good stories to the world. Please, if there are
It was on March 12, 2012, that I began this blog about writing, reading, and the writer’s life. Since that time, usually twice a week, I have put in entries. The goal has been, not to set down rules (I rather suspect there are no hard rules for writing) but to share my experiences as
The other day I received a bunch of letters from a third grade class. Quite brief, these letters had the look, and word choice, of a classroom assignment. Indeed, they were worded almost exactly alike. The class had read my book Nothing but the Truth. Ironically, the letters all noted that the part of the book
I received two letters from two of my young readers today. They came from very different places in the country. Both kids, however, had read my Crispin books. Both told me how much they enjoyed them. One of the young readers stressed how much he was taken by the character Troth. He let me know
Jean, from Doylestown, PA writes, “With all those books you wrote, don’t you ever get bored writing?” To be fair, the answer is yes. That does not mean I don’t love what I do—which is writing—but there comes a time—like any work—when I have to take a break, back away, enjoy a vacation. My way
It is one of the curiosities of my own writer’s life that when I finish a book, and truly know that it is done, I feel sad. It has happened any number of times. The best reason I can suggest is that I have to put the characters aside, and I miss them. After all, I
The other day I was walking down a city street when I chanced upon a street performer, a juggler. I have always enjoyed watching juggling, and much admire the skill involved. (Readers may recall that Bear, in Crispin: the Cross of Lead, was a juggler.) As I watched the juggler, she started with three red
On the first day of this New Year (2014), I sent in a new book to my editor, currently titled Seeing Reds. A couple of days later I was going through my computer’s hard drive and weeding out long-lost bits and pieces. In the process, I came across my first notes for that same book.
Late last night I finished a book I have been working on for many years. I was done. Finished. I could send it in to my editor. We’ve both worked long and hard. This is a book that changed my life. But that is another story. For the moment, relief. Not joy. Relief. I went