A Writer's Moment: 'First be a reader'

A Writer's Moment: 'First be a reader':   “I think the reason I'm a writer is because first, I was a reader. I loved to read. I read a lot of adventure stories and mystery book...

'First be a reader'

 

“I think the reason I'm a writer is because first, I was a reader. I loved to read. I read a lot of adventure stories and mystery books, and I have wonderful memories of my mom reading picture books aloud to me. I learned that words are powerful.” – Andrew Clements

  

Born in Camden, NJ on May 29, 1949 Clements (who died in 2019) wrote more than 80 books, led by his debut novel Frindle, which won multiple awards and has sold 6 million copies worldwide.  The book won 20 state book awards and the Christopher Award given to writing that “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.”  In 2015-16 it was named the Phoenix Award winner for the best book that did not win a major award when it was first published (in 1996).    

 

Clements, who died in 2019, said that in addition to loving to read he had great teachers who nurtured and encouraged his writing.  He started his own career as a teacher, but gravitated back to books, working for publishing houses to help develop quality children's books.  In 1985 he added the first of his own work to the market with a picture book called Bird Delbert. 

“Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books,” he said.   “The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is another good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word.”

 

A Writer's Moment: 'A secret to writing success'

A Writer's Moment: 'A secret to writing success':   “I regard the writing of humor as a supreme artistic challenge.”  – Herman Wouk   Born in The Bronx, New York on this date in 1915, Wo...

'A secret to writing success'

 

“I regard the writing of humor as a supreme artistic challenge.” – Herman Wouk

 

Born in The Bronx, New York on this date in 1915, Wouk admired those who could write humor and thought about being a humor writer himself.  But after working as a gag writer for comedian Fred Allen, he decided to turn toward historical fiction, ultimately writing such massive bestsellers as The Caine Mutiny and the two-book series The Winds of War and The War and Remembrance (all three also made into popular movies).   Good career move.

Wouk actually was leaning toward business instead of writing when WWII intervened and he signed up for the Navy.  During “off hours” – sometimes between battles where he won numerous battle stars for heroism – he started writing to take his mind off the war.  His first effort, Aurora Dawn, a raucous satire about Manhattan's high-power elite, was released just after the war.  A huge hit, it established Wouk as a major new writer.

 

He followed that book with a string of other bestsellers, including The Caine Mutiny and Marjorie Morningstar often drawing on material from the extensive journals he kept about his personal experiences and the people he met or interacted with.  

 

From age 22-on, Wouk kept at least a journal a year until age 100 (he died at age 103 just 10 days shy of his 104th birthday).  He said he often referred to his journals to check dates and facts and found writing them to be a cathartic experience.  Wouk’s journals, 100 in all, are now housed at the Library of Congress – the first batch given at a 2008 ceremony honoring him with the LC's Lifetime Achievement Award for Fiction. 

 

In addition to his journals, of course, Wouk wrote hundreds of essays, short stories and more than two dozen bestselling novels, “Writing success is simple,” he said. “Write a page a day and it will add up.”

A Writer's Moment: 'The need to make sense of life'

A Writer's Moment: 'The need to make sense of life':   “The need to write comes from the need to make sense of one's life and discover one's usefulness.”  –  John Cheever   Born in ...

'The need to make sense of life'

 

“The need to write comes from the need to make sense of one's life and discover one's usefulness.” –  John Cheever

 

Born in New York City on this date in 1912, novelist and short story writer Cheever was one of the most important short fiction writers of the 20th century.  A high school dropout, he was “a natural writer” and published his first short story while still in his teens.  After being published in prominent magazines like The New Yorker. he joined a number of up-and-coming writers in the Depression-era government program called The Writer’s Project, then enlisted in the Army where he had his first book of short stories published while serving during World War II.

 

Among Cheever’s numerous writing prizes were the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize, all for The Stories of John Cheever.

 

 Chronicler of both his times and the people he encountered, Cheever was lauded for his keen, often critical, view of the American middle class.  His stories are characterized by attention to detail, careful writing, and “tales of the extraordinary within the ordinary.”                   

 

Always cognizant of his reading public and what they liked, he once said, “I can't write without a reader. It's precisely like a kiss - you really can't do it alone.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Creating a lasting tale of dreams'

A Writer's Moment: 'Creating a lasting tale of dreams':   “Most people write a lot of autobiography, but when I came to write autobiography I discovered that nothing interesting had ever happened ...