'Start your writing where it's most vivid'

 

“I don't necessarily start with the beginning of the book. I just start with the part of the story that's most vivid in my imagination and work forward and backward from there.” – Beverly Cleary 

Cleary, born on April 12, 1916, created vivid, outstanding characters and had an outsized

 impact on generations of young people  

 who might not have had the impetus to pick up a book or listen to a story until they saw or heard something she had written.

“The world has changed, especially for kids, but kids' needs haven't changed,” Cleary reflected on the occasion of her 100th birthday (she lived to nearly 105).   “They still need to feel safe, be close to their families, like their teachers, and have friends to play with.”

“Quite often,” Cleary noted,  “somebody will say to me, ‘What year do your books take place?’ and the only answer I can give is, ‘In childhood’.”