'Write 3 pages a day'

 

“One curious thing about growing up is that you don't only move forward in time; you move backwards as well, as pieces of your parents' and grandparents' lives come to you.” – Philip Pullman

Born on this date in 1946, Pullman is the author of the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials.  His newest work The Imagination Chamber, published in 2022, is a companion piece to that trilogy.

 

A native of Norwich, England, Pullman was a teacher when his first published work, The Haunted Storm, came out in 1972.  It was an instant hit, winning the New English Library's Young Writer's Award.  For the next 20 years, Pullman split his time between writing and teaching but has been writing full time since 1996, producing some three dozen books and several plays. 

 

Pullman is the recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council, recognizing his career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense.”  He also is a two-time finalist for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, given biennially to the best writer of fiction for children and young adults.  And the London Times lists him among the 50 greatest British writers of the past 80 years.

 

 His writing advice is simple:  Write 3 pages a day.   “If you can't think of what to write, tough luck; write anyway. If you can think of lots more when you've finished three pages, don't write it; it'll be that much easier to get going next day.”