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All over the place. In line at the grocery store, reading a magazine, surfing the internet. There are stories everywhere if you're looking for them. My favorite writing teacher showed me the trick of keeping an idea book, a journal where I can scribble a good piece of dialogue, an idea for a character, a random quote - anything. I've filled five books in ten years. Not everything in my idea books will turn into a novel, but they're great places to experiment and have fun without the pressure of turning them into a real story. Where did you get the idea for Samurai Shortstop? I've always wanted to visit Japan, and I was thumbing through a travel guide when I saw a picture of a Japanese man in a kimono throwing out the first pitch at a baseball tournament in 1915. 1915! I had no idea Japan was playing baseball that long ago, so I found a book about Japanese baseball. And another. And another. A dozen or so books later, and I had a story about a boy blending bushido with baseball and . . . well, go read the book! What are you working on now? A bowl of popcorn. How do I become a writer? Well, you sit down at your computer and start writing. If you want to write well, I suggest you a) spy on your friends and family and listen to the way people talk, b) keep your eyes open and watch everything that happens in the world around you, c) always start in the middle of the action, d) make sure your story has a beginning, middle, and an end, e) read a lot and imitate your favorite authors. Note I didn't say copy what they write - copy how they write. And did I mention you actually have to sit down at your computer and start writing? Did you always want to be a writer? No, I wanted to be a Jedi master. Unable to master the Force, I quickly turned to writing. When I was in grade school I produced a newspaper for my street, the Blue Spring Lane News, and by fifth grade I had already written a book. It was called Real Kids Don't Eat Spinach, and it was a play on a popular humor book at the time called Real Men Don't Eat Quiche. I think my mom still has it. I kept writing stories and newspaper articles all through middle school and high school, and studied writing in college. I guess I should have seen this coming. When and where do you do your writing? I write on a Dell laptop I bought with the money I made from my first television script sale. I love writing by hand, but it just takes too much time. I find that my thoughts get ahead of my ability to scribble, and then I lose whatever it was I was thinking about. Typing on the computer is so much faster, and allows me to cut and paste and rework with the words right in front of me. As to where I write, my family and I live in a converted broom warehouse with fifteen-foot ceilings, and we recently built a second floor in part of the house. I got to claim part of that for my writing room, which inspires some pretty lofty ideas. (Sorry. Had to say it.) Now that my four and a half year old daughter is in preschool, I research, outline or write from around 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every week day. I'm also a night owl, so sometimes I write very late at night after everyone else has gone to bed. How long does it take you to write a book? The research on historical novels actually takes longer than the writing. The idea for Samurai Shortstop had been percolating for a month or two when I thought of the title and a rough story idea. Then I hit the library, and for the next few months I only did research. When I felt like I could construct a chapter outline of my story, I stopped reading and started building the story. The outline probably took me a month to refine (it was very detailed!), and then I began writing. Once I begin writing, especially when I have a detailed outline that tells me where the story is going, I can write a chapter a day, sometimes two if I'm really cruising. At that rate, I can have a first draft in about a month - but then begins the long editing phase. I rewrite things that are choppy or don't work, bounce the story off trusted early readers, and then go through another round of corrections. From idea to final draft, it probably took me about nine months to write Samurai Shortstop. After it sold, I spent another year doing more research and going through even more rounds of revision with my editor! Did you ever play baseball? I have always been a greater fan than player. My greatest Little League moment: I misplayed a long drive to left field, then absolutely launched the ball, trying to throw a runner out at the plate. The ball sailed up the first base line, over the fence, and into the bleachers, where it hit my little brother in the arm. All the runners scored. After the inning was over, the coach told me I had a good arm. He also told me not to come back. What's your favorite baseball team? Major League
Team: Cincinnati Reds Who's your favorite baseball player? Sean Casey,
aka "The Mayor." He used to be a Cincinnati Red, but he now
plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yikes!
Where do I start? Here are are just a few favorites: Return to About the Author page
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