READER’S FORUM

February 6, 2022 at 05:52 am Reply

Elizabeth

Hi am doing a research project for a class and one of the questions were some of the author strengths and hidden talents and was wondering if you would be able to tell me some?
February 6, 2022 at 06:41 am Reply

Gordon Korman

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Hi, Elizabeth,

Without the full question, I wouldn't be able to tell you very much. Is it about one particular author?

In general, an author's strength is the ability to reach his audience on an emotional level, to be able to make the reader see and feel what the author sees and feels. Another strength is the ability to make the reader laugh. Or even cry. Or root for the hero of the story, and actually feel him/herself urging a fictional character on to some success or other.

As for hidden talents, I think they are very similar to the strengths I have just described. Perhaps a hidden talent -- one the author himself may not realize he/she has -- is an ability to exchange places with the reader, to actually be the reader, and know what he/she feels. I think that's rare, but I'm reasonably sure it exists. There are times I often feel traces of it myself!

If there's anything else, or perhaps a clearer question, you know where to reach me -- right here!

-----Gordon Korman-----
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Hi, Elizabeth,

Without the full question, I wouldn't be able to tell you very much. Is it about one particular author?

In general, an author's strength is the ability to reach his audience on an emotional level, to be able to make the reader see and feel what the author sees and feels. Another strength is the ability to make the reader laugh. Or even cry. Or root for the hero of the story, and actually feel him/herself urging a fictional character on to some success or other.

As for hidden talents, I think they are very similar to the strengths I have just described. Perhaps a hidden talent -- one the author himself may not realize he/she has -- is an ability to exchange places with the reader, to actually be the reader, and know what he/she feels. I think that's rare, but I'm reasonably sure it exists. There are times I often feel traces of it myself!

If there's anything else, or perhaps a clearer question, you know where to reach me -- right here!

-----Gordon Korman-----
February 7, 2022 at 05:38 am Reply

maria

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On this topic what are some of your strengths and hidden talents that many people do no know?

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On this topic what are some of your strengths and hidden talents that many people do no know?
February 7, 2022 at 06:52 pm Reply

Gordon Korman

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Hi, Maria,

We're talking about me here? Oh, wow, I'm probably the last person to be able to judge my own strengths and hidden talents -- if there are any! I think one of my strengths is the ability to work to a schedule. Meeting deadlines is very important because you're not only writing for yourself. You have a publisher with an editing and printing deadline, and if you're late, so is everybody else.

And it's a strength to have the right people in your life. I have amazing editors whose ideas and opinions often have a lot of influence on the direction my story might take. Another real strength is my Mom, who is the best person in the world to bounce ideas off! She has a unique talent in that she remembers exactly what it is to be a kid. It's almost remarkable what her "kid" reaction will be to certain situations. I'm closer to having been a kid than she is, of course, but I don't have the kind of insight and gut reactions to certain circumstances that she does. So she's often a big help to me in the development of my story and characters.

OK? I hope that's helpful. If I have any other hidden resources, I'm afraid they're hidden even from me!

Regards, -----Gordon Korman-----
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Hi, Maria,

We're talking about me here? Oh, wow, I'm probably the last person to be able to judge my own strengths and hidden talents -- if there are any! I think one of my strengths is the ability to work to a schedule. Meeting deadlines is very important because you're not only writing for yourself. You have a publisher with an editing and printing deadline, and if you're late, so is everybody else.

And it's a strength to have the right people in your life. I have amazing editors whose ideas and opinions often have a lot of influence on the direction my story might take. Another real strength is my Mom, who is the best person in the world to bounce ideas off! She has a unique talent in that she remembers exactly what it is to be a kid. It's almost remarkable what her "kid" reaction will be to certain situations. I'm closer to having been a kid than she is, of course, but I don't have the kind of insight and gut reactions to certain circumstances that she does. So she's often a big help to me in the development of my story and characters.

OK? I hope that's helpful. If I have any other hidden resources, I'm afraid they're hidden even from me!

Regards, -----Gordon Korman-----
February 18, 2022 at 06:05 pm Reply

Griffin

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what is your best pun
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what is your best pun
February 18, 2022 at 08:20 pm Reply

Gordon Korman

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Sorry, Griffin, but I'm not known as a punster. I don't know if I've ever tossed off a pun -- not one that I could tell you about, anyway. Sorry. -----GK-----
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Sorry, Griffin, but I'm not known as a punster. I don't know if I've ever tossed off a pun -- not one that I could tell you about, anyway. Sorry. -----GK-----
February 19, 2022 at 12:42 pm Reply

Raymond Jardine

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Griffin, I think this counts as a pun:

Sean wasn't sure if he should chew Raymond out or say, "I'm sorry." "Listen. We're missing the assignment! Did he just say something about footnotes?"

"The bottom line is competition," Raymond went on, as though Sean had not spoken. "I didn't ask for it, but I've got it."

— from A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag

Raymond is clearly riffing on "footnotes" when he switches the subject and uses the phrase "the bottom line."

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Griffin, I think this counts as a pun:

Sean wasn't sure if he should chew Raymond out or say, "I'm sorry." "Listen. We're missing the assignment! Did he just say something about footnotes?"

"The bottom line is competition," Raymond went on, as though Sean had not spoken. "I didn't ask for it, but I've got it."

— from A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag

Raymond is clearly riffing on "footnotes" when he switches the subject and uses the phrase "the bottom line."