Hi, Michael,
Thanks for posting.
I got started writing with a 7th grade English assignment when I was 12. We were supposed to write what the teacher called “a novelette.” What he expected was a story that would last 2 or 3 pages. I got carried away with my story, and quite accidentally wrote over 100! Almost in order to justify doing so much work, I asked my Mom to type it, and she sent it to Scholastic Publishing. They liked it, published it, and that was some 90 books and 40 years ago!
Advice: read a lot, and write a lot too. And NEVER put down a single word unless your story is well-planned. Yes, you can make changes, add and subtract people and events. But the basic story MUST be there before you write — you can’t say anything properly unless you know exactly what you want to say. And you just can’t know that unless you plan ahead.
Good luck! I hope to be writing you a fan letter one day. And thanks again for your message.
Best regards,
—-Gordon Korman—-