[Ili]

What is ome advice you would give to future authors?

Hi!

Standard advice is to write constantly -- diaries, short and long stories, letters, even shopping lists and memos. The writing develops your facility with the use of language. And -- Rule #1 with me -- NEVER put down a single word unless your story is well-planned first. Yes, you can make changes, add and subtract people and events. But the basic story MUST be there, you MUST have an ending that you're writing toward. If not, you're going to lose your train of thought and ramble.

OK? I have to say that writing is a wonderful profession, satisfying, well worththe discipline and the work! Good Luck!

                                                                                                          -----Gordon Korman-----

[Marco Agustin]

I love your books gordon

Hi again, Marco,

I\m glad you like them. There are 105 so far, so if it's my stuff you want, you won't be running out of reading material any time soon.                                                                                                                                                                                  --GK--

 

P.S. I answer all my mail at warp speed, so you may find a few typos here and there!

[NK]

Dear Mr.Korman,

Hello from India! I am an avid reader of your books and hope that this find yourself and your family in good health. 

A little bit about myself: I used to be that guy that read classics and scoffed at anything modern as lacking a drive or a message. Most characters in modern books seemed to pointlessly float about. 

Though I still love a good classic, reading Restart changed that for me. I really love how you integrate elements of modern life to make a story more relatable and fun, while still sending a message. After Restart I went on a spree, from Macdonald Hall to Mixed Up and it was an inspiration for me to write myself. 

I have been writing a story/blog everyday for a month and sharing it with my friends, who actually like it! (It started out as a joke but I kept writing).  I also keep a diary.

I would really appreciate it if you could give me some advice on how to level up as a writer. I aim to put out a book someday, but have no clue how to start on something so big. I can make ideas for short stories take a concrete form for a small well-known target audience but a book seems to massive and ambiguous to tie together. I feel stuck and have no clue how to improve the quality of my work. I would consider a tremendous favor if you could help.

Yours sincerely
NK

Hi, NK,

Thanks for posting and for your very kind comments on my work.

You are doing EXACTLY what's right to develop yourself as a writer! I always tell the potential writers who ask how to develop their craft to write -- short and long stories, laundry lists, letters, whatever it takes to develop a facility with language. I can see that your command of English is impeccable. What you're lacking is material.

Has it ever occurred to you that a long novel is a collection of related short stories? All you really have to do is plan a story that doesn't end after the first few pages, and another related one, and another, and so on. It's a simple matter of planning a story that doesn't end early, stocking it with people who develop the way you want them to, and tell their stories in their own way. I sweat that's all any of us do.

Try it. And let me know how it's working out.                                                         -----Gordon Korman-----

[NK]

Dear Mr.Korman

Thanks a lot! Viewing a novel as a collection of connected short stories definitely helps make the task a lot more do-able. It got me thinking of building a house. A short story is like a wall, but a novel is more like a house. One has to lay a foundation and connect the walls to build a larger structure. The rooms are the spaces the reader can fill with his/her imagination. The thought is encouraging.

I going to start laying the foundation, and I'll be sure to let you know how the walls are connecting! Thanks again!

Yours sincerely

NK