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SYDNEY
1. I continued because I liked it and because I had a bestseller on my hands! Nothing succeeds like success, you know!
2. Both. I have a lot of ideas. But when I want them to come one at a time, I concentrate on one particular story and work out the details until I have a comprehensive plan. I believe in planning, and wouldn’t begin to write something that wasn’t well-planned.
3. I have no favorites, but I’m prouder of some than others. e.g. THE FORT and the MASTERMINDS series.
4. If I could write a sequel, it would probably be to RESTART, because I get so many requests for more about Chase.
5. My Mom, who originally told me I had the imagination and the talent for the use of language, and I could do it.
6. I was 12 when I started, and that was 40+ years ago. I prefer not to share that part of my privacy.
7. When I was under 12, I saw myself as some sort of teacher or scientist. After 12, I was an author, and it was all I ever wanted to be.
8. I always had total creative freedom, so my thoughts wouldn’t have been unusual.
9. I knew writing — like using spelling words in sentences in school — came easily to me.
10. I would love to have a conversation with an author like Douglas Adams, who wrote THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. But collaborate? No. Most writers like to do our own thing.
11. Among my characters, the one I’d most enjoy meeting would probably be Noah Youkilis from the -GIFTED series. The 3rd volume, HYPERGIFTEDis due out next year.
12. Never. I work on one project at a time, and I have never tossed anything in favor of doing somthing else.
13. Cherry bombs? Really? They’re just a nastier form of firecracker. I have no recollection of having mentioned them a lot.
14. Most of my character are around middle school age because that’s the age I write for, and I think it’s a plus when a reader can identify with a character in a book he/she is reading.
15. Hobbies. I’m a fan of football and baseball. so sports take up a lot of my time. I like the beach, and my whole family is pretty active physically and in sports.
16. I would describe my current life in one word: busy.
17. See answer #3
18. No tips, no tricks. Just read a lot, and write all the time, even if it’s in a diary, or a laundry or shopping list! And never set down a word unti your story is well-planned first. Yes, you cn make changes, add and subtract people and even events. But if you don’t plan ahead, you don’t know what you want to say, and it shows in your work.
OK? Hope you enjoy OLD SCHOOL, which was officially published yesterday.
Regards, —–Gordon Korman—–