American - Writer | February 25, 1942 -
One day at my grandmother's house, I discovered 'The Secret Garden' and read it. This was the first book I found entirely for myself, and I cherished it.
Cynthia Voigt
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By the time I started high school, I knew I wanted to be a writer. After graduating from Smith College in Massachusetts, I moved to New York City and worked for the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson.
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To see what books were available for my older students, I made many trips to the library. If a book looked interesting, I checked it out. I once went home with 30 books! It was then that I realized that kids' novels had the shape of real books, and I began to get ideas for young adult novels and juvenile books.
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My writing process often begins with a question. I write down ideas and let them stew for about a year. Then, when I sit down to write, I make a list of characters and try to see how they fit.
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I didn't write anything at all except book reports until I was in seventh grade, and then I wrote mostly poetry for myself.
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I was eighteen when I wrote my first book, and I can't remember what it was called. I have no idea where the manuscript is - I lost it when I was twenty-one.
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I do have trouble starting books. I have ideas that I have trouble starting to write. But I'm the kind of person who tends to finish everything she starts out of sheer stubbornness.
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I'm a big fan of outlining. Here's the theory: If I outline, then I can see the mistakes I'm liable to make. They come out more clearly in the outline than they do in the pages.
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I love teaching; I love little kids.
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Kids are really tougher than adults, but we tend to forget this in an affluent society that lets kids indulge themselves.
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I'm not a compulsive writer. I wish I could be compulsive about something. I have no regular writing routine.
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I was no scholar in college, and was arrogant about what I thought.
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