How I Came to Be a Writer [Paperback]

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1987

Newbery Medalist Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's one hundred and more books are true to life, funny, and, most of all, well written -- you'd think that she doesn't have to work at writing at all. But that's not true. How I Came to Be a Writer is the story of one author's beginnings -- successes and failures, reviews and rejection slips -- things that mark the stages of a writer's life. Illustrated with photographs, and including samples of her earlier writing, this book will show you the inner workings of the writing process, from the spark of an idea to a book's actual publication.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic; Revised and Expanded Edition edition (January 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590465120
• ISBN-13: 978-0590465120
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,475,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I guess I've been writing for about as long as I can remember. Telling stories, anyway, if not writing them down. I had my first short story published when I was sixteen, and wrote stories to help put myself through college, planning to become a clinical psychologist. By the time I graduated with a BA degree, however, I decided that writing was really my first love, so I gave up plans for graduate school and began writing full time.

I'm not happy unless I spend some time writing every day. It's as though pressure builds up inside me, and writing even a little helps to release it. On a hard-writing day, I write about six hours. Tending to other writing business, answering mail, and just thinking about a book takes another four hours. I spend from three months to a year on a children's book, depending on how well I know the characters before I begin and how much research I need to do. A novel for adults, because it's longer, takes a year or more. When my work is going well, I wake early in the mornings, hoping it's time to get up. When the writing is hard and the words are flat, I'm not very pleasant to be around.

Getting an idea for a book is the easy part. Keeping other ideas away while I'm working on one story is what's difficult. My books are based on things that have happened to me, things I have heard or read about, all mixed up with imaginings. The best part about writing is the moment a character comes alive on paper, or when a place that existed only in my head becomes real. There are no bands playing at this moment, no audience applauding--a very solitary time, actually--but it's what I like most. I've now had more than 120 books published, and about 2000 short stories, articles and poems.

I live in Bethesda, Maryland, with my husband, Rex, a speech pathologist, who's the first person to read my manuscripts when they're finished. Our sons, Jeff and Michael, are grown now, but along with their wives and children, we often enjoy vacations together in the mountains or at the ocean. When I'm not writing, I like to hike, swim, play the piano and attend the theater.

I'm lucky to have my family, because they have contributed a great deal to my books. But I'm also lucky to have the troop of noisy, chattering characters who travel with me inside my head. As long as they are poking, prodding, demanding a place in a book, I have things to do and stories to tell.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It is about the life of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, an author., March 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: How I Came to Be a Writer (Paperback)

This book is very interesting if you like biographies, and is perfect for all ages. She talks about her childhood of writing and making up stories. She says that at first she didn't understand how to read and she thought all of the kids were just making up a story that went with a picture. She also talks about eating her sister's chocolate bunny and having to wear awful boy's clothes! She later on discussed the steps she took to become the marvelous writer she is. When I read this book, I found out that she wrote a series of humorous books on "Alice". The "Alice" books are now among my favorite. I would suggest this book to anyone who loves to read and write.

3.0 out of 5 stars How I Came to Be A Writer, May 22, 2009

By 

Runa "HPLunatic" (Charlottesville, VA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How I Came to Be a Writer (Paperback)

As a fan of the Alice series, I wasn't too impressed by this book. I guess I should have expected, judging by the title, that this would be more of a writing guide than an autobiography. The book itself is kid-friendly, but suitable for all ages. It's very easy to relate to her stories, particularly the ones at the beginning of the book, but then it all falls into writing advice, and those that aren't really interested in writing will quickly lose interest. The book is a great blend of genres, from a how-to guide to humor, with Naylor's own excerpts of childhood writing. Again, going back to my main point, I am an Alice reader. I've read some of her other books, but it's the Alice series that is synonymous with her name, and at the time of publication of *this* book, there was only one Alice book, so that was sorely disappointing. For the die-hard fan and for everyone who wants to be a writer. Everyone else, go read her more recent books :)

Rating: 2.5/5

4.0 out of 5 stars Young Writers, May 16, 2008

By 

Lynn S. Genheimer (Roanoke, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How I Came to Be a Writer (Paperback)

Excellent book for children who are interested in writing. An autobiography of Phyllis Naylor,author of books for preteens,that tells how she came to be an author.