'One word at a time'

 

“Ithink the reason I'm a writer is because first, I was a reader. I loved toread. I read a lot of adventure stories and mystery books, and I have wonderfulmemories of my mom reading picture books aloud to me. I learned that words arepowerful.” – Andrew Clements  During his senior year at Springfield,IL, High School, Clements’ English teacher handed back a poem he’d written awarding him an A—a rare event in thisteacher’s class.  And, she’d written in large red letters, “Andrew—thispoem is so funny. This should be published!”
As many writers say, a teacher often shapes theirwriting lives, definitely true for Clements, who was born on May 29, 1949.   In college, he began writing regularly and authored more than 70 books, while also working in publishing and as a writing teacher.         His books have won some two dozen majorawards.

“Sometimes kids ask how I've beenable to write so many books,” he said.   “The answer is simple: one word at a time.Which is another good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once.You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to takethat next step, look for that next idea, write that next word.”