NY-DOGWALKER asked Suzanne Slade:

I just finished your Dolly book and I really loved it. I live in Knoxville, TN and I am a big Dolly fan. I am starting a Masters in Children's Literature degree at the end of this month. Do you have any advice for me or some lessons you learned while pursuing your degree? Also, how did you get started writing?My passion is biographies very much like the ones you write. *I absolutely loved your George Gershwin book

Suzanne Slade Nice to meet you Alexandra! Congrats on starting your Masters program. My advice would be to try and view your classes/writing as a "journey", knowing that every journey has its ups and downs, which is how we learn and foster resilience. I recall being very excited when I received my first rejection letter on a story because it made me feel like I was "in the writing game." But that excitement didn't last long as my "perceived" failures kept piling up. What I didn't realize at the time was that each one of these "failures" were opportunities that taught me something, and I was slowly moving toward my goal of becoming a better writer. I started writing after I quit my engineering job to become a full-time mother. Classes, critique groups, and lots of practice helped me learn the craft of writing picture books, which I'm still learning a great deal about. Best of luck on your writing journey! :)

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