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Quote by Gail Carson Levine

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Gail Carson Levine
Gail Carson Levine

Gail Carson Levine is an American children's literature author, known for her beloved fairy tales that blend traditional elements with modern narrative techniques. more

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“I had to share a room with my sister, who is five and a half years older than I am. We didn't get along well, and I felt that I had no privacy. So books were my privacy, because no one could join me in a book, no one could comment on the action or make fun of it. I used to spend hours reading in the bathroom -- and we only had one bathroom in our small apartment!”

YearsWellsBookActionUsedReadingFunFeltHoursRoomsHalfFiveSharePrivacyCommentMy SisterApartmentBathroomHalf A Year
Author:Gail Carson Levine
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“When I was little I knew my father had been an orphan and had lived in an orphanage. I was curious, but my father wouldn't satisfy my curiosity. He told only one story about the orphanage, and that was of sneaking out and buying candy, which he sold to other orphans. He said he had a pretty good business going - till he was busted! I guess he told that anecdote because he was the hero of it and I suspect he was rarely the hero as a child, more often the victim. There's a photo of the actual orphanage on my website, and you can see it's a forbidding looking place.”

ChildrenLittlesSaidStoriesFatherHeroVictimCuriosityCuriousBuyingSuspectsCandyWebsiteOrphanAnecdotesGood BusinessOrphanageBustedSneaking Out
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“I didn't write professionally at first. It took me nine years to get anything published. At the beginning I mostly wrote picture books, which were rejected by every children's book publisher in America. The first book of mine to be accepted for publication was ELLA ENCHANTED, and not one but two publishers wanted it. That day, April 17, 1996, was one of the happiest in my life.”

WritingYearsFirstsChildrenTwoBookWantedAmericaMinesAcceptedNineRejectedPublishersAprilPublicationEnchantedNine YearsChildren's BooksPicture Books
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“Writing is a weird thing because we can read, we know how to write a sentence. It's not like a trumpet where you have to get some skill before you can even produce a sound. It's misleading because it's hard to make stories. It seems like it should be easy to do but it's not. The more you write, the better you're going to get. Write and write and write. Try not to be hard on yourself.”

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“No music. No rituals. At home I write in my office or on the laptop in the kitchen where our puppy likes to sleep, and I love his company. But I've trained myself to be able to work anywhere, and I write on trains, planes, in automobiles (if I'm not the driver), airports, hotel rooms. I travel often. If I couldn't write wherever I was I would get little done. I also can write in short bursts. Fifteen minutes are enough to move a story forward.”

IfsWritingLittlesDoneEnoughStoriesHomeAbleMovingSleepRoomsCompanyMinutesOfficeTrainLikesPlanesKitchenHotelDriversRitualFifteenAirportsAutomobilePuppyLaptopsHotel Rooms
Author:Gail Carson Levine
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