I went to work in 1962, and by '64 I was writing all the time, every night and every weekend. It didn't occur to me that, having read nothing and knowing nothing, I was in no position to write a book.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I remember all the way back in high school thinking about writing books. And, in fact, I've written a lot of stories. I've got dozens of stories I've written that no one's ever seen.
When I was very little, four or five, I did comic strip drawings, so my first novel had no words. I couldn't write and thought adult handwriting was a mysterious scribble. When I was 14, my grandmother gave me a typewriter and I started writing in a different way.
At thirty-five, having spent over twenty years running varied businesses for my family, I decided to sit down and write my first novel. I had never written anything longer than a couple of pages till then and was foolishly attempting to write a hundred-thousand words.
I wrote my first book when I was in my late thirties.
I didn't write anything at all except book reports until I was in seventh grade, and then I wrote mostly poetry for myself.
I began writing seriously in my mid-20s and didn't publish my first book until I was 41.
I didn't originally intend on writing a book. I started writing during the day to feel like I was accomplishing something creative.
I think I had a particular moment when I was 15 years old. I read 'Crime and Punishment,' and that book just, I think, more than any other book made me want to be a writer, 'cause it was the first time that I hadn't just entered a book, but a book had entered me.
I've been writing for a long time. I sat down to write my first novel in the middle of March of 1982.
I didn't start writing my own books until I was 40.