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I enjoy writing for third and fourth graders most of all.

I started trying to write when I was in second or third grade.

I feel like you learn how to do school in second grade through fifth grade. During those years, I was never home.

You walk into the class in second grade. You can't read. What are you going to do if you're going to make it? You identify the smart kid. You make friends with him. You sit next to him. You grow a team around you. You delegate your work to others. You learn how to talk your way out of a tight spot.

I started writing stories in sixth grade. But writing wasn't cool, like being good at sports, or being part of the in crowd, or winning fights on the playground.

It was my fifth grade teacher who introduced the idea that writing could be more than a hobby for me.

I went to college, but I learned to write by reading - and writing.

Ever since I could first write I have been doing so. When I was taught how to write and read at school, I made up my mind that this was what I love to do best and this was the world I was going to occupy.

The most important lesson my parents taught me is that writing is a job, one that requires discipline and commitment. Most of the time it's a fun job, a wonderful job, but sometimes it isn't, and those are the days that test you.

I wasn't a very good student in elementary school and had a hard time with reading and writing.