When 'The Shadow of the Wind' became a success I had already been a working writer, I'd been through the ups and downs, I'd seen how it worked.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The success of 'The Shadow of the Wind' made me very happy, but it did not change my perspective or the way I was.
Like every Southern writer, I thought that I needed to write the next 'Gone With the Wind.'
When I wrote 'Sideways Stories from Wayside School' I never expected it to be published. It was kind of a hobby. Now, it's a job, but it's a job I like very much.
I don't know any writer for whom it comes easily. Maybe John Updike - a story would just seem to come to him whole, you know, out of a personal experience. But the rest of us, I think, are not so lucky, and I had to work hard, yeah.
I just feel really fortunate to build a career as a writer.
I don't believe in writer's block or waiting for inspiration. If you're a writer, you sit down and write.
Not having any real direction, one writer would lead me to another.
In retrospect, it seems like everything in my life led to me becoming a writer. I just didn't realise it at the time.
The idea of writer's block or not having inspiration is totally terrifying to me.
From the moment I wrote 'Leaf Storm' I realized I wanted to be a writer and that nobody could stop me and that the only thing left for me to do was to try to be the best writer in the world.