Literary Birthday – 12 August – Linda Newbery

Happy Birthday, Linda Newbery, born 12 August 1952.

Quotes

1. Stories. They’re everywhere…You never know where they start and you certainly don’t know where they’ll end. If they ever DO end.
2. Many of my stories start with a particular place… It might be a real place, or a made-up one, as in Set in Stone. Together with the place comes a strong sense of period, season and atmosphere. From there I start thinking about characters, and the plot grows from this beginning.
3. Quite often, if I’m stuck, it helps to change to a different scene, move forward in time, or have someone start talking. Dialogue nearly always gets things going again.
4. Write. Think of yourself as a writer. Try to write something every day, even if it’s only for ten minutes. Know that your writing is for yourself.
5. …you can’t write when you’re tired. I’ll do something else, and wait till my energy and ideas come back. I work best at particular times of day – first thing in the morning, and early evening are my best times.

Linda Newbery is a British writer known best for her young adult fiction. She published her first novel Run with the Hare in 1988. The book was the first of several young adult novels, including the Some Other War trilogy, Flightsend and The Damage Done. She also writes for middle-grade and younger readers, and for adults. She has published Writing Children’s Fiction: A Writers’ and Artists’ Companion with Yvonne Coppard. Follow her on Twitter: @lindanewbery

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https://www.lindanewbery.co.uk/about-1/

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