Literary Birthday – 26 November – James Dashner

Happy Birthday, James Dashner, born 26 November 1972.

James Dashner Quotes

1. You’ll work hard to create characters that are compelling and unforgettable. But in the end, it’s the story that matters.
2. Make sure your book is the best it can be. None of this ‘my mama liked the first draft‘ nonsense. Rewrite and revise until it’s very good. Have lots of people read through it and give you honest feedback. Make it the best it can be. And don’t have typos. Please, in the name of all that is good and green on this Earth, do not have typos. ESPECIALLY in your query letter!
3. When it comes to individual destiny, there is no power greater in the universe than the conviction of the human soul to make a choice.
4. Move the reader, make them happy and sad and excited and scared. Make them stare into space after they’ve put the book down, thinking about the tale that’s become a part of them.
5. Be unpredictable, be real, be interesting. Tell a good story.
6. I don’t think anything’s more rewarding than hearing that you’ve helped someone gain a love of reading.
7. To practise – write each and every day if possible – then try to attend professional writer’s conferences where you can learn your craft, get to know fellow writers, and meet editors and agents.
8. You will and should do everything in your power to improve your actual writing skills.
9. To be honest, the one thing I really wanted to accomplish was this: to thrill you, to surprise you, to humour you, to scare you, to help you have a heck of a time reading. I want you to finish each book and feel like you didn’t just waste valuable toenail-cutting time, and feel anxious to read the next one. That’s what I wanted.

James Dashner is an American writer of speculative fiction, primarily series for children or young adults. He is best known for writing The Maze Runner.

Source for Image

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Dashner_(14595088277).jpg

Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

by Amanda Patterson

Are you interested in more authors’ birthdays? Please click here: Literary Birthday Calendar