I read everything aloud, novels as well as picture books. I believe the eye and ear are different listeners. So as writers, we have to please both. Jane Yolen Read Quote
In college, I wrote newspaper articles and songs. Then, on my 21st birthday, I sold my first book. It was a nonfiction book about women pirates – ‘Pirates in Petticoats.’ After that, I was a book writer for good. Jane Yolen Read Quote
My youngest son becomes an award-winning nature photographer, and I cannot resist writing poems to his pictures. My daughter loves to cook, though I do not. Yet together, we write a cookbook with fairy tales. And now a second. Jane Yolen Read Quote
When you realize my best selling books are ‘Owl Moon,’ the ‘How Do Dinosaur’ books, and ‘Devil’s Arithmetic,’ how can the public make sense of that! I have fans who think I only write picture books or only write SF and fantasy. I have fanatics of my poetry and are stunned to find out I write prose, too! Jane Yolen Read Quote
I think picture books should stretch children. I think they should be full of wonderful, amazing words. Jane Yolen Read Quote
Don’t let anyone discourage you from writing. If you become a professional writer, there are plenty of editors, reviewers, critics, and book buyers to do that. Jane Yolen Read Quote
Read something of interest every day – something of interest to you, not to your teacher or your best friend or your minister/rabbi/priest. Comics count. So does poetry. So do editorials in your school newspaper. Or a biography of a rock star. Or an instructional manual. Or the Bible. Jane Yolen Read Quote
Don’t ever write just for a trend or fad, because it’s a moving target, and by the time you get your work out there, the trend or fad is gone. Dig deep; don’t be afraid to write fiercely. Expose your heart. Jane Yolen Read Quote