The Bark On The Tree Was Just

I Think Of A Book And A Play, Or A Book And A Movie, As Two Separate Things - I Don't Think Of It As My Novel Having A New Life.

I Never Think Of An Entire Book At Once. I Always Just Start With A Very Small Idea. In 'holes,' I Just Began With The Setting; A Juvenile Correctional Facility Located In The Texas Desert. Then I Slowly Make Up The Story, And Rewrite It Several Times, And Each Time I Rewrite It, I Get New Ideas, And Change The Old Ideas Around.

I Jog In The Morning And Then Write For About Two Hours. There Are Times When I'm Really Excited And Can't Wait To Get Back To It. But There Are Days When I Don't Know What's Coming Next, And I Really Have To Force It.

I Didn't Become A Good Writer Until I Learned How To Rewrite. And I Don't Just Mean Fixing Spelling And Adding A Comma. I Rewrite Each Of My Books Five Or Six Times, And Each Time I Change Huge Portions Of The Story.

Life Will Deal Me Many Different Hands, Some Good, Some Bad (maybe They've Already Been Dealt), But From Here On In, I'll Be Turning My Own Cards. —alton Richard