Yesterday — in one day alone — I received 121 messages from readers who wrote to let me know that All the Bright Places in some way saved their lives or made them feel less alone. Because of the book, they have sought help for their issues, learned to look at others and the world […]
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Names are important. Some characters are easier to name than others, and that was definitely true of Theodore Finch and Violet Markey, my two main characters in All the Bright Places. (For those who don’t know, All the Bright Places is my eighth book and my first YA. It debuted in January and, in dual […]
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As I’m writing this next book (and any book), there are several things essential to my creative welfare. In no particular order, they are: 1) Daily exercise. If possible I exercise as many days as I write, which, right now, is five, sometimes six. I do it in the morning after breakfast, before I begin my work, […]
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Katherine Mansfield once said, “Looking back, I was always writing. Twaddle it was, too. But far better to write twaddle or anything, anything, than nothing at all.” I have good friends who are good writers, but some of them are so terrified of writing anything bad or imperfect that they just don’t write. Ever. One […]
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Germ will be making its big-screen debut in the movie adaptation of All the Bright Places, the novel where Germ originated. In the book, main character Violet Markey is reeling after the recent death of her sister. She meets a boy called Finch and, along the way, creates Germ Magazine. Elle Fanning, who was last […]
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Growing up, one of my favorite writers was Ray Bradbury. He was the primary influence on my teenage writing. He taught me the importance of a terrific first line, and an even stronger last line. He taught me the importance of writing clear, strong sentences that cut to the heart of the matter– no excess, […]
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We’re buzzing about Miss Idaho, who not only captured the crown at the recent Miss Idaho pageant, she captured our attention by wearing an insulin pump with her bikini. Over the past few days, Sierra Sandison has become a hero of the Type 1 diabetes community, and is inspiring others with Type 1 diabetes to […]
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There are certain rules to texting. Don’t threaten, don’t bully, and don’t send naked selfies to your father. This week, twenty-three-year-old Nyjah Cousar went from unknown Inglewood, California girl to web celebrity after she accidentally tweeted a photo (meant for her boyfriend) of… well, let’s just say of herself… to her dad, and then recounted […]
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Before he was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, Kieran Maxwell wanted to be a police officer. That was in 2011. Since then, he’s endured eight cycles of chemotherapy and the amputation of his leg. But the fifteen-year-old is now officially cancer-free. (!!) And riding to prom in a police car, accompanied […]
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