I made my initial school visit in 1970, shortly after my first published book, Things That Sometimes Happen, appeared. Since that time, I have made countless class visits, for the most part in person, and more recently also via virtual platform. I think I can safely say that, at almost all of these visits at some point, a young person will raise a hand and ask a variant of this question: “What advice can you give so I can become a writer?”
“What advice can you give
so I can become a writer?”
To be sure, it’s important to add that not everyone in that room wants to be a writer. In fact, only a few will articulate that ambition. Indeed, in the room there will be a fair number of reluctant readers, and some, alas, who don’t like to read at all. Authors visiting classrooms are not preaching to the choir. But we are — willy nilly — by virtue of being there, promoting reading and then, perhaps, writing. Writing — as I do it — is an option. Reading, in our world, is essential.
I have a fairly stock answer to the question, something in which I truly believe. I say, “If you want to be a writer, you must first become a reader. The more you read, the better a writer you can become. Reading is the best teacher of writing.”
“Read, read, and then read some more.”
Then I say, “Read, read, and then read some more. Then when you finish all that reading, read, read, and read some more. Next, read, read, and read some more. Finally, when you have done all that reading, read, read, and read some more. When you have done all that reading, you will be a better writer.”
By the time I get to that last “read, read, and read some more,” there usually is laughter and smiles. I can only hope I’ve made the point, something I deeply believe: reading is a fundamental part of writing.
Yes, if called upon to say more, I will stress the necessity of writing for others and the obligatory need for rewriting, quoting one of the crucial pieces of advice I was given when I was a young writer: “It takes a heap of manure to make a flower grow.”
“It takes a heap of manure
to make a flower grow.”
Have I ever effectively guided a young person into becoming a writer? I don’t know. I have never received a letter that read, “When I was in 6th grade, you visited my class. I listened to your advice. Here’s my first published book … ”
But I suspect that every writer who has visited a class has been asked the same question I’ve been asked. I like to think every writer has their own response. That’s why I have invited a group of fine, articulate writers to offer their own responses to that question. My hope is that the teachers and librarians who have been asked the same question can pass on these varied responses.
“The job of the writer
is to imagine the truth.”
— Paula Fox —
Many years ago, the Newbery writer Paula Fox said to me, “The job of the writer is to imagine the truth.”
Every child has their own truth. Writing encourages discovering that truth and, best of all, the sharing of that truth.
I hope you look forward to these forthcoming essays as much as I do. Speaking for myself — hardly a young person — I still have a lot to learn.
Return next week, beginning on Tuesday, 2 June 2026, for an answer to this question from author and poet Nikki Grimes.
1 thought on “Summer Blog Series 2026”
Thanks, Avi. At 83, I am still reading … hoping to become a better writer.