How I Came to Be A Writer

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Newbery Medalist Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's one hundred and more books are true to life, funny, and, most of all, well written -- you'd think that she doesn't have to work at writing at all. But that's not true.
How I Came to Be a Writer is the story of one author's beginnings -- successes and failures, reviews and rejection slips -- things that mark the stages of a writer's life. Illustrated with photographs, and including samples of her earlier writing, this book will show you the inner workings of the writing process, from the spark of an idea to a book's actual publication.
This classic writer's memoir has been revised and updated to include material on the writing of the Newbery-winning Shiloh and its two sequels.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir, Middle Grade, Memoir, Autobiography

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was born in Anderson, Indiana, US on January 4, 1933.

Her family were strongly religious with conservative, midwestern values and most of her childhood was spent moving a lot due to her father's occupation as a salesman.

Though she grew up during the Depression and her family did not have a lot of money, Naylor stated that she never felt poor because her family owned good books. Her parents enjoyed reading stories to the children--her father would imitate the characters in Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer--and her mother read to them every evening, "almost until we were old enough to go out on dates, though we never would have admitted this to anyone."

By the time Phyllis reached fifth grade, writing books was her favorite hobby and she would rush home from school each day to write down whatever plot had been forming in her head - at sixteen her first story was published in a local church magazine.

Phyllis has written over 80 books for children and young people. One of these books, "Shiloh," was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1992, was named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and was also Young Adult Choice by the International Reading Association.

Naylor gets her ideas from things that happen to her or from things she has read. "Shiloh" was inspired by a little abused dog she and her husband found. The little dog haunted her so much that she had to write a story about him to get it out of her mind.

Reviews

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice book for young children who want to be writers. She rightfully points out that writers will look back on their young efforts with embarrassment at how awful they are. It takes a long time to learn how to write. She talks about rejection slips from editors, rewriting, importance of reading, and so on. I like her story about how she thought she wasn't poor because her family had books in the house.

[Emma Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was excellent. i dont normally like biographies but the way she wrote it made it sound more interesting. she told her story without making it sound too "factual". good job naylor!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a great autobiography that has good laughs and lessons!

[Etaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a writer to be, i really enjoyed this book. Very entertaining.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms. Naylor is trying to say in this book that she is not one of those very gifted writer and she has not traveled that much but what makes her write so many books is that everyday, she tries to sit down and just write. That's it. :)

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

super easy read, Author of Shiloh... relevant to urban youth /5th graders?
#midwestern #religious #DepressionEra

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is more an autobiography of the journey that Phyllis Reynolds Naylor took to become an author as opposed to a book on tips for writing.

[syd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, it’s an autobiography. They’re not my thing, but it was still good. She’s fascinating to learn about and her life story and hardships were inspiring.

[macheaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, pretty good

[Lucy S · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's was mid

[Emily Kobes · Rating 4 out of 5]

How I Came to Be a Writer is an autobiography about Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's (author of the Shiloh trilogy) journey and experiences being an author. It tells about her childhood love for writing. It tells how she wrote short stories for a church newspaper. It tells about how she developed her skill in writing and how she managed to publish 5,000 short stories, but how 10,000 were declined and trashed. It tells how she plucked up her courage to write books. It shares details about her personal life, how she grew up, who she married etc and how that affected her as a writer.
This autobiography, is lined with themes of extreme perseverance and dedication. It shows readers what it takes to create something you can truly be proud of. It is a very inspiring book for both those who wish to become authors one day and those who do not.
This intriguing and inspiring autobiography allows the reader to have a close-up view of the life and dedication of the well-known, renowned writer; Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so it's written for the 10-12 year old set, probably, but it was fun and interesting to see a writer talk about how she does it, how she came to be a writer, how important it is. It is not at all masked with grandiose language or self-ego-stroking. It's sweet and honest and it is easy to tell how much she loves writing - even if she worries about each book. Which is something that any writer can and should be able to nod wisely over and say, yes, me, too.

[Susan Reyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! As she writes, she is different from other writers and yet has much in common. I feel I am one with her despite our different ages, locations, upbringings, etc. I so enjoyed hearing about her life, reading snippets of her writing, learning of her rejections and successes, and getting an inkling of where her ideas, aka "sparks" come from.

[Shoshana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naylor is hilarious!

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for any aspiring author! It makes so many valuable points and portrays the nitty gritty hard work of becoming a published author.

[Candide · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really funny booko about award winning author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor!

[Esther Jeong · Rating 2 out of 5]

little bit boring

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short read. She's pretty clear that this is not a "How-To" book, but more of a reflection on her journey. I think it did give some useful advice though.

[Netnqme · Rating 3 out of 5]

That's great and the book make sense

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great. She described exactly how I feel about writing.

[Makenzie Soeken]

Many readers have heard of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor from her popular "Shilo" books, but most do not know the story of how or why she became a writer. This autobiography tells about a young girl who had no desire to be a writer, but found her passion came naturally. She believed that writing came too easy, and she wouldn't be able to make a career out of it, but after her first book was published at the age of 16, she realized that she would never work a day in her life.