Since Sara appeared in 1979, I've written seventeen books, an average of one a year. If I have a plot firmly in mind when I begin, the writing goes fairly quickly. More typically, I start with a character or a situation and only a vague idea of what's going to happen. Therefore, I spend a lot of time revising and thinking things out. If I'd paid more attention to the craft of outlining back in elementary school, I might be a faster writer, but, on the other hand, if I knew everything that was going to happen in a story, I might be too bored to write it down.
Writing is a journey of discovery.
That's what makes it so exciting. Library of Congress Children's Books, 1983. Child Study Association of America Children's Books of the Year, 1984. National Council of English Teacher's Choice, 1984. William Allen White Children's Choice Award, 1986.