Most of my books came from when I was telling stories.

I get my ideas for books from my own kids and sometimes from other children. Often when I am telling stories I will say: I am going to make up a new story.

I almost flunked first grade and also the second, third, forth, and fifth; but my younger brother was in the grade behind me and he was a brain and nobody wanted to have me be in the same grade as him, so they kept passing me. I never learned how to spell, graduated from eighth grade counting on my fingers to do simple addition, and in general was not a resounding academic success.

Writers' communities are very helpful to writers because it gives them a way to try out their stuff short of publication.

I tell the stories in front of audiences and wait for something to happen. It's similar to a standup comic doing his schtick for an audience.

If you don't remember childhood and you idealize it, you can't write books for kids because they're not real. Kids pick that up.

Every author has different ways of writing and what works for one author does not necessarily work for another.