McKinley: From A True Fan

From: Jean Armsworthy <bjna.arms@ns.sympatico.ca>
Date: Wed Oct 20 1999 - 15:56:46 PDT

Dear Mz. McKinley :

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I am very
nervous about writing this. I don't usually email strangers.

My name is Nada and I have read your book BEAUTY at least five times.
It is absolutely my favorite book and I truely love it. You have an
amazing talent for writing and description. I had to do an English
report last year in school and I chose that book as my report (by the
way, I got 100% on it). I have been looking for your other books, but
as yet have had no luck in finding them. I do live in a rather rural
area and there is little chance for me to find anything that isn't a
classic from the 1700s.

But my reason for emailing you is not souly about your book. At this
time, I am doing an English research report. I was requested by my
teacher to choose a topic and write about it, inspired by a short story
we read in class. The topic must be something I have experience in.

I read a story by a Canadian author named Mordaci Richler, called "Some
Grist for Mervyn's Mill", which was about a young author. I chose to
write my report on beginning writers. You see, I myself am writing
right now a fantasy novel, which, I hope, will be out next year (IF I'M
SUCCESSFUL!). It is about a young woman who will become truely powerful
as the story progresses. I have been working on this for three years
now. Like you, I can't find too many stories that empowered women and
showed them that they don't have to hide behind their shining armor men.

My reason for emailing you is this : I would like to hear a little about
yourself as a beginning writer, and I hope to include your response
(should you choose to respond) in my English report. But this is not
simply for me. I do enjoy your writing and would like to hear how you
got started myself.

Please respond to as many of the following questions as you can. If you
feel uncomfortable in responding, don't feel you must answer it.

 1.) Where do you get your ideas?
 2.) How long did it take for you to get published?
 3.) How difficult for you is it to get constructive critizism?
 4.) Were you taken seriously when you began writing?
 5.) Why do you write the kind of books you write?
 6.) What made you choose this type of writing? Why did you not
choose something like romances, or historical novels, etc?
 7.) How long does it take you to write a novel, on average?
 8.) What are the complications of copyrights?
 9.) Is it difficult to find a good publisher?
10.) When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
11.) Is it worth it?
12.) What are the different techniques you use to write?
13.) How do you keep track of your ideas?
14.) Do you find it difficult when you are in the process of writing
to insert enough information into your story so that your reader
can understand it? (i.e. do you sometimes forget to put in a name
of a place that you've been thinking about, etc.)
15.) What are some of the difficulties of being a writer?

Please don't feel like you have to answer these questions or even to
this email, if you do not want to. If I don't hear from you, Mz.
McKinley, I do truely appreciate your writing and hope to hear from you.

                                        
                                        Sincerely,
                                        Nada Armsworthy
[To drop McKinley, tell: majordomo@cco.caltech.edu unsubscribe mckinley]
Received on Wed Oct 20 15:54:54 1999

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Mon Mar 13 2006 - 14:38:24 PST