Hope in the Mail: Reflections on Writing and Life

Want to write a novel? This book is the motivation you need Part writing guide and part memoir, this inspiring book from the author of Flipped and The Running Dream is like Bird by Bird for YA readers and writers.

Wendelin Van Draanen didn't grow up wanting to be a writer, but thirty books later, she's convinced that writing saved her life. Or, at least, saved her from a life of bitterness and despair. Writing helped her sort out what she thought and felt and wanted. And digging deep into fictional characters helped her understand the real people in her life better as well.

Wendelin shares what she's learned--about writing, life, and what it takes to live the writing life. This book is packed with practical advice on the craft: about how to create characters and plot a story that's exciting to read. But maybe even more helpful is the insight she provides into the persistence, and perseverance, it takes to live a productive, creative life. And she answers the age-old question Where do you get your ideas? by revealing how events in her own life became the seeds of her best-loved novels.

Hope in the Mail is a wildly inspirational read for anyone with a story to share.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published: 01/14/2020
ISBN: 9781984894663
Pages: 304
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.50w x 1.20d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 10/15/2019
Publishers Weekly 11/11/2019
School Library Journal 12/01/2019 pg. 103
Booklist 12/01/2019 pg. 41