I write for teens partially to work out whatever it was that I needed to from my own teenage years. Matthew Tobin Anderson More Quotes by Matthew Tobin Anderson More Quotes From Matthew Tobin Anderson Its a very 18th-century thing to have a book broken into several volumes. Matthew Tobin Anderson centurybrokenbook Certain elements of teen life that, 10 years ago, were very important to me still, are becoming less so as I get older. I mean, Ive kinda gotten over, I guess Im saying, the fact that I had trouble getting a date for the prom. Matthew Tobin Anderson importantmeanyears I was someone who really loved fantasy novels and science fiction novels. Matthew Tobin Anderson fantasy-novelsscience-fictionfiction-novels Occasionally people ask me how it is I write different types of things, and my answer to that is it's very natural. You get bored writing one kind of thing all the time. Matthew Tobin Anderson boredwritingpeople If we're going to ask our kids at age 18 to go off to war and die for their country, I don't see any problem with asking them at age 16 to think about what that might mean. Matthew Tobin Anderson warmeancountry Empedolces claims that in utero, our backbone is one long solid; and that through the constriction of the womb and the punishments of birth it must be snapped again and again to form our vertebrae; that for the child to have a spine, his back must first be broken Matthew Tobin Anderson punishmentlongchildren I looked at her, and she was smiling like she was broken. Matthew Tobin Anderson broken You made her apologize for sickness. For her courage. You made her feel sorry for dying. Matthew Tobin Anderson apologizingdyingsorry Teens are not like the weird, dumb dwarves you have around your house. They are actually you when you were younger. Matthew Tobin Anderson dwarvesdumbhouse A lot of the drive to make narratives came from having to play by myself as a 5- or 6-year-old in the woods. Matthew Tobin Anderson narrativeplayyears Older teens tend to write to me and say, 'Thank you for not writing down to teenagers.' Matthew Tobin Anderson teensteenagerwriting I feel like it's hard to get into historical novels where you know what the story is far too well. Matthew Tobin Anderson historical-novelswellsstories I completely love music. I used to be the music critic at 'The Improper Bostonian.' It's just something I've always loved very deeply. Matthew Tobin Anderson bostoniansmusic-loveused I eat broccoli. I think about the plot. I pace in circles for hours, counter-clockwise, listening to music. I try to think of one detail in the scene I'm about to write that I'm really excited about writing. Until I can come up with that one detail, I pace. Matthew Tobin Anderson circleswritingthinking The bedroom in my apartment is far too small to hold a nightstand. There is, however, this bookshelf. Yes, I stow whatever I'm reading on the lower shelf, but more importantly, it's where I keep a collection of ghost books. Matthew Tobin Anderson whateversmallbedroomreading I don't want to go out hunting for dismal topics to write about. Matthew Tobin Anderson writegohuntingwant All of my books, which are supposedly, I mean they're called YA novels, my hope is that adults would find no reason not to read them if they read them. Matthew Tobin Anderson findhopereasonmean Sometimes reading other writers helps. You learn some little technique that turns out to be useful, or simply are reinspired by the amazing things others do. Matthew Tobin Anderson amazingyoureadingsometimes We love fantasy novels in which the characters think that they're peasants but turn out to be princes and kings. Matthew Tobin Anderson thinkfantasykingslove Older teens tend to write to me and say, 'Thank you for not writing down to teenagers.' And then there are the letters from adults who say, 'This is such a good book; why did you write it for teens?' Matthew Tobin Anderson goodmeyouthank-you
