You need a reason to be sad. You don't need a reason to be happy. Louis Sachar More Quotes by Louis Sachar More Quotes From Louis Sachar Doesn't every kid want to dig a hold to China? Didn't you? What about Chinese children? Louis Sachar chinesekidschildren The best morals kids get from any book is just the capacity to empathize with other people, to care about the characters and their feelings. So you don't have to write a preachy book to do that. You just have to make it a fun book with characters they care about, and they will become better people as a result. Louis Sachar writingfunbook You make the decision: Whom did God punish? Louis Sachar holesdecision It was all because of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealinggreat-great-grandfather! Louis Sachar digging-a-holepigsdirty Rattlesnakes would be a lot more dangerous if they didn't have the rattle. Louis Sachar rattlesnakesdangerouswould-be My parents played bridge, and I remember being fascinated watching them. I sometimes got a chance to sit in on a hand, which I loved. But then I didn't actually play on my own for about 30 years. Louis Sachar bridgeshandsyears I think of a book and a play, or a book and a movie, as two separate things - I don't think of it as my novel having a new life. Louis Sachar playbookthinking Not everyone is as nice as us. Louis Sachar nice I never think of an entire book at once. I always just start with a very small idea. In 'Holes,' I just began with the setting; a juvenile correctional facility located in the Texas desert. Then I slowly make up the story, and rewrite it several times, and each time I rewrite it, I get new ideas, and change the old ideas around. Louis Sachar texasbookthinking I didn't become a good writer until I learned how to rewrite. And I don't just mean fixing spelling and adding a comma. I rewrite each of my books five or six times, and each time I change huge portions of the story. Louis Sachar storiesmeanbook I really began to love to read while in high school, and my favorite authors were my heroes: J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut. Louis Sachar my-favoriteheroschool When I write a novel, every word is mine. I welcome suggestions from my editor, but in the end, I make all the final decisions. Louis Sachar editorsdecisionwriting Not counting Small Steps, I think Holes is my best book, in terms of plot, and setting, and the way the story revealed itself. It hasn’t changed my life, other than that I have more money than I did before I wrote it. I’m still too close to Small Steps to compare it to Holes. Louis Sachar small-stepsbookthinking School just speeds things up... Without school it might take 70 years before you wake up and are able to count. Louis Sachar sadnessyearsschool I'm no good at describing my books. 'Holes' has been out now for seven years, and I still can't come up with a good answer when asked what that book is about. Louis Sachar answersbookyears I want kids to think that reading can be just as much fun and more so than TV or video games or whatever else they do. I think any other kind of message or morals that I might teach is secondary to first just enjoying a book. Louis Sachar readingfunbook I remember my fourth grade teacher reading 'Charlotte's Web' and 'Stuart Little' to us - both, of course, by E. B. White. His stories were genuinely funny, thought provoking and full of irony and charm. He didn't condescend to his readers, which was why I liked his books, and why I wasn't a big reader of other children's' books. Louis Sachar teacherbookchildren It's – I write the books and let the market find who reads it. I guess a young adult is anywhere from ten to fifteen. Louis Sachar adultswritingbook A lot of people don't believe in curses. Louis Sachar differencesyellowbelieve You're responsible for yourself. You messed up your life, and it's up to you to fix it. No one else is going to do it for you -- for any of you. Louis Sachar messed-upresponsibleup-to-you
