Author, I Never is a segment in which I interview fellow authors about the writing process, breaking into the industry, and breaking rules. I ask some hopefully novel questions along with some of the old standards, and finish it up with a round of I Never to find out what cardinal writing rules we've broken. 

Question the first: Kit, when did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

The summer after my high school graduation, I was asked to choose a “first year studies” course at my future college, a year-long class in a discipline of my choosing. I debated long and hard between a theater option and a creative writing option, and I chose writing. In retrospect, that decision feels like a small first step toward a serious writing life, one that I would choose again and again throughout college, after graduation, and into my adult life.  

Author, I Never is a new segment in which I interview fellow authors about the writing process, breaking into the industry, and breaking rules. I try to mix it up a little and ask some hopefully novel questions along with some of the old standards, and finish it up with a round of I Never (kid friendly version) to find out what cardinal writing rules you've broken.

Question the first: Amelinda, when did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

I have a dim recollection of telling someone I was either going to be an author or an illustrator at age…six, maybe? So I’ve pretty much always known. Right up until my twenties, I basically assumed it was my destiny. That’s a dangerous mindset, it turns out, because it really sets you up for panic in the face of criticism. It took me a while to figure out how to keep working despite the looming, red-eyed specter of possible failure.