Quotes & Sayings About Writing By Rick Riordan

It seems like just yesterday my son was hiding under the table to avoid reading. Now, he's writing books longer than mine! — Rick Riordan

Writing 'Book 1: The Maze of Bones' didn't feel much different than writing one of my other novels, but I thought it was very innovative to offer the website and trading card components as well for those readers who wanted to go more in depth with the Cahill experience. — Rick Riordan

I tell aspiring writers that you have to find what you MUST write. When you find it, you will know, because the subject matter won't let you go. It's not enough to write simply because you think it would be neat to be published. You have to be compelled to write. If you're not, nothing else that you do matters. — Rick Riordan

A really hard time writing about it. I hate Hera. While Hercules was growing up as a cowherd in Thebes, his cousin Eurystheus grew up as the high king of Mycenae. That may sound awesome, — Rick Riordan

I don't teach anymore, but I can still clearly see fifth period after lunch - that's a real tough time to teach. And I tried to imagine writing a story that would appeal to those kids - even when they're tired, even when they're bouncing off the walls. — Rick Riordan

I don't think I would ever inch my way up to Y.A. That audience is very well served. There are a lot of wonderful writers writing for Y.A. I feel like I'm in the right place. — Rick Riordan

For me, writing for kids is harder because they're a more discriminating audience. While adults might stay with you, if you lose your pacing or if you have pages of extraneous description, a kid's not going to do that. They will drop the book. — Rick Riordan

Annabeth has my number,' Sadie said. 'Which, honestly, brother, is a much easier solution than writing invisible hieroglyphs on your friend's hand. What were you thinking? — Rick Riordan

'Harry Potter' opened so many doors for young adult literature. It really did convince the publishing industry that writing for children was a viable enterprise. And it also convinced a lot of people that kids will read if we give them books that they care about and love. — Rick Riordan

Kids, if anything, are harder to write for because they are a more discerning audience. They will not stay with you if you go off on a tangent or if you give them extraneous information that doesn't serve the story. You really have to tell a tight story. You have to give them humor and suspense and believable characters. All those things that adults want too, but you have to be really on your game when you're writing for kids. — Rick Riordan

I think anytime you're writing to the middle grades, you're writing to young readers who are trapped in a number of ways between two worlds: between childhood and adulthood, between their friends and their parents. — Rick Riordan

There!" Mars finished writing and threw the scroll at Octavian. "A prophecy. You can add it to your books, engrave it on the floor, whatever."
Octavian read the scroll. "This says, 'Go to Alaska. Find Thanatos and free him. Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die'."
"Yes," Mars said. "Is that not clear?"
"Well, my lord...usually prophecies are unclear. They're wrapped in riddles. They rhyme, and..."
Mars casually popped another grenade off his belt. "Yes?"
"The prophecy is clear!" Octavian announced. "A quest! — Rick Riordan

I think I write for reluctant readers. Of course I want everyone to enjoy my books, but if the kids in the back row who normally don't pick up a book are engaged with what I'm writing, along with the kids who are big readers anyway, then I really feel like I've done my job. — Rick Riordan

I come to writing the same way I come to teaching, which is that my goal is always to create life-long readers. — Rick Riordan

And please God, grant me the wisdom to remember that I am writing for children, not golden stickers. — Rick Riordan

She decided to make his life as terrible, tragic and complicated as possible, so that some day Percy Jackson would have a really hard time writing about it. — Rick Riordan

What's the best part about writing a book?
Finishing it. — Rick Riordan

My eighth grade teacher, Mrs. Pabst, had done her master's thesis on Tolkien. She showed me how the trilogy was patterned after Norse mythology. She was also the first person to encourage me to submit stories for publication. The idea of writing a fantasy based on myths never left me, and many years later, this would lead me to write Percy Jackson. — Rick Riordan

Writing is like a sport. If you don't practice, you don't get any better. — Rick Riordan

Writing is like a sport - you only get better if you practice — Rick Riordan

Back when I taught middle school and wrote adult mysteries, my students often asked me why I wasn't writing for kids. I never had a good answer for them. It took me a long time to realize they were right. — Rick Riordan

I enjoy writing for both kids and adults, though I think I'm better at children's stories because I was a teacher for so long, and I know that audience well. The process is no different whether I'm writing for children or adults. Really, the elements of making a good story are the same. — Rick Riordan

I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the level of success I've had. I was just writing stories for my own sons. — Rick Riordan

I've always liked the idea that writing is a form of travel. And I started my writing career as a mystery novelist for adults. — Rick Riordan

It's all still about having a good story. You have to have a good story as your anchor, as your main focus. So for me, personally, I just like to concentrate on writing the best book I can, and if there's other stuff that goes along with it, that's awesome, as long as the story is central. — Rick Riordan