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" I become my characters, and then try to allow events in the story to take their own course. I try not to play God, but to let them work out their own destiny. "

Michael Morpurgo

Work

Destiny

God

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" Characters are the key to a good book. It took me several novels to comprehend that. "

Michael Morpurgo

Took

Key

" Only the best books are special. Why? Because they open our eyes, touch us, excite us, extend us. "

" It is really important that focusing on things such as spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting doesn't inhibit the creative flow. When I was at school there was a huge focus on copying and testing and it put me off words and stories for years. "

" Paying more heed to the lessons of the past might teach us to be a little more cautious about some of the political decisions taken today. "

" Don't worry about writing a book or getting famous or making money. Just lead an interesting life. "

" War continues to divide people, to change them forever, and I write about it both because I want people to understand the absolute futility of war, the 'pity of war' as Wilfred Owen called it. "

" Always write your ideas down however silly or trivial they might seem. Keep a notebook with you at all times. "

" Marry someone who flatters you. Because I've written 80 books since 'War Horse' but when my wife reads one, all she says is, 'It's quite good, but it's not as good as 'War Horse,' is it?' "

" Books that kids read should be about what is going on in the world. "

" It's good to focus on the universal suffering that goes on in any war. Whatever the right and wrongs of the war, there is always universal suffering. "

" When children are very young, you read them books that are positive to help them go to sleep. But there comes a moment when they begin to understand the difficulties of the world. They know there are problems and the books they read should reflect that, not gloss over them. "

" I write fiction. I make things up, it's what I do. "

Michael Morpurgo

Write

Fiction

" I think there's something about studying a book which will kill it if you're not careful. "

" It's the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom. "

" I was never a great reader, but there were two stories I loved best: Kipling's 'The Elephant's Child' and 'The Jungle Book.' Deep down, I've always wanted to write a book about a wild child and an elephant. "

" I got married young, far too young, but it is fine. We are still married 48 years later. I got married at 19. "

" Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children. "

" Wherever my story takes me, however dark and difficult the theme, there is always some hope and redemption, not because readers like happy endings, but because I am an optimist at heart. I know the sun will rise in the morning, that there is a light at the end of every tunnel. "

" The big relationships you make in your life are with those that you love and if things do go wrong then it's a source of great pain and that lasts. "

" A lot of children, like I did, move away from words because of the fear - which is something you have to take out of education: the fear of worrying about what marks you'll get, detention, worrying about letting people down, your parents, teachers. "

" The most important thing is to live an interesting life. Keep your eyes, ears and heart open. Talk to people and visit interesting places, and don't forget to ask questions. To be a writer you need to drink in the world around you so it's always there in your head. "

" Some writers - most, I suspect - write in isolation. I think I'd always found that quite difficult. "

" Strange questions are the more interesting ones. Children by and large don't try to trip you up... they want to find out how you do this funny thing that you do... if they've loved a story they love to know how it started. "

" You get to about 65 or 70 and you lose friends and the world does seem to be an endlessly difficult place and tragic place, so it's more and more difficult for me to find the bright lights. "

Michael Morpurgo

World

Lights

" I fill up the well of stories in my head - without ever knowing I'm doing it. "

" I was brought up, as a lot of kids are, on 'Aesop's Fables,' 'Brothers Grimm,' 'La Fontaine,' all those sorts of things. Hans Christian Andersen is a hero of mine. "

Michael Morpurgo

Hero

Mine

" I really can't write fantasy. I cannot invent a world which does not exist. And I can't read fantasy either. As soon as I realise I'm reading a book that hasn't got its roots in a reality I can comprehend, I switch off. "

" Something I learn every time I stand in front of a bunch of children, I learn never, never to underestimate them or patronise them. "

" With all editing, no matter how sensitive - and I've been very lucky here - I react sulkily at first, but then I settle down and get on with it, and a year later I have my book in my hand. "

" Remember to write for yourself, not for a market and give yourself time to develop your own style, your own voice. It takes a lifetime. Enjoy it! "