Authors & Writers

"I, myself, was always recognized . . . as the "slow one" in the family. It was quite true , and I knew it and accepted it. Writing and spelling were always terribly difficult for me. My letters were without originality. I was . . . an extraordinarily bad speller and have remained so until this day." - Agatha Christie
"The popular idea that a child forgets easily is not an accurate one. Many people go right through life in the grip of an idea which has been impressed on them in very tender years." - Agatha Christie, Thinkexist
"I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relation; and suddenly find --at the age of fifty, say -- that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, read about...It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts were rising in you. With it, of course, goes the penalty of increasing old age -- the fact that your body is nearly always hurting somewhere...One's thankfulness for the gift of life is, I think, stronger, more vital during those years than it has ever been before. It has some of the reality and intensity of dreams -- and I still enjoy dreaming enormously." - Agatha Christie
"Writing is a great comfort to people like me, who are unsure of themselves and have trouble expressing themselves properly." - Agatha Christie
"I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays, and have things arranged for them, that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas." - Agatha Christie, Homeschool.co.uk
Question: "So, how the ideas come?" Answer: "They come suddenly, I even don’t know how. Whenever: when I am listening to opera, walking on the street… they come from everywhere! Also, when a smart idea falls into your head, which you like, you have to build a believable story from it. Suddenly faces grow as well, one by one. And then comes this unpleasant day, when you have to sit down and everything what had beautifully grown put on paper. Yes, the first part is much more fun!" Agatha Christie.
Question: "Once you have said that is your work in detective stories divided in two parts: fun, when you are thinking up the plot and “boring” when all of that has to be put on paper." Answer: "Yes, that’s right. It is much more fun just to think about what is needed to be written as to write it!" Agatha Christie.
Question: "Does archaeology represent a certain period for you, for example, ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia or do other periods attract you as well?" Answer: "We are interested in all periods, that is also a difficulty! Today it is specially in science needed strict specialization in one thing, but we are interested in so many things!" - Agatha Christie.
"I have learnt that I am me, that I can do the things that, as one might put it, me can do, but I cannot do the things that me would like to do." - Agatha Christie.
"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." - Agatha Christie.
"One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is to have a happy childhood. I had a very happy childhood." - Agatha Christie
  • Bernie Taylor: Writer

"I found out that I am dyslexic recently, at 38 years of age. Like you it put a lot of things in perspective. Oddly enough I am a writer and author. I have written for a more than a dozen magazines in as many countries. Unlike other writers it takes me dozens of rewrites to get it grammatically correct. But the creative juices keep me going. I am a big out of the box thinker. Ron Davis's book was very helpful to me. I have also bought a dozen or so copies to send to relatives and associates whom I thought were dyslexics." - bernie Taylor

"Remember, never stop chasing your dreams and never give up." - Cedric Hurtt, author
  • Edgar Allen Poe
  • Elizabeth Daniels Squire: Author of mystery novels. Books and more of Elisabeth Daniels Squire.
  • Fannie Flagg (Author of "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe")
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • Hans Christian Andersen
  • Gustave Flaubert
  • John Irving: Novelist and screenwriter: Biography, Books and more of John Irving.
    • Honored by Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation.
    • He has earned an O. Henry Award, a National Book Award for The World According to Garp and an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2000 for The Cider House Rules.
"The diagnosis of dyslexia wasn't available in the late fifties - bad spelling like mine was considered a psychological problem by the language therapist who evaluated my mysterious case. When the repeated courses of language therapy were judged to have had no discernible influence on me, I was turned over to the school psychiatrist." - John Irving, internationally acclaimed author
"If a child is dyslexic, can he be a good writer? That’s a good question, because many people confuse difficulties in reading and the ability to write. In fact, some of the most accomplished writers that we know happen to be dyslexic. For example, John Irving, he won an Academy Award for the Cider House Rules, is dyslexic. Stephen J. Cannell, who wrote the television series the A-Team and the Rockford Files, is also dyslexic. He always likes to make people understand that dyslexia affects your ability to read and to spell, but not to have an imagination and be creative." - Donna Ricks interviewing Sally Shawitz for First Voice. September 1, 2004.
"The first book I wrote, most of the letters where backwards and much of it is horribly misspelled, but it didn't stop me. Sometimes it pays to be too stubborn to listen to other people and in my case that was especially true." - Sherrilyn Kenyon. Interview  Sherrilyn Kenyon on "being a writer and dyslexic" by myself Jenny"

"Whether published or unpublished I am and will always be a writer. So for all of you out there who want to write, never listen to anyone who says you can't be what you want. Never give up your dreams. Believe me, I know it's hard. But in the end, those dreams are what see us through the hard times. That and the laughter of friends and family. Hold your friends, family and dreams close to your heart and fight for them all." - Sherrilyn Kenyon - Kinley MacGregor. From her website.

"The dyslexia is a bummer, as my copy-editors will tell you," she said. "My condition is so severe that at times it even manifests itself verbally."
"Life is hard for most people, and ... the last thing I needed was to read that you suffer all your life and then die a miserable death," she explained. "Romance novels show that sometimes ... if you hold on and believe in yourself, then you can affect a positive change in your life."- Sherrilyn Kenyon - Kinley MacGregor. Interview by Marcia Anderson, sept 2005.

Despite her dyslexia, MacGregor is a New-York Times best-selling author!
 
"I wasn't diagnosed until I was 12. In those days they thought that I was backward. I didn't really feel at home with the written word until somebody gave me a typewriter. But, even today, I never send things out without having them checked by an assistant." - Lynda La Plante, TV Series writer "Prime Suspect", "Widows", "She's Out", "The Governor"
"Dyslexia can slow you down but not stop you from your goals. Understanding what it is can be most enlightening." - Michael Charles Messioneo, author
"At the age of 12, I was considered uneducable mentally retarded. At the age of 38 I could score 169 on the IQ test but I couldn't read a menu in a restaurant. What the average person could read in 5 minutes would take me an hour." - Ronald Davis, author
Taxonomy upgrade extras: