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Other writing

Radio: NPR Book reviews: NY Times and Booklist Short Stories: “A Cheertastic

Christmas Miracle”, published in Let it Snow

Novella: “This is Not Tom” http://www.thisisnottom.com/ Uses compound riddles as a front for the story.

http://johngreenbooks.com/

Audience

He writes mostly YA lit, so the audience for his books is pretty narrow.

Teens, teachers, anyone who will listen. He respects his teen audiences and doesn’t treat them like babies.

He writes for all of the world in some of

his other projects. His brother and all of YouTube.

Example

"When adults say, "Teenagers think they are invincible" with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail." — John Green (Looking for Alaska)

Characters

Young adults, whom he gives real credit to.

Despite the fact that he’s close to his brother Hank, none of his protagonists have siblings.

All books have been written from a male perspective.

Ordinary people with ordinary problems.

Example

"What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable?" — John Green (An Abundance of Katherines)

Basic Info

Born in 1977, which makes him 33.

Family

He’s a new father, and therefore, he’s “taking time off” to be with his son, Henry.

Stopped talking to his brother, Hank, via textual media and began to communicate through video messages posted to YouTube.

“The videos spawned a community of people called nerdfighters who fight for intellectualism and to decrease the overall worldwide level of suck” (“John Green’s Biography”).

Check it out. Their channel is called “vlogbrothers”.

His wife, Sarah, is referred to as “The Yeti” because she does not want to be seen on camera.

vlogbrothers

http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers#p/u/743/vtyXbTHKhI0

Education

Hometown: Orlando, Florida High School: Indian Springs School College: Kenyon College

(Majors: English & Religious Studies)

Career

He’s always written, from the time he was young. He never decided to write, he just never stopped.

Writing Role Models

A long list including : Toni Morrison M. T. Anderson Markus Zusak Jane Austen

J.D. Salinger; The Catcher in the Rye & Looking for Alaska

William Faulkner Harper Lee: His son is named Henry

Atticus Green.

Writing Beliefs/Goals

“The best stories come from the same place … They are books that exist because someone wanted to tell us a story, wanted–as William Faulkner once said–’to create out of the material of the human spirit something which did not exist before’” (Ana).

“I think stories help us fight the nihilistic urges that constantly threaten to consume us” (“Pep Talk”).

Writing Schedule

Writes as soon as he gets up in the morning for about 5 hours.

Does “businessy type” stuff in the afternoon.

Writing Mantras

On Writer’s Block: “I just give myself permission to suck” (“Ideas”).

It’s OK to not finish a story. He writes about how this is an important lesson for writers to learn: not everything is worth finishing.

“I write books. (Books are like tweets, except longer)” (realjohngreen).

Inspiration/ Writing Process He starts his writing process by

thinking about a big idea. For example, he started thinking about “how one can reconcile one’s self to a world where suffering is so unjustly distributed” (“Ideas”).

Small ideas link up with other small ideas until he has a book.

Publishing Process

It’s hard for Green to know when a book is ready for publication, so he relies on deadlines to tell him when it’s done. Of course, this occurs because he’s already working with a publisher, but still.

He gives ownership of the book over to the readers when he’s published something.

Writing Advice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gf69J1Go98&feature=player_embedded#

“Go spit in the face of our inevitable obsolescence and finish your @#$&ng novel” (“Pep Talk”).

Connections to the Canon

“Green…has a writer’s voice, so self-assured and honest that one is startled to learn that this novel is his first. The anticipated favorable comparisons to Holden Caufield are richly deserved in this highly recommended addition to young adult literature.”-VOYA

“Like Phineas in John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace,” Green draws Alaska so lovingly, in self-loathing darkness as well as energetic light, that readers mourn her loss along with her friends.”-School Library Journal, Starred Review

Works Cited

Ana. “Guest Author & Giveaway: John Green on Inspirations and Influences.” The Book Smuggler. 12 November 2010. <http://thebooksmugglers.com/2010/06/guest-author-giveaway-john-green-on-inspirations-and-influences.html>.

Green, John. “John Green's pep talk.” National Novel Writing Month. 12 November 2010. <

http://www.nanowrimo.org/node/3882883>. Green, John. “Ideas and Inspiration Questions.” John Green. 12

November 2010. <http://johngreenbooks.com/ideas-questions/>.

Green, John. “John Green’s Biography.” John Green. 12 November 2010. < http://johngreenbooks.com/bio-contact/>.

Green John. Looking for Alaska. New York: Dutton. 2005. realjohngreen. “John Green (realjohngreen) on Twitter.” Twitter. 12

November 2010. <http://twitter.com/#!/realjohngreen>. “YouTube – vlogbrothers’s Channel.” YouTube. 12 November 2010.

<http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers>.