How I Came to Be...

How I Came to Be a Writer

Published by:

Written by: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

It is always interesting to read about how and why an author writes, and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's How I Came to Be a Writer is no exception.  Naylor takes a very interesting approach to explaining how she got to be the person that she was at age 54, focusing on her autobiographical past and her writing processes in the past and present. I really connected to Naylor's experience as a passionate young writer who never dreamed that she could make a career out of writing because it was just too much fun.  I felt this way about working with children throughout most of my high school and early college careers and often told friends and family that even though I was "good with children," I never wanted to be a teacher because it wouldn't be a real job...well, look at me now.  One semester of graduate school down (almost) and I'm halfway towards having my masters in elementary education.  Isn't it funny how that happens?

The personal stories told by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor in this autobiographical novel really made me connect to her as a person instead of just a world famous writer.  The images that she included from her childhood helped set the personal tone of this novel and helped me connect to her story on a deeper level.  Though this text was written for young adult readers, its message transcends age and can be appreciated and understood by even the most sophisticated adults.  There is a four-part interview of Naylor available through YouTube that really supplements this text. The first part can be accessed by clicking here.  Unfortunately, the parts are not in order on the YouTube playlist, so you have to click around in order to see the interview segments in order.

I hate to admit it, but I have never read Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Newbery Award winning book Shiloh.  Though this may be considered a literary crime by some book connoisseurs, I think that reading Naylor's autobiography before reading her work will give me a unique perspective.  Shiloh is such an iconic story that it is often difficult to separate Naylor, the person, from Naylor, the author of Shiloh.  I haven't had time to test this theory yet, but when I do, I'll let you know how it goes.