Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman
Neal Shustermanis an American writer of young-adult fiction. He won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature for Challenger Deep...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionYoung Adult Author
Date of Birth12 November 1962
CityBrooklyn, NY
CountryUnited States of America
chapter colors computer divides last manuscript text turn
I have a color-coded computer spreadsheet that divides things down to chapter fragments. Each character's point-of-view is a different color. The text of the manuscript is color-coded the same way. The last thing I do before submitting the manuscript is turn all those colors back to black.
lying believe heart
If your heart tells you something but your mind tells you something else, which do you believe? Both are just as apt to lie. In fact, they play at deceit all the time. Mostly they balance each other, giving us that crucial reality check. But what happens on the rare occasions when they conspire together?
light shining void
He's become like that briefcase in the ground-full of gems yet void of light, so nothing sparkles, nothing shines.
although asked became calling divide editor felt sequel took trilogy
I thought 'UnSouled' would come in at around 400 pages, but it took 650 pages, and even then I felt like I was rushing the conclusion, so I asked my editor and publisher if I could divide it again. So a sequel became a trilogy, and the trilogy became a tetralogy - although we're not calling it that.
characters checked following life post saw surreal
I post on Twitter regularly, and when I checked my followers, I saw that my own characters were following me. They sounded eerily like my characters would actually sound. It was a very surreal thing to see come to life digitally!
love music seems time
I love writing music, but it seems I'm always writing words, so I don't get much time to do it.
life perspective
Try to see things differently - It's the only way to get a clearer perspective on the world and on your life.
characters directions discover happen ideas originally plot thinking time trick twists
Before I start, I trick myself into thinking I know what's going to happen in the story, but the characters have ideas of their own, and I always go with the character's choices. Most of the time I discover plot twists and directions that are better than what I originally had planned.
littles resentment
Respect doesn't come without a little resentment.
cheer people moments
People would cheer throw confetti and then go about breaking the resolutions they had made only moments before.
alive toilets said
Leadership is about keeping toilets flushing," the Admiral once said. "Unless you're on the battlefront. Then it's about staying alive. Neither are pleasant.
no-friends doe icy
Milestone! This is a momentous occasion," he tells her cheerily. "It should be witnessed by a friend." She throws him an icy gaze, and he does a verbal back pedal. "Aaaand since no friends are present, I'll have to do.
stupid way born
What? Were you born stupid, or did you just die that way?
people ordinary ordinary-people
There's ordinary people out there doing extraordinary things.