David A. Adler
author of fiction and nonfiction books for young readers

I've always been a dreamer . . . A few years ago I was at Open School Night for my middle son. His fourth-grade teacher was the same one my eldest son had had seven years earlier and the same teacher I had had some time in the 1950s. The teacher looked at me, smiled, and then told the roomful of parents, "A long time ago, when I had just started teaching, David was in my class." She smiled again and said, "I went to the principal and asked, 'What should I do with Adler? He's always dreaming.' 'Leave him alone,' the principal answered. 'Maybe one day he'll be a writer.'"
That's her story, not mine. But I know I did dream through much of my early school years and I did become a writer. Dreamers become writers, and, for me, being a published writer is a dream come true.
I write both fiction and nonfiction. I begin my fiction with the main character. The story comes later. Of course, since I'll be spending a lot of time with each main character, why not have him or her be someone I like? Cam Jansen is based on an elementary school classmate whom we all envied because we thought he had a photographic memory. Andy Russell is based on a beloved member of my family.
For my books of nonfiction I write about subjects I find interesting. The recent biographies I've written are about Benjamin Franklin, Janusz Korczak, Dwight David Eisenhower, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lou Gehrig, Joe Louis, Lewis and Clark, Martin Luther King, Jr.,and George Washington Carver.
When I write, I try not to worry about each word, or even each sentence or paragraph. For me, books evolve. I rewrite each sentence, each manuscript, many times. And I work with my editors. I look forward to their suggestions, their help in the almost endless rewrite process.