These are potential outfits the characters, in his book The Maze Runner, might wear.
By: S.B.
Interview
Q: Is it difficult to manage so many characters and plots? How do you keep yourself organized when writing two series at once?
JD: I can’t work on both books at once; if I do it gets way too confusing and everything just gets all jumbled in my head. I’m not a very organized person so sometimes things can get a little bit hectic.
Q: Do you have any rituals when you’re writing?
JD: Well, I wouldn’t call them rituals, but I love going to a nice, private café. Sometimes I’ll listen to movie soundtracks.
Q: How did the idea of The Maze Runner series come to you?
JD: I’ve always wanted to do a dystopian story and one night before bed I was thinking about mice in a maze and then I had the thought of humans in a maze, all these ideas came rushing in so I ran downstairs and plotted out most of the story.
Q: Which aspect of writing do you find most difficult?
JD: Revision! I tend to get really sick of my own book!
Q: How do you schedule in writing when you’re so busy with four kids?
JD: I do most of my writing at night when everyone’s asleep or when my kids are at school. People may think it's hard but I always make sure I find time to write.
Q: How did your family react to the success of The Maze Runner?
JD: My family is very supportive of what I do. My kids will brag at school, and they all think that they are famous. My wife has to put up with a lot of stuff because of my busy schedule but she knows that it will all be worth it in the end.
Q: What do you do when you have writers block?
JD: I do a couple of different things but the one that works the best for me is watching a good ol’ classic movie. I can get so much inspiration.
Q: Why did you decide to write a prequel to The Maze Runner?
JD: Even on the very first brainstorming night, I knew I wanted to write a prequel. In The Maze Runner series you don’t get many answers. You have so many questions of how WICKED started and how the maze was formed, but in the series I wasn’t able to explain everything so I thought a prequel would be the perfect thing.
Q: Will The Maze Runner series have a movie?
JD: I really hope so. It won’t be out in 2013, even though that’s what IMBD says. We already have the script but now we are just interviewing directors and such. It’s such a slow process.
Q: What else are you working on right now?
JD: 2013 is going to be such a crazy year! I have two books coming out two weeks apart! I’m also going on a lot of tours and events. I have a lot of ideas for the near future; I want to venture into different genres and age groups.
Q: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
JD: When I read my very first Judy Blume book in elementary school. I think Judy Blume, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz are the three authors that really inspired me to pursue a writing career.
Q: Was your writing process for the sequel, The Scorch Trials, different than The Maze Runner?
JD: Sequels are always different. You have to be very careful because of the rules and guidelines that you set up in the first book, you have to work your way around them to create a good story. Another hard thing is when you wrote the first book, you did everything in your power to make it great and now you are forced to try and top that.
Q: How long does it take you to write a book?
JD: I mean it totally depends on how much time I have and how many ideas I have. There’s no real set amount of time that I write my books.
Q: What do you think makes a great book?
JD: I think if there’s a good plot with interesting ideas and twits as well as creative characters any book can be great. As well as a lot of practice.
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
JD: First is to keep on trying and practice a lot. Also go to writer conferences! You make so many connections and people that can really help your career, not to mention all the valuable things you learn that can improve your writing.
By: J.M.
Poetry
The Maze
Thomas saw nothing
The Maze was a dark, black hole
Thomas felt cold winds
I wrote this poem because Thomas was in the Maze overnight. This haiku tells how Thomas felt in his surroundings. I used a different view on the Maze. I used Thomas's surroundings as a clue to what was happening. I used a haiku because it is a nice poem style and it is usually about the outdoors.
The Maze was a dark, black hole
Thomas felt cold winds
I wrote this poem because Thomas was in the Maze overnight. This haiku tells how Thomas felt in his surroundings. I used a different view on the Maze. I used Thomas's surroundings as a clue to what was happening. I used a haiku because it is a nice poem style and it is usually about the outdoors.
Surviving
As a survivor, he felt strong,
Like he could conquer the world,
Like he was in charge,
But those feelings weren't his only feelings
I wrote this to show how Thomas felt after surviving. Those weren't his only feelings, though. He was also worried about breaking the rules of Glade. He has concerns. I used free verse so that I could say this easily.
Like he could conquer the world,
Like he was in charge,
But those feelings weren't his only feelings
I wrote this to show how Thomas felt after surviving. Those weren't his only feelings, though. He was also worried about breaking the rules of Glade. He has concerns. I used free verse so that I could say this easily.
The Box
Cold, metal walls surrounded him
Sitting down, the gravity felt strong
He felt trapped
He felt powerless
This is how Thomas was affected by his surroundings. He felt powerless because he could not escape. I showed the setting in this poem. This was best described in free verse form. This poem is easy to follow.
Sitting down, the gravity felt strong
He felt trapped
He felt powerless
This is how Thomas was affected by his surroundings. He felt powerless because he could not escape. I showed the setting in this poem. This was best described in free verse form. This poem is easy to follow.
Chuck
Chuck dived to save Thomas,
But Thomas tackled Chuck down.
They were safe now.
Suddenly they were all captive,
Captive in their own community.
I used this poem to re-animate a character. Chuck is a sweet, 12 year-old boy. He helped Thomas with everything. Chuck tried to save Thomas's life, so he deserved to live. I preferred to use free verse. This is my favorite poem.
By: A.B.
But Thomas tackled Chuck down.
They were safe now.
Suddenly they were all captive,
Captive in their own community.
I used this poem to re-animate a character. Chuck is a sweet, 12 year-old boy. He helped Thomas with everything. Chuck tried to save Thomas's life, so he deserved to live. I preferred to use free verse. This is my favorite poem.
By: A.B.