When a book has made a strong impression on you, you might want to share your feelings with the person who sat down and wrote that book. Whether you agreed or disagreed with the book, whether you were touched by it or offended by it, you can follow a few steps to clearly make a point with your letter.
Instructions
Write a Letter to an Author
1. Begin by jotting down on scratch paper all the possible thoughts you might like to get across to this writer. Brainstorm by just randomly writing your ideas down; put down anything that comes into your head without censoring yourself. You might want to make comments about one or more of the following: --A character you could identify with or that you admired --A character you disliked --What you thought was an extremely believable—or unbelievable—part of the book --What you thought about the plot twists and turns—or lack of them --What you thought about the ending of the book --What you thought of the author’s writing
2. Next, look through the list you’ve made and pick out what you think are the top two or three items. Circle those. Now write each of those items on separate sheets of scratch paper. Under each, jot down some specific thoughts. For example, if you are writing about a character you admired, what did you specifically admire about her or him—what did he or she do or not do that you were in awe of or admired.
3. Now decide if you want to concentrate your letter on what you’ve written on one, two, or all three of those sheets. Your letter will have a better chance of being read if it’s no longer than one written page, so remember that if you decide to write about three different topics, you’ll have to say less about each one. Once you’ve made that decision, you’re ready to actually write the letter.
4. Begin with a sentence identifying which book you are writing about and something about yourself. For example, “I am a junior in high school, and I have just finished reading “The Best Day.”Or “As a computer programmer myself, I was very interested in reading your book, “The Best Day.”
5. Continue your letter by stating and explaining your main points. If you want to say the book was wonderful, go ahead and do so. And then tell why--by going to your scratch paper and using your ideas to talk about, for example, why you identified with the main character. Be very detailed in what you say, referring to specific events, dialogs, or description in the book.
6. End your letter with a respectful general comment, whether complimentary or critical. You might say that look forward to reading the author’s future work (if you do indeed feel that way).
