Famous author Nicholas Sparks spoke to a largely female audience last night at the Show Me Center as part of Southeast Missouri State University's Speaker Series.
“Many of you will cry because it’s me and that’s what I do,” Sparks joked in his introduction.
The author of The Notebook spent an hour talking about his writing career, telling the audience that he did not grow up thinking he was going to be a writer. When he was a college student, Sparks was more into track and field than into writing. An injury pushed him to write for the first time.
“I learnt that I had it in me to write a novel and finish it,” he said.
It turns out that most of Sparks novels are inspired by family members. The Notebook is basically the story of his wife’s paternal grandparents while Message in a Bottle is about Spark’s father. The audience was quite moved when he said that A Walk to Remember, whose main character is a young girl with cancer, was based on his younger sister.
The bestselling author shared some advice with aspiring writers, saying that “creativity comes from emotions.” He also talked about how he got to have a literary agent and about what is important when you try to sell your first book.
“Your key is your first 12 pages, that’s what [the publishers] judge you on. When I started writing [The Notebook], I wanted it to be a story that would sell,” Sparks told the audience.
The author also added that he thinks that if someone wants to be a good writer, they should watch a lot of TV series because to him, that is where they can find examples of good writing.
Sparks concluded his presentation by saying what the future holds for him. Multiple novels are being adapted into movies, he has his hands in some TV projects, and he is working on another novel.
Debbie Moore is a fan of Sparks’ work and appreciated his presentation.
“I wasn’t expecting him to be as funny as he was. You know he was very personable, very down to earth and it was just him kind of having a chat about the writing process and where the characters came from,” Moore said. “I think that was the best part of knowing the people and the stories that were behind the stories.”
Southeast student Margot Freulon said she finds “his stories really inspiring.” A Walk to Remember is her favorite and she thinks it is interesting for young writers to hear how they can find inspiration in their own life.