Author Chris Rylander and the cover of his book The Fourth Stall Part 2. (Photos courtesy Harper Collins)
Author Interview: Chris Rylander
Kid Reporter talks to creator of The Fourth Stall series
On March 30, Chris Rylander, author of the popular The Fourth Stall series, came to Will-Moore Elementary in Bismarck, North Dakota, to talk to students about his books.
Kid Reporter Aria Wanek spoke with Rylander after the event about The Fourth Stall and his experience as a writer.
Kid Reporter: How long did it take for you to write The Fourth Stall?
Chris Rylander: It took me about a month to write the first draft, [and] then after I wrote the first draft, you have to do a lot of revisions. After that it took two or three months. About four months total.
KR: Was it easier or harder to write The Fourth Stall Part II?
Rylander: It was easier in some ways because I had the characters already made, but it was also harder because I wanted it to be like the first one. But it can't be too similar, otherwise people would think I was doing the same thing over again.
KR: Since the names of the characters are fairly unique, how long did it take for you to come up with the names?
Rylander: Some of them came right away, others were changed so many times, I would think about it for 10, 20 minutes, then I'd change it later. But most of them came pretty quickly.
KR: Are the names based on people you know?
Rylander: Some of the names are. I put some of the names of my friends in there, none of the main characters have names of my friends, but a lot of the minor characters had names of my friends.
KR: Is there any symbolism of the red 'O' on the cover of The Fourth Stall?
Rylander: I don't know. That would be a question for the cover designer.
KR: How much time do you spend writing everyday?
Rylander: It varies. Sometimes I go, like, three months without writing anything, but sometimes I'll write for, like, three hours. It can be completely different.
KR: Where do you get your inspiration when you write?
Rylander: It comes from a lot of places. A lot of it comes from other books I've read, TV shows, movies, things I've seen, kids I went to school with. It can really come from anywhere.
KR: How did you become interested in writing?
Rylander: A lot of it had to do with how much I loved to read and how much I loved movies and video games as a kid. They all told stories, and I loved to take part in the stories and the best way to take part of the stories was to make your own.
KR: Are you currently writing anything?
Rylander: I just finished The Fourth Stall Part III and pretty soon I'm going to start on my fourth book, which is about a kid secret agent.
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