Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Rodman Philbrick
Being a writer is the only thing that Rodman Philbrick has ever wanted to do. He started writing when he was in the sixth grade. He didn't start writing because of a class assignment. Kids weren't given creative writing assignments when he grew up in the 1960s. Rodman Philbrick wrote because he loved it. Writing made him happy. He kept his writing a secret, though. He thought that his friends would think it was weird.
Rodman Philbrick grew up in New Hampshire. He was the oldest of four brothers. His parents both enjoyed reading. They even wanted to do some writing of their own. With busy lives and four boys at home, though, there was no time. That wasn't the case for Rodman. He had all the time in the world. He spent much of his free time writing. He even spent his own money sending his stories off to be typed by a typing service. Then, he sent his typed stories off to magazines. When Rodman was sixteen years old, he showed his father a book that he had written. Rodman was very proud of it. He considered it to be some of his best work, and he thought others would like it, too. He expected it to be published. He was wrong.
Even though publishers rejected that book, Rodman Philbrick didn't stop writing. It was his dream. He couldn't give up on it. For the next eleven years, Rodman Philbrick kept writing. He experimented with different ideas. He kept trying to write something in a new way that would make people stop and take notice of him. He tried going to college; he even studied English. It wasn't for him. He opened a few businesses. Those didn't work out either. By the time that he was twenty-seven, Rodman Philbrick was getting desperate. He was no closer to achieving his dream than he had been eleven years earlier. He decided to make a change. He decided to try writing suspense novels. It took a few tries, but this new approach worked! Within a few years, he had published several mysteries and thrillers for adults. He was even able to quit his part-time job and be a full-time writer. He was thrilled. He was living his dream!
