In this four-page letter from Cormier's editor, Craig Virden, it is apparent that Craig consulted with his colleague, Karen Wojtyla, and other editors at Bantam Doubleday Dell regarding the Tenderness manuscript. Craig explicitly mentions Karen's…
In this one page typed, Cormier's Bantam editor Karen Wojtyla confirms receipt of his revisions to Tenderness. She encourages Cormier on his progress with the novel and informs him of the timeline for bound and unbound galleys.
In this four-page letter to his editor, Craig Virden, Robert Cormier defends his decision to label Tenderness a YA novel even though it features some departures from the genre, including an older protagonist and a morally ambiguous main character in…
This two-page letter to Karen Wojtyla details his response to the copy editor's comments on Tenderness. The changes frequently address word choice, names, ages, and quote attributions.
This one-page letter from Cormier accompanied his revised Tenderness draft. He addresses the character shifts he made with Lori and Eric and expresses his gratitude for her comments and his contentment with the revised version of the novel.
This five-page, single-spaced editorial letter concerning Tenderness from the editor, Karen Wojtyla (Bantam Doubleday Dell), constructively critiques the work in progress. She asks him to mention "monster" only sparingly, to reconsider how much…
In this short half-page letter, Cormier thanks Debra for choosing Tenderness as her senior thesis. He reveals that one inspiration for this character Lori came from a girl he knew whose life he pitied. He was also interested in the humanity of serial…
In this letter, presumably responding to a student, Robert Cormier shares his sources of inspiration for Tenderness that came from the news and his adolescence. He shares that Wickburg is a fictionalized version of Worcester, MA and encourages the…
In this brief letter, Cormier points to Tenderness as a reflection of rampant violence in the real world and expresses hope that even monsters like Eric Poole can be saved.
In this letter to a student, Robert Cormier describes how his own emotions fuel his writing and how he must be emotionally invested in his characters. He also discusses World War II and his fictional town of Monument.
In this letter to Dana, presumably a young reader, Cormier writes about finding inspiration for his novels in the lives of his children. He also speaks to the timeless nature of emotions, especially those of adolescence.
Cormier writes to Julie in response to her four interview questions for a class project. It appears he enjoyed a friendship with her teacher, Ms. Hawks. Cormier discusses his childhood during the depression, his interests, and his motives for…