First School Visit of the Season: Laval Senior Academy

It may be October, but you can see from today's pic that I'm still wearing my hot pink Birkenstocks! That's me with teacher Ms. Gosdanian and three of her Sec. IV students at Laval Senior Academy. They were part of the first group I worked with today and I think I may have traumatized the students with all my energy. That energy's not only because I'm a morning person, but also because I haven't been in a classroom since June and I LOVE SCHOOL. And unlike many other people my age, I also LOVE TEENAGERS!

So I worked with three groups -- Ms. Gosdanian's and also Ms. Lambropoulos's two Sec. IV groups. All of the students will be writing a short memoir for an upcoming assignment and my job was to inspire them, and get them started on the task. Of course the word memoir is connected to the word memory. Though I hadn't planned this part, I mentioned that my latest book is Remember This: The Fascinating World of Memory -- and that I first got interested in memory because for me, as for many writers, memory has been an important source of inspiration!

I'll share a few of my favourite moments from today's workshops, which I'd say went well -- except that I ran out of time with the first group. (Bad Monique -- too much storytelling!!) But not to worry too much since I'll be back at LSA next week for a second visit to each ot the classes.

Okay -- favourite moments:

A student named Minas asked what kind of books I write, when I answered, "all kinds," Minas said: "That means you're a genre hopper." Hey, nobody ever called me a genre hopper before and I like it!!

We were discussing truth and lies, non-fiction and fiction -- and creative non-fiction, and how important truth is in today's world. And yet, fictional stories are often a way to get at difficult truths. We also talked about lies -- I pointed out that in a certain way fiction writers tell lies when they invent stories. When I asked the students if any of them could lie while looking someone in the eye, a student named Luka said he could. Then Luka added, "I'm good at making things up off the bat." Here's my view -- Luka, I think you should tell the truth in real life, but that you might also have the makings of a fiction writer.

Meet Gabriella -- she's the student standing at the back in today's pic. When I asked the students if any of them still read blogs, Gabriella said she's probably read this blog entry. So in a way, Gabriella, this blog is dedicated to you! Some of the students thought I should try making Instagram reels about my school visits -- and I might just try it!

During today's second class, I talked to the students about making writing a habit. I suggested they might try to write in a journal even a few times a week. Sam, who was sitting near the front, looked up at me when I made that suggestion. So I asked him whether he was going to try making writing a habit. I liked when Sam answered: "I'll try, but it might stop by the middle of the week." First, I love the idea of TRYING and also I like that Sam was honest when he added the part about possibly stopping. (Also, Sam, if you stop, you can always start AGAIN!)

Ms. Lambropoulos made us all laugh when she told her class, "Bonus points if what you write makes me cry." That comment prompted me to tell the class that I've heard it's harder to make a reader laugh than to make him or her cry. Some really great writers manage to do both -- even on the same page. Think John Green and his YA novel The Fault in Our Stars.

My second and third classes had moe time to write today -- and we did a memory exercise in which I asked them to write about a moment in their lives where they felt they were leaving childhood behind. (Thanks, Ms. Gosdanian, for coming up with that excellent topic.) I read a number of strong pieces, which I'm hoping the students will develop before I return next week so I can help them one-on-one. A piece of writing that has stayed with me was by Bianca, who gave me permission to quote a powerful line here: "I am stuck in a small room with a dying man." I told you it was powerful -- and note the simplicity of the language and the use of the present tense. Beautiful use of language, Bianca!

I had another favourite moment when a student named Massimo stopped on his way out of the classroom to say, "Thank you, Miss." I always loved when I had my own students and they'd say thanks after class. But you know what? We visiting authors and I think most teachers too need to say thanks to you young people for sharing yourselves and your work with us -- and for giving us hope for the future. So thanks to the students I worked with at LSA today and to Ms. Gosdanian and Ms. Lambropoulos for having me! See you all next week! Get working on those memoirs!