1 minute reading time
(267 words)
For someone who enjoys TALKING as much as I do, preparing for a talk is not usually too difficult! In a little over an hour, I've got to be at the McCord Museum here in Montreal, where I'm doing a talk called "Capturing the Teenage Imagination: Writing for Young Adults." As you know, this is one of my favourite subjects. I've scribbled a bunch of points on a sheet of paper andI'm pretty much ready to roll. (I rarely enjoy talks where someone just reads from a prepared script.) Here's my basic outline: First, I'm going to talk about the market for children's writing and point out that it's a growing, healthy market. Then I want to talk about using the first person point of view -- something many children's writers do. Then I want to discuss HOW adults can gain access to the teen world -- either by remembering back to their own childhoods or by SPYING ON TEENS, or of course, they could get a job like mine teaching in a college! After that, I'm going to talk about how I got the ideas for some of my books -- and then I'll do a short reading. Have you ever noticed how when you list your points before a talk it gets you geared up and ready to go? So thanks for listening while I prepared! Another batch of correcting lands tomorrow, so you may not hear from me for a few days while I dig out from under it. Feels like spring today in Montreal, but apparently, they're predicting more snow for tonight. YIKES!!
Comments
it is gorgeous outside!!! my dad burst my bubble and told me about the upcoming yucky weather...
also, i remember hearing you read a chapter from one of your books in humanities and then from another one in english, one was home invasion and i think the other was no more pranks.. anyways... you had me hooked! i read 2 of your books in one weekend, two more the next and then i read the other three during that week... they were awesome! so hopefully, the audience will be just as hooked after you read to them
good luck with your papers!
I have to say my favourite of all your books is Scarred... I especially like the ending and the book is always on my bedside table for whenever I'm feeling down -- reading the last page or so really helps me see the positive side again. However, this week's the Figure Skating World Championships, so I'm pretty happy!
Once again, just from your writing, you sound happy and lively, almost like the time you had that café au lait.. good luck for that talk! One thing I hate about outlines is that everything seems nice and short, and then, when I have to write my essay (because I'd die if I had to do a talk), it ends up being much longer than I anticipated.
Oh yes, last thing, the week Tamar finished your last 3 books was the same time I had 4 or 5 left to read, so I read two short ones on the first day, the rest the next day, then pestered Tamar to finish the last one so that I could read it, too!