Visit to John Abbott College

I spent yesterday afternoon at John Abbott College, where I spoke to Deirdre King's Journalism class. Lately, when I've been doing school visits, I've been speaking mostly about being a YA writer -- so this was a change for me. But part of what I spoke about was the link between being a reporter and writing fiction. Reporters have to get things right; fiction writers can play with the facts in order to tell a good story. But as I told the students yesterday, writing fiction often requires a lot of research. I never realized that until I started my first fiction project. I was pleased (and impressed) that so many of Deirdre's students said they hope to write professionally. A few already write for the John Abbott newspaper, which, of course, is great training and experience for them. I often wish I'd been involved in school newspapers at college and university -- that way, I'd have gotten back to writing sooner. During yesterday's visit, I also mentioned an interview I read in last week's National Post with Dave Eggers, an American writer best known for his memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, in which he tells the story of raising his little brother after the death of their parents. Asked what kind of project he's now interested in, Eggers says something really interesting and important about journalism: "I wanted to recommit to what I'd been taught in journalism school: Use the medium to give voice to those who might not have one and a platform to effect change." Now that's something for all writers -- journalists and novelists, too -- to think about!!