Author Kate Hall — Richmond Rocks! and The Spooky Sequel — had several amazing sessions with the kids in Collegiate School’s Hooked on Books summer program this month! These kids are enthusiastic about both reading and writing. In fact, a couple of the first graders informed her that they had already published a book or two themselves during the summer program!
So before Kate gave her readings, she walked them through the writing process as well. She discussed how to brainstorm ideas to write about, such as their favorite places. Then once you’ve found your inspiration, go ahead and write your first draft or “sloppy copy”. Then the editing begins. Fun fact: did you know that Kate’s first book went through at least fifty different drafts before she got it where she wanted to be?
After the readings, Kate and the kids had a big Q&A session. Here are a few examples:
How old were you when you started writing?
“I was about your age, maybe 8 or 9. I’ve been writing a long time!”
Where did you get your ideas for your books?
“Well, I got the idea for my first book, Richmond Rocks!, when I took my kids to Belle Isle one summer, and my oldest began reading some of the posted signs and asking me a lot of questions about the Civil War. I got the inspiration for my second book, The Spooky Sequel, by asking kids like you what they would be interested in, and they said ghost stories!”
Speaking of ghost stories, Kate learned a couple of new things about ghost-spotting from some third graders:
Did you know that if you are walking on the beach, and it’s hot, then you suddenly feel cold, then hot again, you just walked past a ghost?
Did you know that ghosts show up in pictures as a couple of orbs in the background?
Well, we didn’t know that before either!
Would you like to have a free author visit and fundraiser at your school? Contact Suzanne Sherif: suzanne_sherif@hotmail.com.
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