One of the things I love about being a writer is speaking to elementary and middle school students about writing. The Deal School invited me to participate in their Read Across America assembly.
I spent time with 4th through 6th grade students discussing the writing process and why editing is so important. We had a great time. The students wrote their own story, together on the board, and then we performed a group edit. They jumped out of their chairs, shouted out ideas, and reworked the story until we ran out of time and they were forced to leave.
My next group was filled with 7th and 8th grade boys. We discussed writing in the active voice. A much more subdued group and at first I wasn't sure if they were engaged or sleeping behind open eyes! They came to life when they wrote their own stories and read them to the group. Thank God, for that. I was worried it was me!
But the real treat came in the quiet of the night, from an email by the PTO president. Her son, a seventh grader, told her our discussion of active voice was the best assembly ever and when my book came out he definitely wanted to read it. Such humbling words! Thank you, for inviting me to your school and thank you for being excited about writing and reading.
It's moments like that one that reinforce the path I'm taking. I wouldn't change a thing. Well, except...maybe I'd like to have an agent. And a book deal. If the Universe doesn't think that's asking too much.
What moments happen in your life that inspire you to keep going?
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