Photo by Andrea Thackeray
I was invited to the most amazing luncheon yesterday. It was with the fiesty bunch of fifth and sixth graders in the picture above, readers and writers from Paxton Center School in Massachusetts. I spoke to their classmates in large groups earlier and later in the day, but it was my time with the lunch bunch that I will remember most…
As readers, we talked for a long time about our favorite books and favorite authors: Lois Lowry and Ellen Klages and J.K. Rowling and Pseudonymous Bosch and Linda Urban and so many others. The excitement around that table as we talked about books would have made every single author mentioned proud … and each of us left with a couple new titles on our Must Read lists.
As writers, we talked about strategies for working on our craft. It turns out that finding time to write is just as hard for eleven and twelve year olds as it is for forty year olds! We shared stories of rejection (my heart still goes out to you, Emily!) and triumph (hooray for completed stories!) and agreed that despite all the pitfalls, finding time to write our stories is worth the effort.
Many thanks to my new friends at Paxton Center School, and to their teachers, for inviting me over for the day. Special thanks to Alice, who sent a letter I’ll cherish for always.
Happy reading! Happy writing!