Visit to Vaughan Secondary School
March 11, 2009
Last week, I visited a grade 12 English class at Vaughan Secondary School in Thornhill, near where I grew up and went to high school. Every school visit is unique, but what makes this one stand out for me is the interesting activities the class had done with my novel Take the Stairs. It’s the second time this year that a high school teacher has contacted me with innovative teaching ideas for this book. I’m thrilled to observe how people use the book, and how they react to it. I hope to post these activities on my website soon, including ideas about exploring the etymology of characters’ names, linking song lyrics to stories in the book, and illustrating the setting. (Below you can see the Vaughan students’ illustrations of The Building from Take the Stairs.) In the meantime, thanks to Diane Tursman and her students for sharing their insights.
Young Voices 2009 Workshop
January 2, 2009
Writers between the ages of 12 and 19 are invited to join me for a free writing workshop at the Toronto Public Library Brookbanks Branch (210 Brookbanks Drive) on January 31, 2009, from 1 to 3 pm. Come play with words, find inspiration for new stories, and polish your prose for submission to the 2009 Young Voices magazine, the library’s magazine for teen writing and art. The contest closes April 4, 2009, with contributors notified in June and the annual magazine released next October.
Young Voices 2008 Launch
September 25, 2008
On October 16 at 7 pm, I’ll join the staff of the Toronto Public Library to celebrate the launch of Young Voices 2008, the library’s annual magazine for teen writing and art. As a guest editor of the magazine, I’m looking forward to congratulating the wonderful teen artists and writers whose work will appear in the magazine. Watch for the magazine to appear at your local TPL branch, or join us for the launch at the North York Central Library (5120 Yonge St.).
Cleavage Writing Workshop
September 24, 2008
Teens are invited to a writing workshop on the theme of beauty and body image. Join myself and Patricia McCowan – authors from the short story collection Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls – at the Beaches branch of the Toronto Public Library on October 4 from 2 to 4 pm (2161 Queen St. East). Stories from the workshop can be submitted for posting at breakawayfiction.blogspot.com by emailing breakawayfiction@gmail.com.
CANSCAIP presentation
September 11, 2008
I was invited to give a talk for CANSCAIP, the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers. On September 10, I spoke about my recent exploration into the art of screenwriting and how it applies to writing a novel. If you’re interested in screenwriting, two excellent books are Syd Field’s Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting and Robert McKee’s Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting.
Writing for Children at Centennial College
September 1, 2008
Do you want to write for children or teens? Join me for a writing workshop on September 25, 2008, at Centennial College to learn how to generate ideas, develop believable characters, understand genres, edit your writing, and market and promote your work.
Summer Writing at Camp
July 25, 2008
I just finished two awesome weeks of teaching WordPlayer writing workshops at Pegasus Studios Arts Camp in Toronto. Together we wrote and shared poems, created characters using masks, and invented stories about buried treasure. The kids and teens were super enthusiastic when we created our own imaginary worlds then wrote stories about them. They drew maps of their worlds, imagined characters, then wrote pages of fabulous material. Thanks to all for sharing your writing with me.
WordPlayers Writing Workshops
March 27, 2008
This July, I’ll be leading WordPlayers writing workshops for children and teens at the Pegasus Studios Arts Camp. If you like writing poems or stories, come play with words using masks, story dice, photos, character games, and more. For more information, go to Pegasus Studios.
Prose Writing Workshop for Teens
February 1, 2008
In February 2008, teen writers joined me at the York Woods library in Toronto for a prose writing workshop. Participants expressed themselves through writing using a variety of stimulating activities designed to teach technique.
Young Voices Writers Conference
October 20, 2007
On October 20, 2007, I enjoyed a writing workshop with enthusiastic teen writers at the Young Voices Writers Conference. The event was held at the North York Central Library in Toronto. In my workshop, I focussed on how to revise a work of fiction, demonstrating my own revision process then discussing specific ways to polish prose with writing exercises to show technique.
Editor of Young Voices Magazine
October 18, 2007
On October 18, 2007, I joined the staff of the Toronto Public Library to celebrate the launch of Young Voices 2007, the library’s annual magazine for teen writing and art. As a guest editor of the magazine, I congratulated this year’s winners and encouraged teens aged 12 to 19 to enter their writing for next year’s magazine, when I’ll again act as an editor. For more information about how to submit, go to Young Voices magazine.
Prose Workshop, Toronto Public Library
February 20, 2007
Teens aged 12 to 19 joined me for a prose workshop at the North York Central Library in Toronto on February 20, 2007. Participants worked on their creative writing with an eye to submitting to Young Voices, Toronto Public Library’s magazine for teen writing and art. Participant Sanjeev Narayanaswamy wrote this review of the workshop.
