A Blizzard of Creative Ideas at Morrison
Yes – a blizzard is the best image I can think of – a swirling storm of terrific thoughts, questions and ideas! I was invited to R.F. Morrison school for a visit with the Grade5/6 class. After reading a chapter from my new book Frostbite Hotel , the flurry of ideas, questions and comments began! From amazing connections you made between yourselves and the story, to phenomenal predictions about what might happen next (always keeping ‘conflict’ in mind, like all good writers should!), to insightful questions and comments about the writing process itself, we had an awesome whirlwind of a time together. (Whew – have I used enough ‘wind’ and ‘snow’ imagery?)
It was truly a delight to spend some of the afternoon with you all (I felt I could have stayed all day, but I’m sure you had other tasks to do! 🙂 ). I enjoyed seeing some familiar faces from classes I had worked with a few years ago during an Artist Residency (I remember your folktale and creative character projects very well…). Others I was meeting for the first time yesterday but felt we got along right away. I hope you’ll agree with me that no matter what our ‘backstory’ together was, the time was comfortable and lots of fun!
I was quite honoured when you asked me to read another scene and then another chapter from Frostbite Hotel. As an author, it is such a wonderful feeling when you discover that your story captures the imaginations of your readers. I read and write because I enjoy imagining and living in other ‘worlds’ (even if they look like our own) – the fact that you wanted to spend time in Kirby, Marvin, Jeannie (and even The Bear’s) world means a lot to me. If you go on to read Frostbite Hotel yourselves, please let me know what you think!
Last but certainly not least, I was so impressed and excited by all the independent reading and writing that seems to be going on in this group. A few of you told me about (and even showed me!) the writing you are doing on your own time. That is so exciting – enjoy the process, enjoy creating, and keep going with it!
Thank you for the invitation to your classroom. Till we meet again!
Karin 🙂
