Imagine reading your favorite book and having the opportunity to meet the author!
Well for some of the students at Annapolis Middle School (AMS), that turned into reality.
Bestselling author Kami Garcia visited Annapolis Middle School to share her insights on writing and creativity with students who are passionate about becoming authors themselves. Garcia is the author of the New York Times bestselling “Beautiful Creatures” series, as well as the “Teen Titans” graphic novel series.
Ms. Carolyn Lozano, an Individuals & Societies teacher at AMS, explains why they wanted Ms. Garcia. “I had a student (Eian) that was interested in what I was reading in my free time. I was reading through the “Beautiful Creatures” series. He asked me to take him to the library to see if any of the books in the series were available at school. As he read, other students asked him questions and started to take an interest in the series. Seeing an opportunity for the students to read, I wanted to check out enough for a class set, but there weren’t enough copies to go around! I googled Kami and emailed her to see if she would donate books to the school, and she graciously did!”
Ms. Lozano shared what she saw happening with her students reading interests with her colleagues and Ms. Amy McCarty (AMS Media Specialist) and Ms. Catherine Miller (AMS Language & Literature Teacher) took the steps to see if they could get Ms. Garcia to visit the school.
Ms. Miller shares why she was keen on inviting Ms. Garcia, “I knew that Kami met Ms. Lozano at a recent event, and previously met Ms. McCarty at LitCon a few years ago. The 7th grade Language & Literacy team floated the idea of reaching out to her because they are currently in a curriculum unit on graphic novels. We contacted her and she agreed to speak to the 7th graders about the ideation process of starting a graphic novel, with a focus on characterization and main character development, and plot development specifically through conflict and rising action. Students brought their notebooks in order to pre-write during the assembly. The event was also live-streamed to the rest of the school through Google Meet, so all students could benefit. Afterwards, students and teachers of all grades were invited to come and meet Ms. Garcia for a book signing and Q&A. Ms. Garcia’s rep from Park Books in Severna Park also came to give students the opportunity to buy books. In the end, we held a raffle for the students who attended the after-school event, and gave away six books to eager students who are fans of her work.”
During her visit, Garcia spoke to students about the importance of finding their own unique voice as writers. She encouraged them to read widely and to experiment with different writing styles. Garcia also shared some of her own personal experiences as a writer, including the challenges she faced in getting her first book published.
“It’s important to remember that everyone’s writing journey is different,” Garcia said. “There’s no one right way to write. Just keep writing and don’t give up on your dreams.”
Students at Annapolis Middle School were inspired by Garcia’s visit.
Many of them said that they were excited to start writing more after hearing her talk.
“I really liked hearing about how she found her voice as a writer,” said one student. “It made me want to start writing more and to experiment with different styles.”
Another student said that she was inspired by Garcia’s story of perseverance.
“It was really inspiring to hear how she didn’t give up on her dream of becoming a writer,” she said. “It made me want to keep working hard on my own writing.”
Garcia’s visit to Annapolis Middle School was a valuable experience for students who are passionate about writing. She shared her insights and advice on writing and creativity, and she inspired students to keep writing and to never give up on their dreams.
Here are some highlights of what Ms. Garcia shared with the young writers:
How to start a book. It is important to take time to focus on building a good “main character” description.
As an author you must know that a story is about a main character that wants something to happen and how they overcome obstacles to achieve their goal. When writers understand that, they will begin to understand how a story is different from a diary.
While building characters, remember to think about how to make your character unique and memorable because one goal is to make readers want to remember the character. A few ways to do that are using physical features, talents, mentality, behavior, habit, fears, and other relatable human traits. Most importantly, make sure the major characters have flaws, but specifically at least one significant flaw and make the flaw relatable.
A suggestion on how to start a character on their journey is to start the character in their main habitat, whatever or wherever the author believes that is.
The great parts about graphic novels is that they allow writing and drawing, which allows more people to have opportunities and creates opportunities for collaboration.
Louis Nesbitt, PDM Department