Writer’s Conference

On Thursday, April 18th, I went to a writer’s conference. It was very cool!

When we first got there, before everyone else had arrived, a nice man my Mum knows introduced me to Kenneth Oppel (author of series like Airborn and Silverwing) and I got some of my books signed.

Then, a woman named Alyxandra Harvey, who is an author of a series about vampires, talked a bit about how she liked to write and where she found inspiration.

After that, Kenneth Oppel talked about how he first discovered how he wanted to be a writer, how he got inspiration, how he first got published, and the processes he actually goes through in writing a book and getting it published. He said he writes his books at least 4 times before he sends it to the publisher!  Mr. Oppel also told us we should sniff books because they smell good and will guaranteed make you have a better life!

After the opening speeches, there were options to go see different writers and a station about how to get published. I chose to stay for the Q&A with Kenneth Oppel.

People asked lots of different questions. Some of the questions and his answers were: “If the library was burning down and you could only save one book, what book would you save?” He said the yellow pages because then you could still find people and places. Another question was “do you base your characters on people that you know?” Mr. Oppel’s answer was that he takes some features from people that he knows but he doesn’t entirely borrow a person.  He was also asked “How many books do you plan to write?” His answer was he plans on writing until he dies, and he didn’t want to set a limit. The question I asked was “Do you have any say in what goes on the covers?” His answer was that in Canada his publishers are more flexible, but in the States, he usually doesn’t have much input, and they pretty much control what goes on the covers. If I wrote a book, I would want to decide what the cover looks like, because that is a very important part of the book, and can influence sales. Some questions I would have liked to ask were “What advice would you give to someone  who would like to start writing?” or “How did you learn some of the slang from the 1800’s in Europe so you could accurately write This Dark Endeavour?”

I think I learned a lot from this conference. I really enjoyed going, and it was tons of fun. I learned what it takes to get published, how long the actual process is to write a book, what the publishers might say/do, and that you should sniff books. I enjoyed meeting Kenneth Oppel and listening to his words of wisdom.

Community Cleanup

Today, on Earth Day we walked around the community picking up trash/litter. We also went to Trilium Manor and cleaned up the gardens and property. Our main focus was to help out the community to seem more welcoming, clean and beautiful. Earth Day is a day to celebrate the beautiful land Mother Nature gave us. Now the neighbourhood is cleaner.

Earth Day is every day!

What can we do to step more lightly on our earth?

This was the question that we ask every student in our school.

Each student traced their foot on recycled paper and then added a pledge about what they could do to lighten their footprint on the earth. The footprints are posted in the hallway by the gym to remind us that together we can make a difference. Earth Day can be every day of the year.

 

Cyberbullying

Today, the OPP came to our school as part of the Safety Village and we learned about Cyberbullying.

They talked about all things to do with CYBERBULLYING, such as what it is, how to prevent it and sexting, which is a term used by the safety village folk. Sexting is the act of sending controversial photos to another person, which is an act of child pornography. Sometimes the photos get spread around, and is extremely embarrassing and devastating through harassment and teasing.

Check out the Youth Connected website.

Matt and Zach.

Movie: The Bully

Today we discussed 5 inspirational stories about victims of bullying. Next week we are attending the movie “The Bully” and it is based on these 5 stories. The paragraphs that we read about each family were emotional and really eye opening. Hearing about each story made us want to stand up and not let people hurt others or themselves. We answered questions about each group and we used livescribe pens to record our thinking about each family. There stories made us think about how everyone is different in their own way. They may be “not cool” or have special needs but that shouldn’t change how people treat them. Everyone is special in their own way. It is what makes them unique and makes them who they are. No one should be judged for being themselves. When people make fun of people because they have special needs it makes me upset (Hannah). I have a friend with special needs and if you take the time to get to know him you would find out how funny and awesome he is. (Emilee) I had a similar experience at camp when I got to know a girl with special needs. She was very reserved but when I got to know her she opened up and felt comfortable to talk to me.

Below is a link to watch the trailer for “The Bully” movie

The Bully Trailer on YouTube