Last night I spent some time at Smithville School where Suzy Kline, author of the Horrible Harry series, was sharing her experiences as a writer with students, parents, and staff. Suzy’s presentation totally engaged everyone in the room regardless of age, profession, whatever. For me, the sterling moment came when Suzy actually held up her own notebook and talked about how she carries it with her and makes notes to record experiences. In fact, she had several notebooks, a scrapbook, drafts…Even better, Suzy gave examples of things in her notebooks that she actually used in her published books. What a moment! Although I was already sold on writer’s notebook, Suzy Kline’s presentation affirmed my belief that the time we have spent developing and implementing writer’s notebook is worthwhile.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that Smithville School is acknowledged in Horrible Harry and The Goog with the Smithville boiler room being the source for an illustration. You’ll have to read the book to understand this reference. Kudos to Smithville School and heartfelt appreciation to Suzy Kline!
What a wonderfully positive lead off posting! Kudos to all for bringing such a powerful experience to our schools!
What a profoundly important moment for a young writer. I trust the experience was captured in many writers’ notebooks under, perhaps, “turningpoints.”