Voice, Publishing and Kona Ice

Today’s guest author was Diane Haig, both a nonfiction and fiction writer. She began her presentation by sharing with the campers how she became a writer. Haig had always been a fan of reading but this didn’t lead to a writing career until she suddenly became very ill. Bedridden, Haig found herself reading a lot about her favorite historical figure, Napoleon Bonaparte. After many travels to France to see his physical surroundings, she had gathered a wide array of knowledge dealing with Napoleon. She then decided to write a historical travel guide that compiled all of her knowledge.

This lead to her finding an agent and getting published many more times. Haig found herself with an itch to try fiction writing next and connected with an illustrator to create two children’s ebooks. This experience with both fiction and nonfiction, allowed her the knowledge to share with the campers three things, seen in the pictures below, that both genres require.

After reviewing each point, and providing both a personal example and an example using J.K. Rowling, Haig led the campers in a quick writing activity. She gave them a prompt and had them use the tools she gave them to turn it into a creative “hook” for a story.

Once the campers had a few minutes to write their responses, they were given a chance to share their “hooks” with the rest of the camp.

After the presentation was over, campers were able to ask Haig questions about her experiences as a writer.

Once back in the computer labs, campers got busy with their stories. As Friday begins to grow nearer and nearer, the young writers are feeling the pressure and putting in hard work in order to have their pieces edited and published by then. Additionally, the campers must start to think about which part of their story they want to share on Friday, as each camper is limited to 2-3 minutes of reading time.

The campers enjoyed a refreshing break today as Kona Ice returned. This time allowed their brains to clear for a little while before they began writing again.
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