The Boreal Forest has been nominated for a Red Cedar Award!
The Red Cedars are British Columbia’s children’s choice awards, and I am SO EXCITED to know that kids across British Columbia will be reading my book this school year! I decided to celebrate by designing a brand new presentation, one that combines cool STEM content and practical writing advice – two of my favourite things:
What’s Your Book About? How to Decide What to Leave Out
“What’s your book about?” is the second-most-common thing people ask a writer – just after “Where do you get your ideas?” But before we can tell other people, we have to be able to tell ourselves. Knowing what the book is really about lets us research efficiently, revise strategically, and avoid time-consuming tangents… producing a final draft that’s concise, cohesive, and effective.
In this presentation, I share the coolest animal facts that aren’t in The Boreal Forest, and explain exactly why I cut them. Then, we’ll walk through each draft of the book’s opening scene, exploring the step-by-step-decision-making process of rewriting. Throughout the program, two-minute challenges will give students a chance to apply these techniques to their own manuscripts.
All presentations will be virtual this year, for obvious reasons. And because I’m still up to my eyeballs in new writing projects, my availability is extremely limited. So teachers and librarians: If you’d like me to visit your class this year, please don’t wait!