As I mentioned the other day, I’ve had a guest at my house this week.
Well, formally she’s a "mentee," but we’re not actually all that formal around here.

Together since Monday, we’ve written and revised and visited with first graders and now, to round out the experience, we’re blogging together.

So, welcome, Maggie! I’m so honored you chose to be here for your "Project Week".
(No jokes about me being a project or needing work, please, folks…)

I think it’s pretty unusual for a 7th grader to be able to immerse herself in something like this and, even more importantly, to want to immerse herself the way you did. You’ve been on fire!

Let’s chat a little bit about how it’s been…

L: How did it feel to be an author for a week?

M: It was a really rewarding experience, I mean I wrote a whole book in one week. It was really interesting to get into the perspective of a child, because the kind of books that you write and I was experimenting with writing, kids don’t start out reading them to themselves but they are meant to be read aloud to teach new vocabulary and skills such as rhyming and rhythm. Basically it was a really fun and academically enhancing week.

L: Were there any surprises?

M: There were not really any surprises this week, except for how quickly we produced this book. I mean less than half way through the week (2 days) all of the initial writing was done. (Of course it took longer to polish it up!)

L: What was most challenging?

M: The most challenging part was probably the brainstorming and then writing the first draft. Getting a definite plot-line down on paper was defiantly the most difficult part.

L: What was most fun?

M: For me the most fun part was on Tuesday when I just sat down with you and we turned everything into rhyme and just cranked out most of the text that would need to be completed for the story. It was a very satisfying morning.

L: That’s nice of you to say, and I had a great day that day, too! But honestly, YOU turned it into rhyme yourself. I just supported you! 
So, how will this week affect your writing in general — and affect you as a writer?

M: I think I will now think more about the audience that I am writing to before I just start writing down my ideas. I also think that this experience has improved my editing skills a lot.

L: Yes, you really were willing to do the hard work of revision. That impressed me. Do you think you’ll work on other picture book manuscripts in the future?

M: I most certainly will continue writing picture book manuscripts. It was really fun and I learned a lot, also I think is a good way to get an idea down without having to write a whole novel.

Thanks so much, Liz,
Maggie

Thank you, too!
It’s been really fruitful for me to spend a number of days being more conscious about what it is that I do, and working to articulate that.
Plus, I loved having a sidekick!
Come back soon!