A teacher's review of my visit to Butler Elementary

“On Tuesday, April 30th the grade 6 and Sec. 1 classes were very pleased to welcome author Julia K. Rohan into our classrooms. Julia, who is originally from Ontario but now resides in Knowlton, has written a fantasy novel for youths and is currently working on publishing the 2nd of 3 in the series. Both classes have been reading from her novel "Weaverworld - Grimsnipe's Revenge".

 

Julia shared with us the process of creating her characters and story; her inspirations as a writer; and all about the world of publishing.  The students showed a lot of interest and asked pertinent questions that lead to a fascinating discussion.

 

During story planning for narrative writing in our MELS end-of-year exam, one of the grade 6 students brought up Julia’s discussion on character development. Julia told us that she spent a really long time developing her characters’ personalities before she even knew what the story would be about. It’s the characters that control the story.  Many of the students really thought that was a good idea and began to really think about their characters’ personalities in the stories they would create. We also used passages in her book to demonstrate how a writer can describe a situation with so much detail and in such an interesting way.  I, the grade 6 teacher, was really pleased to see how Julia’s visit affected the class and how my students were inspired to become better writers. What more could a teacher want?”

 

Christine Blinn, Butler Elementary

My visit to Butler Elementary School in Bedford, QC

On April 30, 2013 I visited Butler Elementary School in Bedford where I met with two Secondary 1 classes (equivalent to Grade 7).

Ms. Blinn's class had read up to the part where Jack enters the attic, so I continued reading from there. Before that, though, I talked to them about the writing process and specifically about how I came to write "Weaverworld: Grimsnipe's Revenge". The students asked some great questions and, as always, were a little shocked to hear that it took me 10 years to go from having no book at all to having three books in draft manuscript form. I explained to them that the hard work really begins when the first draft is done. Editing and rewriting is the hardest part of the job but can also be the most rewarding, especially when you see something you thought was okay getting better and better!

 

Then I moved on to Ms. Soule's Secondary 1 class. They had only had a chance to read the first chapter, so it was fun to catch them up on the action in Granny's attic. With both classes I emphasized that when writing a story the most important thing to concentrate on is character development. I explained how I began writing my book by writing biographies of my characters so that I knew them very well even before I started. By taking the time to go through this process the writer develops an emotional connection to his or her characters which comes through in the book.

Thank you once again to the teachers and students at Butler Elementary for inviting me to come and speak about "Weaverworld". As I told the students, Book Two is in the second rewrite stage now. If all goes well it should be ready for the book shelves by August this year. The title for the moment (and this may change!) is "Weaverworld: Quest for the Eagle-eye Amulet".

JKR
May 11, 2013

A teacher reviews Weaverworld, and Julia's school visit

This lovely review of my visit to a school late last year is much appreciated!

"On Novemer 14, 2012 the grades 5, 6 and 7 classes of Heroes’ Memorial School thoroughly enjoyed a visit from local author Julia Rohan, author of Weaverworld: Grimsnipe’s Revenge.  Ms. Rohan had previously donated a copy of Weaverworld to our school library.  Up to that point none of our students had read the book, but were eager to do so after meeting with Ms. Rohan and learning of the book’s plotline.

Ms. Rohan has an easygoing manner that put the students at ease right away.  As she discussed how she came to write this particular book, the students were very impressed with the fact that she had been inspired by many of the books they themselves have enjoyed.  This led students to ask many questions about other books she had read and enjoyed.   The students took special note of how Ms. Rohan approaches the writing process, as some of them have dreams of writing novels of their own someday.  These budding young authors displayed a great deal of enthusiasm for the suggestion that Ms. Rohan return to our school to lead a small writer’s workshop in the future.

We all eagerly anticipate the release of Ms. Rohan’s next installment of Weaverworld, and students in my class continue to mention Ms. Rohan’s visit often during our writer’s workshop.  It was a wonderful presentation and we look forward to having Ms. Rohan return to visit us in the future."

 Lisa Bates, Heroes’ Memorial

Teacher, Grade 6

My second visit to Sherbrooke Elementary!

I had another wonderful day talking to students at Sherbrooke Elementary on Dec. 14, 2012. Thanks to Mrs. Anne Lawton who organized my visit, I spoke to two grade 6 classes. Because it was my last visit to a school before Christmas I held a contest for each class and gave away books to the winners. As usual, the students asked lots of challenging and interesting questions and we all had a lot of fun.

Sherbrooke Elementary 6L

Sherbrooke Elementary 6B

CBC.ca | Breakaway | The Weaverworld of the Eastern Townships#.UNCuARcA52Y.facebook

CBC.ca | Breakaway | The Weaverworld of the Eastern Townships#.UNCuARcA52Y.facebook

My visit to St. John's School

Had an absolutely fantastic day at St. John's School in St. Jean sur Richelieu on Dec. 10, 2012. I did three presentations to four classes who listened and asked lots of great questions. As usual I talked about my writing process, which seems to be a really intriguing subject for many students. Thanks to teacher Faye Clarke for inviting me, and to all the students who lined up to ask for my autograph at the end! I hope those of you who purchased the book enjoy it.

 

 

A teacher's review of the "Weaverworld" school presentation

"My students have been talking about your visit with us, and those with the book have been devouring it. I have already had to warn one of my students not to let slip any of the details for the rest of us. As well, it was very helpful for my students to hear about how you saw the book in your head as if it were a movie, and you were simply writing it down on paper. We discussed the next day about how difficult it can be sometimes to get what they see out onto the paper. My colleagues and I want to thank you again for coming in, and if it is possible, we would gladly welcome you back to do a writers' workshop with some of our students whenever you are ready to do so."

L. Bates, Heroes' Memorial