One of the courses I taught this term was a 15-week creative writing class where the students wrote a chapter a week to finish with a 15 (or more) chapter novel. They also designed covers, back cover summaries, and they read and discussed a different novel each week.

Of the 15 novels they read, these were the highest rated and most loved. The group consisted of students ages 10-13.

Tied at fourth place: Found, by Margaret Haddix  and Books of Umber – Happenstance Found, by P.W. Catanese.

Third place: Metro Dogs of Moscow, by Rachelle Delaney

Second Place: Guinea Dog, by Patrick Jennings

First Place: Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper

Student plots out a choose your own adventure story.

From June 29 to July 4 I taught at the CWC Safari-themed creative writing camp. This was quite the adventure, with fellow instructors Lee Edward Fodi and Kallie George. We began the camp with an introductory video, shot by Luke Spence Byrd, and set the tone for a week of imagination.

My part in this was to teach choose your own adventure, traps and dangers, hidden cities and strange, musical instruments. To set the students up for a writing project, we often did a craft,. Here are some of the traps my students crafted:

A giant slingshot found deep in the jungle!

Student crafts a catapult.

Students hard at work writing their stories.

A student writing his choose your own adventure story.

It seems funny to be “away from home” when you are less than 50 km from home. But as I look around myself it does feel like another universe. I am surrounded by kids and teens, from grades four all the way up to grade eleven. I must admit that I cherish these moments, as this is when I get to observe my subjects in their environment. As an author of teen lit, I watch and learn.

Most of these students I know from previous classes. There’s a familiarity with us, as they know my quirks and I know theirs. The ones whom I’m meeting for the first time get comfortable quickly, and the energy begins high. This is always the way with these camps – a high energy the first day as they promise to prolong their time here by never sleeping. This won’t last the week.

I’m here with other mentors – Lee Edward Fodi and Kallie George. Our theme this year is Safari – a strange theme considering it’s pouring rain and quite cold outside. Perhaps, this theme and get our minds off the fact that Vancouver is due to be denied yet another summer – and isn’t that the true purpose of writing? To take one’s minds off the tragic?

My first class isn’t until 2pm, when I will introduce my students to the theme of lost cities. It’s a favourite of mine, and hopefully they’ll be inspired to imagine their own hidden cities. For now, I’ll leave you with the movie we created, with the help of Luke Spense Byrd, that started off our festivities last night.