Writing can be lonely. Most days, it’s just me, my keyboard, and my yappy dog. It’s easy to forget about my audience when I’m wrapped up in creating a story. I can’t say I write for my readers, because that would be a lie. I write for myself. My process is wholly emotional and always inspired by something.
Today, my audience inspired me.
I spent a few hours talking to the students of Eden Hall, Pine Richland’s Upper Elementary, where my older daughters attend school. Beforehand, my middle daughter grilled me to make sure I wasn’t going to embarrass her in front of her friends. She was clearly nervous about what the presence of her good old mom might do to her social status. By the third session, she asked if she could sit next to me in front of the class.
She was proud.
I was so touched.
In planning my book talk, I had to be careful about a number of things. First of all, The Whisper Trilogy is a young adult series. A number of the children I would be presenting to might be a little young for some of my books’ subject matter. Before doing a reading from Whisper, I explained to the kids that I was going to change some the words and leave out a sentence or two. I changed “High school sucks.” To “High school stinks,” for example.
I also had to consider that I was speaking in a public school and that it’s pretty tough to talk about a 16-year-old girl who is actually an eons-old angel without being questioned about her creator. It’s impossible to talk about demons who prey on children without being questioned as to who they’re working for.
In short, there was a ton of Biblical lore talk. God, Lucifer, Heaven, Hell, angels, demons etc… I explained to the kids that when authors write, even for paranormal fantasy type stuff like my book, they research in order to be authentic. Some authors might use The Koran for research or even The Constitution or biographies of historical figures. I had to use the Bible. I told them how I took an event from the Bible- the creation of Eve- and fictionalized it. In Wake, Callie learns that God hosted a contest, much like American Idol, in Heaven. Female angels competed in a talent competition to be the face of Eve. All sorts of celestial drama ensued, which resulted in the fall of one of Whisper’s main villains – Deyanna. She became angry that she didn’t win for the face of Eve, and she deflected to Hell.
The kids ate it up. They wanted to know what the demons and angels look like. They asked if Callie can fly and if she has wings. Do her parents know she’s an angel? Can other people see the demons? Are there other angels? The questions kept coming at me.
I also used my time with the students to talk to them about what it’s like to have a career in writing. I outlined the different paths to publication and highlighted my experiences with self-publishing as well as signing with Pandamoon Publishing. I also shared some shocking statistics about how many books are submitted to agents/editors versus how many actually get chosen. They were surprised to learn how difficult it is to become “successful” as a writer. My intention was to teach them to write a pitch for their favorite book or movie and to have group members vote on the best pitch. The activity was supposed to reflect what it’s like for a writer to query agents. The kids enjoyed it, but there just wasn’t enough time. They wanted to talk about the books instead, which was fine with me. I can’t argue when kids are excited about books and reading.
This morning I received a message from one of the student’s parents. She told me her daughter came home and said “I want her books,” and thanked me for writing something that her daughter actually wants to read. This was immeasurably cool.
I was a teacher for nine years before I had my daughters, so talking in front of a classroom of kids is not foreign to me. Their energy is electric. They are bubbles of curiosity. They can’t sit still. They can’t stay quiet. Their casual innocence is something I never knew I missed until today.
I wouldn’t want to go back to teaching. Too much has changed. Everything is so much more complicated than it used to be. But, today I realized that being around kids energizes me and reminds me not of why I write but of why I choose to share my writing with the world.
As I explained to the students today, publishing a book is a load of work. From the writing to the pitching to the editing to the designing to the marketing. It is endless. But, when I see the faces of the kids who love my story, I’m so glad I put the time in. Even if it’s solely to tickle the imaginations of these everyday amazing children, it is so worth it. If my books inspire them and give them hope, that’s a bonus. If Whisper helps them connect the dots to realize that they have purpose and worth and an endless array of second chances in this broken world, then I have truly won the lottery.
Thanks to Ann Fetterman and Carol Lamagna for having me in to speak. If you are a teacher or know a teacher who would like to have an author visit the classroom, contact me through my website – www.danafaletti.com. Or send me an email at dmgfaletti@hotmail.com