World Book Day
As part of World Book Day, the author Margaret Scott visited our school. She has written the book 'Between You and Me' and is currently working on the sequel to the book which will be released in June as part of a trilogy.
Our TY class met with Margaret on the 5th of March in the library. She told us about her journey to becoming an author and all the obstacles she experienced along the way, writing her book and the process she had to go through to get it from computer screen to paper. She also spoke to us about the life of a writer and some difficulties that you have to face as a writer.  |
| Author Margaret Scott talks to pupils during World Book Day activities here in the school.(More Images) |
We then went on to discuss books that we had read and loved, books that we couldn’t finish and what makes a book good or bad. It was an interesting conversation and there were lots of books recommended to us. Lots of teenagers have stopped reading and we came up with some possibilities as to why this is happening.
Margaret’s visit opened the eyes of many students in our class to the world of reading. It resulted in a very enjoyable discussion and hopefully encouraged more students to begin reading again.
Aoibhín Tutty-Bardon
Margaret Scott Visits by Roisin King
Margaret Scott came to our school last Wednesday the 5th
March. I can remember being tired and fed-up, before she arrived. I hadn’t
thought that she would say anything of interest, however from the moment Scott
walked in she had my full attention. She looked as if she knew what she would
say to us, and how she would say it. First impressions are important, they can
judge whether or not we give our full attention to something, or someone. The
author later told us that first impressions mean an awful lot, especially when
it comes to reading. If you don’t enjoy the first paragraph of a book, chances
are that the entire book won’t interest you.
She also mentioned how this first impression is never
perfect from the writer’s point of view. As the book is being written, the
first page is chopped and changed as often as the overall story is added to.
We then heard an article written by Scott for an English
website writing.ie. The piece was all about first impressions, and included the
opening sentence from a few of Ms. Scott’s favourite books. According to the
successful author, a book needs to immediately involve the reader and make them
ask questions. They will want to read more to find out the answers!
The inspiring woman proceeded then to tell us the story
of her first published novel, ‘Between You and Me’. We heard of the tornado of
hard work, hope and rejection before she finally found a publisher who believed
in her abilities. The writing world is a harsh world, and it is extremely
difficult to make it as a unestablished author, unless you have the necessary
hope and ambition to achieve your dreams.
Another valuable writing tip for aspiring authors given
by Scott was to get your own style of writing. She stressed the importance of
not copying other writers’ styles and voices, but rather to find your own
personal feel for story-writing. For this reason, Scott shared her inability to
read a fictional book while trying to write a novel to a deadline. She
explained to us how she would end up twisting ideas from her reading material
to suit the story, which distorted the overall plot of her unfinished book.
Therefore, to resist the temptation, Scott shared that she read a huge amount
of biographies and other non-fiction.
Scott’s priceless tips given to us were worth more to
every one of us than she could have ever thought. We eagerly asked question
after question, parched with a thirst for good advice. The experience was one
that I will never forget.
Her novel ‘Between You and Me’ is out in bookshops at
the moment and the sequel is coming soon!