School Assembly! I will be speaking at Princeton Day School to grades K-4 on November 7 at 8:30am. The assembly will cover in highly visual terms with fantastical images of nature and volcanoes these topics ...
Follow Your Curiosity: Everyone is curious about something -- dinosaurs, space, sports, volcanoes. I will share how I followed my curiosity to turn a Bedtime Story for my daughters into a Book. Not every one has passions, but everyone has curiosity. "Passion" is often what other people think you have when you "Follow Your Curiosity"
Write What You Know: Picking characters based on people in your life make for better stories, because you can read their dialog out loud and know if it is authentic or not. If you follow your curiosity, more and more of what you care about becomes what you know!
Top 4 Volcanoes of All Time: I researched volcanoes extensively and narrowed down my list to Crater Lake, Mt. Pelee, Tambora, and Krakatoa. All of these volcanoes inspired volcanoes in Veronica and the Volcano. Crater Lake is now the deepest lake in the US and emitted 100 times more ash than Mt. St. Helens; Mt. Pelee shows what happens when you don't heed the volcanoes; Tambora led to a year without summer and the writing of Frankenstein; and Krakatoa was the biggest bang and biggest wave in human history.
Nature is as Fantastical as Any Imagination: Blue Lava, St. Elmo's Fire, Supervolcanoes, Lava Tubes, ... To find story ideas, you need look no further than your science book!
How to Make Your Own Story: I encourage the kids to make three separate lists: things you know well; people you know well; and things/people you are curious about, then look for ways to combine them.