Story and photos by Lisa Carolin
Close to 50 fifth-graders at South Meadows Elementary School had the opportunity on March 26 to learn first hand from author Jonathan Rand what are some of the key ingredients of writing a book.
The popular kids’ author known for scary stories like the American Chillers series, spoke to students as part of March is Reading Month and Authors in Chelsea activities thanks to grants from the Chelsea Education Foundation and the Friends of the Chelsea District Library.
Teachers at South received copies of the American Chillers series for their classroom libraries, and the school media center received eight copies of his latest books.
“His books are really good,” said fifth-grader Marisol Salveri.
“They’re creepy but interesting,” said fifth-grader Reese Johnson.
Both girls attended Rand’s “Writeshop” that took place in the school’s media center. Rand began by asking the students what he needed to get to the school. Students’ answers included, “coffee,” “glasses,” and “creativity,” but the answer Rand was looking for was “a map.”
“It is important to know where your story is going,” said Rand. “I create a map first with an outline and an ending. Then I choose a title.”
He showed the students a colorful slide with a girl clutching a dragon and asked them to write down as many titles as they could think of.
“Pay close attention to the emotion,” Rand told them.
He explained the four critical components of every story:
1.) Who is the hero?
2.) What does your hero want?
3.) What’s stopping your hero from getting it?
4.) What’s at stake?
“These are questions you ask yourself about your own story,” explained Rand. “What does your hero stand to lose?”
Students had lots of ideas and their joy for reading was evident.
Rand is a Michigan native and says that his goal is to instill the importance of reading and writing in kids.
