About a year ago there was a fabulous feature about hosting author visits in
Teacher Librarian -
unfortunately my copies are packed in preparation for moving so I can't tell you
just which edition,
but someone might know.
Also last year I had Year 5/6 students work on author studies and we brainstormed a
list of
questions that we might ask. I have copied these below for you because I think for
10 and 11
year-olds, they showed some quality thinking.. Some are a little bit personal and
everyday, such as
where were you born, but the follow-up question about the influence this had on
the author's
writing gives it depth.
Where and when were you born?
Has the time or the place of your birth had any influence on your writing?
What are your favourite childhood memories?
Do you weave these into your stories?
Has your childhood had any influence on your writing?
Did you enjoy school?
Did you like to write when you were at school or did you discover your talent
later?
When you were a child did you see yourself as a writer?
How/ Why did you become a writer?
Was there anyone or anything that was the motivation for you to be a writer?
When did you start writing professionally?
Was a book the first thing your wrote?
Have you tried writing other things like poetry or newspaper articles?
Is writing your first career? Were you always going to be a writer?
What motivates you to keep writing?
Why did you choose to write for children, not adults?
Have any of your family members been writers?
How does your family influence your writing?
Have you been inspired by other authors?
If you had another job apart from writing, what would it be?
If you went back in time, would you still choose to be a writer?
Do you find writing hard? Do you enjoy it?
How does it feel to be famous and recognised by children everywhere?
What advice would you give to a child interested in a writing career?
Would you like your children to be authors?
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
How many books have you written?
Which was the first?
Which is your favourite? Why?
Which has been the most successful?
Which has been the most satisfying to write?
Why did you choose to write the sort of books that you do?
Have you a favourite genre?
Do you read this genre in adult fiction?
How does your personal reading influence your writing?
Do you regret having written any of your books?
What is the best part about writing?
Are you going to continue writing?
What is the inspiration for your stories?
Are any based on your life?
Are any based on true stories?
Are your characters based on anyone you know?
How do you make up the characters and what they are like?
Who is your favourite character that you have developed? Why?
Have you ever created a character that you wished was real?
Have you ever created a character that you didn't like, but they had to be in the
story?
How do you choose the names for the characters?
Are they names you like, children you know or made up to help us understand the
character's
personality?
Do whole stories just pop into your head or does the story work itself out as you
write?
Do you start at the start and write to the end?
Do you know what's going to happen in the end before you start?
Does the story ever turn out in a different way than you planned?
Do you start with the title?
How long does it take for you to write a book?
Have you ever started writing a book but not finished it because it doesn't work
out?
Do you have to do lots of revisions?
Are you organised with a set writing time each day?
Are you a morning or an evening person?
What do you do if it is your "writing time" but you can't think of something to
write about?
Do you like to work in silence or do you prefer to have some music or the
television in the
background?
Do you concentrate on the spelling and punctuation and stuff, or do you just get
the story down?
Does the editor fix these things for you afterwards, or do you have to do it
yourself?
Do you have a break before you start your next book?
Do you only have one book on the go at a time?
Do you have any input into the design of your books?
How does the publisher influence or change your writing?
Do you use the same illustrator for your books? Why?
Do you choose the illustrator?
Do you have a favourite illustrator?
Are you a good illustrator?
Are you good at acting or singing or other creative things?
Would you like your books to be dramatised on television or the movies?
What sorts of things do you like to read or watch?
Do these influence your writing?
What is your favourite book that you have read?
Barbara
Barbara Braxton
Teacher Librarian
Palmerston District Primary School
PALMERSTON ACT 2913
AUSTRALIA
T. 61 2 6205 6162
F. 61 2 6205 7242
E. barbara@iimetro.com.au
W. http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au
"Together we learn from each other."
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