As an author I have discovered that you never know where your writing may take you. I have spoken at schools, book stores, libraries and school fund raisers, sharing my story and discussing writing with groups as small as two people and as large as 150 people. This past week I added two very different places to my expanding list: a Girl Scout day camp, and Juvenile Hall.
I shared the same message to each group and I discovered that, a girl, is a girl, is a girl, when you really love to read. Whether they were sitting at a beautiful park in Pasadena or in a secured facility with guards, the love of reading and books showed through.
“Tell Me a Story” was the theme for the Girl Scout camp where the girls ages 5-12 read stories, talked about writing, and wrote their own stories that would be published at the end of the week.
I shared with the girls that you need three things to be an author:
- Inspiration
- Perspiration
- Dedication
Using examples from my own experience with my picture book “Grandma’s Pear Tree” I was able to show the girls that using these three things you can accomplish your goals, no matter what your goal may be.
A few days later I was at Juvenile Hall sharing the exact same message, with a little twist, to a group of 13-18 year olds. I was able to show them samples of my rejection letters and told them how I moved on until I finally met my goal. These young ladies were bright, insightful and had some fabulous questions.
Did I make a difference with either group? I may never know, but if they ask me to speak again I will do it gladly because I saw a few sparks in some of their eyes and it made a difference to me.
Suzanne Santillan
Writing on the Sidewalk
