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32 In Another’s Skin

Maggie de Vries
British Columbia
C.C. Humphreys
British Columbia
John Wilson
British Columbia
Maggie de Vries,  British Columbia

Maggie de Vries is the award-winning author of seven books for children, including Tale of a Great White Fish: A Sturgeon Story, Fraser Bear, Chance and the Butterfly and a teen novel Hunger Journeys, which won the 2011 Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize at the BC Book Awards. She also teaches creative writing at UBC, UNBC, travels regularly to lead writing workshops with children and teachers, and occasionally edits children’s books. Maggie lives in Vancouver. Read more

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C.C. Humphreys,  British Columbia

C. C. (Chris) Humphreys is an actor-turned-playwright-turned-novelist whose love of history and drama comes out in dashing adventure novels. His books for young adults include The Runestone Saga, and most recently, The Hunt of the Unicorn; for adults, his latest is A Place Called Armageddon. Read more

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John Wilson,  British Columbia

John Wilson has almost two dozen books to his credit, including novels and non-fiction for kids, teens and adults. From lost Arctic explorers in the Governor General’s Award nominated The Alchemist’s Dream to holy Crusaders in the acclaimed The Heretic’s Secret series, Wilson has brought excitement and adventure to historical moments from across the globe. His latest title, I Am Canada: Shot at Dawn, explores life in the horrific trenches of World War I from the perspective of a shell-shocked Canadian soldier. Read more

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Thursday, October 20, 2011 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Waterfront Theatre
$17 / $8.50 for student groups

A 17-year-old about to be shot at dawn for desertion in World War I, a teenage girl fighting off hunger in war-torn Holland, a girl who enters a world of unicorns and danger through an ancient tapestry...the characters of fiction are many and varied. But the challenges for authors remain the same—how to ensure that the character is believable and true to his or her age. Three authors talk about inhabiting another’s skin in their writing, taking on the life of characters far younger than they are now and in far different circumstances. How do you know when your character’s voice, insight and awareness of the world is right for the times?

Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the door 45 minutes before the event begins.

Suitable for grades 8–12

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View the study guide for this event.

In Another’s Skin

A 17-year-old about to be shot for desertion in World War I, a teenage girl fighting off hunger in war-torn Holland, a girl who enters a world of unicorns and danger through an ancient tapestry… the characters of fiction are many and varied. But the challenges for authors remain the same—how to ensure that the character is believable and true to his or her age. Three authors talk about inhabiting another skin in their writing, taking on the life of characters far younger than they are now, and in far different circumstances. How do you know when your character’s voice, insight and awareness of the world is right for the times?

Curriculum Connection:

  • Discuss character traits and how a writer uses language to create characters
  • Comprehension and literary analysis
  • Select and apply strategies to develop effective communication strategies

Activities:

  1. Have your students write ten questions you would like to ask the main character of de Vries, Humphreys, or Wilson's novel. Or have them write ten questions to the author themselves about choices they made for the novel (why the character made the decisions they did, for example). Select some questions to read aloud and brainstorm answers as a class. This may spawn debates as to why the author made certain decisions about the character or why the characters did certain things.
  2. Get your students to choose one of the novels and write a premise for the novel's sequel, which uses the same characters and introduces new ones.
  3. Have a class discussion on the value and controversy of historical fiction. Ask students to brainstorm significant moments in history that they would have loved to live through. Then, have them write a premise for a novel or short story about the moment in history, who they would choose as their main character, what would happen to them, and why.

More Resources:

I Am Canada series lesson plans: http://scholastic.ca/iamcanada/

Historical Fiction Study Guide: http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/instructor/social1.htm

Intro to Fantasy Chart: http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LACreatingAFantasyStory612.htm

Science Fiction Resources: http://www.ou.edu/wlt/onlinemagazine/2010may/teaching-sf.html

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