Asking your child, “How was school today?” often elicits, “Fine,” or, “Good.” Today, however, parents of Chaminade’s middle school students might get a different answer.

Instead of a usual Thursday in school, students attended their classes on a modified schedule because Gordon Korman, an author of 80 children and young adult books, visited Chaminade to give a talk and lead a workshop. Today was the second day of his two-day visit.

Most Chaminade middle school students have read at least one Gordon Korman book, but until his visit, they probably didn’t know that he wrote his first book when he was just about their age. As a 7^th grader, Korman wrote, This Can’t be Happening at MacDonald Hall, for a school assignment. He earned a B+, but he sent his manuscript to Scholastic, and in 9^th grade, Korman was a published author.

During his talk, Korman shared with students how he has continued to write for three-quarters of his life – he constantly asks himself, “What if?” Korman encouraged them to ask themselves this very question if they ever have writer’s block. Students also had the opportunity to ask Korman questions.

In addition to sharing his writing experiences and offering advice, Korman led workshops for each grade level. The workshops were held in the library, and students wrote their own adventure scenes, and some were read aloud for the group. All middle school students also had the opportunity to come afterschool or at lunch to get copies of Korman’s books signed.

The two-day event was organized by Middle School Assistant Librarian Linda Anderson.