Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Emails from Viewers

Recently, I was one of the kids featured in a documentary on England's Channel 4. I received a giant wave of emails. Some of these contained questions. I decided to answer a few here on my blog.

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1.) Q: Do you agree with the advice that you should always write about what you know?

A: Not really. When you're writing "realistic fiction," it sometimes is best to stick with what you know, because otherwise your story might not ring as true with readers. However, you can always do research--and I have found research immensely helpful. Also, how could authors write fantasy stories if they only stuck to what they knew?

2.) Q: Have you ever read the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel?

A: I have read the book Life of Pi. It was a very interesting book, and I would recommend it to others.

3.) Q: Have you thought about reading more about chinese history / folklore and [then] coming up with an interesting fantasy novel?

A: I do enjoy reading about Chinese history and folklore. So far, I have not written a story about either, but I think it would be a fun idea. Thanks for suggesting!

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I also received many questions not related to the Channel 4 documentary. Here are a few.

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1.) Q: Where are you from?

A: I was born in Springfield, Oregon, but I currently reside in the town of Redmond in Washington State. If you haven't heard of it, don't worry. It's pretty small. Oh, and it is the headquarters of Microsoft.

2.) Q: How do you get started writing a story that will become a good book for people to read?

A: It does depend on your definition, and your reader's definition, of a "good book." To get started, I would advise you to first think about three important things: your story's characters (the people/animals in your stories), your story's setting (the place and time in which your story is set) and your story's conflicts.

3.) Q: Are you in the middle of writing any stories right now?

A: Not really. However, I am in the middle of editing my novella, the Pickpocket Princess.

4.) Q: How many books have you published?

A: So far, I have published two books, Flying Fingers and Dancing Fingers. I will be publishing two more books soon, Yang in Disguise and the Pickpocket Princess.

5.) Q: How many siblings do you have?

A: I have one older sister, Adrianna.

6.) Q: Have you moved a lot?

A: It depends on what you call "a lot!" I was born in Springfield. Pretty soon after that, we moved to an apartment in Bellevue, but that was only for a couple of weeks. By the way, I was really young, so I don't remember any of that part. Then we moved to Renton, and that's when I began remembering things! My dad works for Microsoft and it was sort of a long commute from Renton to Redmond, so we moved to Redmond. And I don't think we're going to move again for a little while.

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I hope that you've enjoyed reading this post. Best wishes to all!

-Adora

Letter to Representative Written with Port Leyden Elementary Students

This is a "letter to the representative"--in this case, written to the Honorable John McHugh--that I wrote with students of Port Leyden Elementary through videoconferencing. They came up with the idea for a four-day school week, by the way.

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Dear Honorable John McHugh,

We are writing today to bring to your attention an issue which we believe is very important.
Do you want the kids of Port Leyden getting good grades while at the same time helping out with chores around the house, participating in extracurricular activities, and getting a good night’s sleep? If you do, please consider our proposal. We believe that schools should run on a four-day week, rather than the traditional five. This would allow students to have more time for sports and recreation; to sleep; and to help out with domestic chores around the house.
America is facing a health problem; so many people these days are not getting enough exercise and physical activity. By enforcing a four-day school week, you would give the children you represent a chance to participate in sports and other healthy recreational activities.
Many different studies have shown that sleep deprivation is bad for adults and especially growing children like us. Sometimes, we stay up until 11:00 PM to 1:00 the next morning—and then get up early for school, sometimes as early as 5:30 in the morning.
If you’re a parent, you know how annoying it is for kids not to do household chores. The truth is, kids are just too busy. 27 out of 30 students in our classroom believe that they are too busy for chores. A four-day school week would give them more time to help out around the house—giving their parents time for more serious things.
You are in a position of unique power at this moment. Why don’t you give us the chance to regain our sleep, become more active citizens, and assist our beloved parents or guardians in their natural employment? Make a decision; we will be watching.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Website Email

Recently I received a very interesting email on my website from Akaya in England. Here it is:

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Hi Adora! I wish the fighting in Gaza would stop. It really worries me to hear about the deaths and casualties, especially thechildren our age. I know Hamas is bad but I just wish that Israel would listen to the other countries like France and Egypt.We are all calling for a ceasefire but they will not listen. I am very interested about the NASA scientists trying to find out if there is or was life on Mars. It just said on the news (I like to watch the news just as much as you do) that the scientists have just found a gas whichcould have supported life on Mars. I hope Obama does the right thing for the economy.There was uproar yesterday when a banking Minister said that she could see the green shoots of recovery. My mother is always telling me to save for the future.We must borrow an amount that we can pay back. Most of the time over here, the Government are arguing over the credit crunch (which is hitting Britain very badly)and ways to spend the money and the plans for Heathrows third runway. I do not want the Government to go ahead with the plans.There could be a rare species of insect that lives where the third runway might be. The Government was saying that the London 2012 Olympic stadium is already using more money (borrowing is what I suspect)and is also overdue (in building time)I also do not know how the British Government will cope with all its other problems that it has. I sure hope that the Economy does not stay like this. I hope Israel stops Bombing Gaza and accepts a ceasefire.
From Ayaka

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Description of an Obstacle written with KCOE Central USD School

Most of the people I knew liked to swing. I loved swinging, especially in the warm summer days when I didn’t have much else to do.
On one of those days, I was out swinging in the backyard with all my friends, when my mom and another adult came walking out of the house. I suppose that they weren’t looking where they were going, because, sadly, they ended up right in front of the swing.
Unless I wanted to give my mother a painful kick in the leg, I wouldn’t be able to swing for a little while. My mom’s conversations tend to . . . well, go on.

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Example of weaving thoughts and feelings into description:

The castle was tall and foreboding, made of black stone, with slits in the walls for arrows. I shivered as I looked at the castle—I could already imagine arrows flying at my head. The windows of the castle were of fine stain glass, and I could see no one in its empty and desolate halls.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Story written with Radix Elementary Students

This is a story I wrote with Radix Elementary students through videoconferencing. It is not completed yet, so I am encouraging anyone who would like to continue this story to enter their continuation into the comments area:

The castle was huge and forbidding. It was made of stone, with twenty towers that rose up almost to the sky.
In this castle—which was called Nightmare Castle—resided a brave knight, Sir Phil. Sir Phil was known throughout the entire kingdom for his brave feats. He had slain a wicked dragon and had rescued royalty and nobility alike. But still one enemy evaded his reach—the evil Mr. Killclaw.
Sir Phil knew where Mr. Killclaw had been, but never where he was at the present. Thus, Sir Phil was forced to travel around the entire kingdom looking for this man.
A royal courier ran into the room just as Sir Phil was about to walk out the door.
“Sir Phil! Sir Phil! We have information on Mr. Killclaw’s whereabouts. He is at this moment in the great Mulapuladula Desert,” the courier said, out of breath. Sir Phil leapt up and said,
“What wondrous news! I shall put on my armor and chase this man.”

Monday, January 05, 2009

Things I've Learned Recently

Alas! I haven't updated the blog for ages. Here's my new post about things I've learned:


In history, I've been learning about the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. The Reformation refers to the movement that pushed for reforms in the Roman Catholic church. In the 1500s, the Catholic Church needed reforming in many areas.


Firstly, some Renaissance popes lived like kings. Pope Sixtus IV was guilty of nepotism; he gave many important church positions to family members. Julius II was one such family member. Also known as the "Warrior Pope," Julius built himself lavish new palaces after deciding that the papal apartments were not good enough. He was famous for leading papal armies into battle against defiant city-states. The picture shown depicts Julius II.


Of course, there were some "grassroots" problems in the Catholic church as well, starting with nuns and monks. If you came from a noble family, you might live in lavish apartments, with "worldly goods" around you. In fact, the saint and nun Teresa of Avila, who later founded the Discalced Carmelites, at first lived in a spacious suite with its own kitchen in her convent, thanks to her noble birth. This picture of a sculpture by Bernini depicts Teresa of Avila having a vision.


The problems of the church became more apparent when Pope Leo X started actively marketing "indulgences." Basically, if you paid enough money for an "indulgence," you could skip purgatory (where sinners were "purged" of their sins) and go right to heaven. Obviously, this idea appealed to a lot of people. However, one monk and theology teacher, Martin Luther, thought that the sale of indulgences was wrong--and said so. Martin Luther posted what he called his "Ninety-Five Theses" on a church door. The "Ninety-Five Theses" criticized the Catholic Church.


Of course, it was dangerous to criticize the church. In fact, a monk named Jan Hus who had criticized the sale of indulgences in the 1400s had been burned at the stake. The Catholic Church gave Martin Luther a chance to recant, or take back, his Ninety-Five Theses, summoning him to appear in a city called Worms. Martin Luther met with church officials and refused to recant the Ninety-Five Theses. The meeting was known as "The Diet of Worms." However, as far as I know, no worms were eaten. The picture at the side depicts Martin Luther (in the habit, with the shaved head) at the Diet of Worms.


Martin Luther's ideas spread. Other reformers began spreading their own ideas. John Calvin helped to spread Protestanism, which was created as a protest against the church. Slowly, the Protestants began gaining support.


All of this worried the Church. Between 1545 and 1563, Pope Paul III held a series of meetings, called the Council of Trent, in the small city of Trent. The Council of Trent attempted to answer basic questions about the Church and their policies, and to define what it meant to be Catholic.


As a result of the Council of Trent, some church members were inspired to lead more pious lives. The Archbishop of Milan gave up many of his worldly goods, and, when the plague spread through his city-state, he stayed behind (and later died) in Milan. People like Ignatius of Loyola, who led an order of priests who became the Jesuits, and Teresa of Avila, who encouraged nuns to give up worldly posessions and distractions and live simple lives dedicated to prayer, led the charge.


But the Catholic Church used more macabre methods to intimidate "heretics." They set up courts of Inquisition, which tried people for heresy or blasphemy against the church. If suspected "heretics" did not confess, they could be tortured.
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I hope that you've enjoyed reading my post. Feel free to leave comments!