monique polak

Monique Polak's Books

3 minutes reading time (615 words)

Special Visit to Vanier College's "Youth Culture" Students

The problem with today's pic is that you really can't tell how much fun we had!! (I only remembered to get a pic at the end of my session when most of the students had left.)

I'm home from my second visit this week to Vanier College where I worked with Sophie Jacmin's Humanities "Youth Culture" classes. (That's Sophie to my right, and next to her is Vanier Humanities teacher Lili Petrovic, who also came to hear my talk. Sophie and Lili are both authors themselves, so we have a lot in common.)

I worked with two groups of students -- all intelligent and sensitive and good listeners with good questions! I shared my usual writing tips, but the focus was on youth culture -- what kinds of things teens in my day and today are dealing with, and strategies we can use to help each other.

This morning, a student named Deb asked a question that I've never been asked before: "How do you grab teens' attention?" I told Deb that the most important thing is to be HONEST. I also explained that I try to write about the kinds of subjects I wondered about when I was growing up -- such as mental illness, loss, sex, love and finding our place in the world.

When I showed the students the journal that I write in EVERY DAY, I told them that being a writer takes as much discipline and practice as being an athlete, and that I work hard to keep my writing muscles limber. I caught a student named Mauricio nodding when I used the sports metaphor. It turns out Mauricio is on the Vanier basketball team, where he is a pointguard. When I talked about the joys, but also the frustrations of being a writer, Mauricio said he could relate. This is what he told me: "Sometimes I'm good in the game and I scream out of joy. I scream and it's acceptable. Other times, I have a bad practice, or it's after a bad loss, and I feel powerless." Me too!! And the trick, Mauricio, and all of you blog readers out there, is to keep on keeping on, whether it's when you miss the net, or when your sentences just aren't coming out right!

As usual, several students stole my heart. One was a young man on Monday morning who responded when I talked about what it feels like to love someone who has not always treated us right. I never learned the young man's name, but I had the strong feeling that he's got stories inside of him -- start writing, Sir!

Today, a young man named Kidus was sitting at the front of the classroom. (I can't help it -- I have a soft spot for students who sit up front since that's where I always sat!!). Kidus told me that he loves to write, but that he rarely feels satisfied with his work: "When I re-read, I feel like nobody's gonna read it and I give up." Give up, Kidus? Not anymore! Not now that you've met Monique!! The trick with writing, the trick with anything important and meaningful, is to keep trying even when it's difficult -- especially when it's difficult. And you know what? Even with 24 published books, I still find writing difficult. In fact, I think that's why I can't stop doing it!!

Special thanks to the students for being so open and kind; to Sophie for inviting me to speak and sharing your students with me; to Lili for joining the class; and to Writers in the Cegeps for making my visits possible. Here's to stories and courage and kindness!

 

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Comments

Guest - Vincent Messina on Thursday, 25 October 2018 19:00

Thanks for coming! Your tips were great, and I’ll make sure to keep them. I don’t know if I will be writing 3 pages a day, but I will definitely try to be more attentive on a day to day basis. Thanks!!

Thanks for coming! Your tips were great, and I’ll make sure to keep them. I don’t know if I will be writing 3 pages a day, but I will definitely try to be more attentive on a day to day basis. Thanks!!
Guest - Monique on Friday, 26 October 2018 11:58

Hey Vincent! Thanks for that message. Makes me happy. So glad I got to work with you guys! WRITE ON!!


Hey Vincent! Thanks for that message. Makes me happy. So glad I got to work with you guys! WRITE ON!!
Guest - Deb on Saturday, 27 October 2018 06:07

Thank you for giving us motivation, and good advices for life. Your wise words definitely gave me courage to not stop writing.

Thank you for giving us motivation, and good advices for life. Your wise words definitely gave me courage to not stop writing.
Guest - Lili Petrovic on Saturday, 27 October 2018 14:44

Hi Monique! Thank you so much for your inspiring presentation. I learned a lot from it and am already benefiting from that knowledge! This morning's morning pages helped me unravel a writing problem I have had for a while. By the way, you called me an "author" in your blog, which was so cool to see in writing, but I have to correct you, and I know where the error stems from. I told you that I wrote a book and am in the process of editing it, but you explained that books are not called that until they are published. So there you go--I am in the process of editing a 'manuscript'--and I look forward to joining the ranks of authors one day, when I get published. Thanks again! Your energy and enthusiasm are contagious!

Hi Monique! Thank you so much for your inspiring presentation. I learned a lot from it and am already benefiting from that knowledge! This morning's morning pages helped me unravel a writing problem I have had for a while. By the way, you called me an "author" in your blog, which was so cool to see in writing, but I have to correct you, and I know where the error stems from. I told you that I wrote a book and am in the process of editing it, but you explained that books are not called that until they are published. So there you go--I am in the process of editing a 'manuscript'--and I look forward to joining the ranks of authors one day, when I get published. Thanks again! Your energy and enthusiasm are contagious!
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