Ying Chang Compestine is such an inspiration, writing truths from the heart in the hopes that others' heads will follow. It was wonderful to welcome her back as she was one of our first author visits on this campus." (Virginia Hunt, PS Principal) Definitely a highlight of our Literacy Week was the virtual visit by Ying Chang Compestine, award-winning author, magazine editor, lecturer of Chinese culture and cuisine, chef and cooking show host, world traveler... and above all, a special friend of Hong Kong Academy. Indeed, Mrs. Compestine was the first author ever we welcomed to our then brand new campus in November 2013. A lasting connection and friendship was formed that day and grew over the years, her books, of which we have a wonderful selection in our library, enjoying a high popularity ever since. We were delighted when Mrs. Compestine agreed to meet with our students in grades 3-5 despite her busy schedule, having had three books released in the past six month, with two more books to be published this year, and another two next year. Mrs. Compestine began her visit with a presentation, in which she shared about her personal background, growing up in Wuhan during the Cultural Revolution, then moving to the United States for her studies, where she ultimately settled down, got married and began her writing career. The deep love and connection she still feels for her hometown Wuhan was almost tangible as she talked what compelled her to write Morning Sun in Wuhan, the story of a group of young people who took action during the pandemic, distributing meals to elderly people in their community. In this context, also touching on current events regarding anti-Asian sentiments in the United States, she spoke of her strong desire to take action, and knowing that as a writer she has the power to change hearts and minds through stories, she knew that writing this middle grade novel was a way to share this story with the world. This connected beautifully to our Literacy Week theme of stories being mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors. For the Q&A part of the visit, we had selected one question and one student per class, representing all of our students and their many questions and wonderings, in particular regarding her creative process: Why she writes so many different kinds of books - fiction and nonfiction, picture books, chapter books and cookbooks - this seems to have evolved almost organically from cookbooks (cooking and food being her great passion) to then at first picture books for her son, moving on to middle grade and young adult novels as she grew more confident as a writer. What goes through her head when she thinks of a book idea, and what helps her to decide whether to run with the idea - she keeps filing cabinets filled with ideas from which she draws as she sketches out stories, first in her head, often knowing what the beginning and end will look like but not yet how to get there. Why it is so hard to write a story, especially getting ideas, and stopping yourself from editing while drafting as well as what she finds challenging in particular - she shared our students' sentiments about the challenges and difficulties a writer faces during each stage of the process and encouraged them to always ask themselves, "Is this the best I can do?". As a strategy to deal with writer's block, she suggested reading about the topic of the planned story and sharing the story with a friend or teacher. Of special interest to our third graders who had just written and illustrated their own cultural fractured fairytales was how she knows which folktale/fairytale to fracture and whether she thinks about what story matches her culture - to which she responded that at the forefront for her stands the consideration whether this particular tale lends itself to humour, interesting twists and an inclusion of elements of Chinese culture, including food. The question and respective answer that got the biggest reactions and was also most frequently mentioned in our students' reflections was connected to the rewriting and editing process, as one of our fifth graders asked, "Is there is a way to make editing less painful?" Mrs. Compestine's eyes lit up in excitement as she spoke enthusiastically about how much joy and satisfaction revising and editing brings to her, comparing it with tidying a messy house. What a wonderful way of thinking about and approaching revising! I think it has changed many of our young writers' sentiments towards revising and editing, and I have a strong feeling that we will see much more positivity and engagement in the editing process from now on. A big THANK YOU to Mrs. Compestine for making time to meet with us, to inspire us to share our stories to make a difference in the world, to approach rewriting with a more joyful attitude and to follow our hearts by pursuing what we are truly passionate about.
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