‘Stone Fox’ author inspires future writers

Danette Goulet

Children’s author John Reynolds Gardner captivated his young audience at

Paularino Elementary School on Wednesday morning by telling them how they

could become published writers, too.

“He was funny,” said 9-year-old Cristina Gallardo. “He talked to us about

how it could be easier to write stories.”

The students had just finished reading Gardner’s first and best-selling

book, “Stone Fox,” the story of a young boy who, with the help of his dog

Searchlight, overcomes impossible odds to save his grandfather’s farm.

The book has always been a favorite for students, said Pat Insley,

principal at Paularino, and this year was no exception.

Students could barely contain their excitement as they prepared to meet

the author Wednesday.

But students expecting a run-of-the-mill lecture were in for a big

surprise, when Gardner explained what made them enjoy stories and movies

and how they could create them.

“There are three basic ingredients that make a book interesting -- want,

struggle and surprise,” he said. “And a movie is just another way of

telling a story.”

All three are essential, he told them, and the more a character has to

struggle, the better the book is.

Instead of focusing solely on his books, Gardner related his points to a

wide range of stories and movies so that every child had a point of

reference. Examples ranged from William Shakespeare’s classic “Romeo and

Juliet” to the slapstick science-fiction movie “Mars Attacks.”

Gardner even left a list of 10 publishers and told students to keep

writing and submitting their samples if they wanted to have their story

published someday.

“Dr. Seuss sent out his first book 27 times before it was published and

he had to wait until about his third book before he became the

illustrator,” he said.

Gardner shared with students his own personal struggles, to which many of

them could relate.

Students’ ears perked up as they heard that one of their favorite authors

was a terrible speller who didn’t like to read as a child.

Gardner encouraged each child to keep writing and drawing -- no matter

what anyone said. Maybe if teachers praised children’s ideas, instead of

criticizing their spelling and grammar, more children would like to

write, he said.

“We go where the applause is,” he said. “It gets fainter as you get

older, but does it ever go away? No.”