Stone Soup author Shyla DeLand, 13, talks about how she writes from personal experience and the influence of her favorite authors. Sharing tips on making writing readable and easy for readers to visualise – accomplished through drafting and revisions – she talks about her relationship with Stone Soup as a reader and a writer. Four of Shyla’s stories have appeared in Stone Soup: “Fern, the Queen of All Hunting Dogs” (July/August 2011), “The Scarlet King” (January/February 2013), “As a Family” (July/August 2013), and “The Hero” (May/June 2014). Here’s a list of the questions she answers in this video. 0:20 — How did you begin creative writing? 0:32 — What do you like to write about? 0:42 — Who are your favorite authors? What have you learned from them? 1:10 — Describe your writing process. 1:39 — Have you won any awards for your writing? 1:47 — How have your friends or family influenced your writing? 2:04 — How did you discover Stone Soup? 2:31 — What was your reaction to getting published in Stone Soup? 2:42 — What advice would you give to others who want to get published in Stone Soup? 3:00 — How has being published in Stone Soup benefited you?
Stone Soup Authors
Interview with Stone Soup Author Olivia Stoltzfus, age 12
https://youtu.be/iL0yooSG3nA This interview by Stone Soup author Olivia Stoltzfus, 12, is part of a series of interviews with Stone Soup authors in which the interviewee talks about writing and also about being published in Stone Soup. The questions asked and the locations of those questions within the video are found below. These videos are intended for viewing by our Stone Soup readers and writers. If that is you, then I hope you find Olivia’s interview inspiring. If you are a classroom teacher, you can use the videos to stimulate classroom discussion on a variety of issues relating to the writing process in general and creative writing in particular. Olivia conducted this interview for us when she was 12 years old. Her story “Free” was published in the November/December 2014 issue of Stone Soup. Here’s a list of the questions she answers in this video. 0:29 — How do you begin creative writing? 0:47 — What inspired you to write “Free”? 1:54 — How did the experience of writing “Free” benefit you? 3:00 — What advice would you give to others who want to get published in Stone Soup?
Interview with Stone Soup author Connor Gorton, age 13
This interview by Stone Soup author Connor Gorton, 13, is part of a series of interviews with Stone Soup authors in which the interviewee talks about writing and also about being published in Stone Soup. The questions asked and the locations of those questions within the video are found below. These videos are intended for viewing by our Stone Soup readers and writers. If that is you, then I hope you find Connor’s interview inspiring. If you are a classroom teacher, you can use the videos to stimulate classroom discussion on a variety of issues relating to the writing process in general and creative writing in particular. Connor conducted this interview for us when he was 13 years old. His story “You Did It, Friend” was published in the November/December 2014 issue of Stone Soup. Here’s a list of the questions he answers in this video. 0:25 — How do you begin creative writing? 0:33 — What kinds of things do you like to write? 0:50 — What do you like to read? 1:00 — What inspired you to write “You Did It, Friend”? 1:28 — What advice would you give to others who want to get published in Stone Soup?
