Author Mark Goldblatt Speaks to St. B’s Boys
Mark Goldblatt, author of Twerp and Finding the Worm, visited St. Bernard’s on February 15 and spoke to Middle and Upper School boys about writing fiction. This event was the second annual Kronengold Authors Fund talk, made possible by a fund founded by sixteen Old Boys who wanted to honor their former second grade teacher. Ms. Kronengold was delighted to attend Mr. Goldblatt’s talk. Eighth grader Jameson C. introduced Mr. Goldblatt and took the opportunity to publicly thank Ms. Kronengold for being a wonderful teacher to him six years ago.
Mr. Golblatt began his talk by telling a story and then used that story as an example demonstrating how to use specific details to create a vivid story. He believes that good writing is determined by the effect of an author’s words, and that a good writer knows how to control what is in the reader’s head.
Mr. Goldblatt stressed that grammar matters. He believes that grammar must be correct 100% of the time. Incorrect grammar can get in the way and could potentially interrupt the reader from imagining the story. As a writer, he wants the reader to be involved with the story itself, not grammar mistakes.
The structure of the talk then opened up to focus on questions from the boys, some provided to the author in writing before the talk and others asked in person. Through his answers, Mr. Goldblatt explained that one of his characters is based on experiences from his life, but is much more interesting than he is. He did not want to say exactly what was true and what was made up because he wanted the boys to continue to get lost in the story rather than fixate on what was true versus fiction.
He confessed that he wrote his first novel when he was fourteen to impress a girl he had a crush on. He wrote one page per day for 140 days and learned that writing a novel wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be.
Reading is also important to Mr. Goldblatt. He believes that for every minute he writes he reads at least ten minutes. He encouraged the boys to read material that doesn’t immediately speak to them. A main theme of Twerp is the power of literature to change people’s lives.
We extend our thanks to Mr. Goldblatt and to the founders of the Kronengold Authors Fund. Special thanks to Mr. Schwartz for organizing and to Ms. Kronengold for supporting these talks and for inspiring St. B’s boys to take joy in reading and writing.
