So many questions

Last month, I carried out a Skype session with the children of Westmount School in Palmerston North. We had a few technical issues, which led to a few interruptions... but the children were great listeners, very patient and well-prepared with lots of questions.

Today I received a letter in the mail (isn't it wonderful when you check the letterbox and find a real letter inside), very neatly written, thanking me for taking part in the video conference. "'My favourite part was hearing the answers to the questions," wrote this Westmount School student. "I would say it was hard answering all 50 or more questions, racking your brains to quickly find the answer."

Sometimes it was hard! But usually I enjoy answering  questions, because they can make me think about my writing in a different way, and clarify things (even for myself) that I hadn't put into words before.

So here are a few of my favourite questions from Westmount School, via Skype:

• Can you remember all the books you've written?


• Do you have books of your own at home?


• Where do you get your rhymes from?


• Why do you write different kinds of poems, not just the same one?

I really like those last two questions in particular - those students had obviously been doing a bit of thinking about poetry. (And a confession; sometimes I use a rhyming dictionary...)