“The places I write about usually reflect somewhere I have lived or been,” Michelle Berry, local author and former Continuing Education instructor at Trent University told a class of first-year English Literature students at Trent University Durham. “I usually don’t realize it till after and I revisit that place.”

The students were given a unique opportunity to explore the mind of writer, ask questions and discover some of the challenges of writing, when Ms. Berry stopped by their first-year class, Truth, Lies and Story Telling. Ms. Berry’s collections of short stories I Still Don’t Even Know You was part of their assigned readings for the semester.

Dr. Rita Bode, professor for the class said, “This is a great opportunity to talk with the author of a text that we are studying and gives students insight into the process of creating the work - from its inception, through some of the ideas and events that may have informed the process, to the final literary product which we then examine and interpret.”

Well-spoken and in a casual manner, Ms. Berry spoke about how she became an author and her path to getting published, “After I got married, my husband and I decided we were going to live like students for a year and try something out. So I decided I was going to write and try to get published.”

She also discussed what she finds the most challenging about writing, which included naming her characters and creating endings, telling students that short stories allow more opportunities for abrupt endings, something that she tends to favor. Ms. Berry also discussed the research that goes into each piece of her writing and how she employs her friends, who are professionals in their respective fields, to help ensure her work is factually accurate. Further demonstrating to the students the importance of doing due diligence when creating stories. Ms. Berry’s was a talk that was both realistic and inspirational.

Ms. Berry’s presentation is just one of the examples of interactive learning opportunities and experiences offered at both Trent University campuses. Small class sizes allow for this kind of one-one interactions with speakers, with unique learning opportunities.

Posted on Thursday, April 16, 2015.