World Book Week 2015 - Rita Saliba

Rita Saliba, whose award-winning Inżul ix-Xemx is the Grade 10 set text in Maltese, visited San Anton School to speak to the students.

She delivered a very interesting presentation about how to construct a character. It is not easy to give life to a name on a page. It involves a lot of careful observation, looking at real people, trying to figure out what makes them tick.

An interesting exercise is to try and concoct a history about a person you've never met before, someone you come across at the supermarket for instance. You try to assemble a profile by looking at the way he or she acts, by taking note of the kind of clothes that he/she is wearing, by peeping discreetly at the contents of his/her supermarket trolley!

Ms Saliba was pleased to notice that a lot of characters from Inżul ix-Xemx resonated with the students. Even minor ones, who might appear to be inconsequential, were the subject of queries from the Grade 10 pupils.

It was a very positive experience for the students, meeting the author of a book that they're enjoying so much.