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Young Writers Get Advice, Support From Authors
 | | From Left, Mahopac students Scott Glaser and Greg Collins, and Haldane's Lauren Thorpe work on poems of their own during author and Ossining teacher Susan Fahey's workshop entitled "The Beautiful Annabel Lee." The students listened to music during this exercise and discussed the interrelationship between song and poetry. |
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"Trust your gut," nearly 400 local high school students - and aspiring writers - were recently advised by 19-year-old author Katie Tarbox. "Go with your instincts; write about what you know."
At 16, Ms. Tarbox wrote Katie.com, a book about a personal, traumatic event in her life. The story is currently in film production and has been nominated as a best book for young adults and most inspirational memoir by the American Library Association. She was the keynote speaker and one of 13 workshop presenters at the Young Authors’ Conference, sponsored by Putnam/Northern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services in Yorktown Heights. The 14th annual conference was held March 22 at Westchester Community College.
The magic and power of the written word and the nuts and bolts process of creation were discussed in various workshops, with such topic names as "Through the Writer’s Eye," "Letting Characters Speak for Themselves," and "Hearing the Voice Within." Advice ran from the philosophical to the specific: Author and Pleasantville High School English teacher Scott Johnson told students, "Writing is a journey from the center of the writer’s soul to the heart of his piece of work"; author and Ossining High School creative writing teacher Susan Fahey urged her group to "Get some details in there."
Some of the students, representing more than two dozen school districts, had been given the opportunity to participate in the Young Authors’ Editing Day last November at BOCES. During this time they worked one-on-one with writers who critiqued their written work. The result of this effort was an anthology of student work entitled "Pure Premium Writing: Stories with No Pulp," which was distributed to Young Authors’ Conference participants.
"This year’s conference was one of the most successful we’ve put together," says BOCES curriculum/staff developer Judy Fink, who, with author Ruth Townsend Story, coordinated the Young Authors’ Conference. "Students got a flavor of just about every aspect of the writing process, from story idea to published product. It was very exciting."
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