Young Adults

Write What You Don’t Know

December 29, 2009 0 Comments

People often say, 'write what you know,' but author Kim Ablon Whitney has experience writing about worlds she knew nothing about. So what does it take to write about something unfamiliar? In this writing workshop we will take short newspaper articles and discuss how to turn them into stories—maybe even novels. Kim will discuss techniques for finding stories in the everyday world around us, doing research, and then creating a unique and rich backdrop of setting and characters. Kim will also discuss some of the benefits and challenges of writing about the unfamiliar vs. the familiar.

Kim Ablon Whitney is the author of three acclaimed novels for young adults: The Other Half of Life, The Perfect Distance, & See You Down the Road. She is a graduate of Tufts University, and has an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College. She is a member of the PEN New England Children’s Book Caucus and is the coordinator of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award.

The workshop is geared for young adults in grades 6-12, with a maximum of 20 participants.

Next entry: 2010 Newbery Award Winner Announced

Previous entry: Happy Holidays