Fiction Writing Class Offered To Young Adults

The C.H. Booth Library Creative Writing Group for Young Adults will offer a course in writing fiction this winter for students in grades 6 through 8. For the sixth year in a row, teacher, author, and Newtown resident Wally Wood, with assistance from library writing volunteer Donna Renzulli, will lead the sessions.

The group will meet from 6 to 8 pm, on five consecutive Monday evenings, February 1, 8, 22, and March 1 and 8. There will be no class on February 15; March 22 is a make-up date if necessary. Class size is limited to ten students. All sessions will allow time for writing and sharing short stories in progress as well as one-on-one communication between adults and young people. This year, Mr Wood and Ms Renzulli will have guidelines from magazines open to student writing, and the students will be able to tailor something for a magazine if they wish.

 Mr Wood has taught writing to teens and adults in the Connecticut and New York State prison systems since 1993. He has a master of arts degree in creative writing from the City University of New York. “The goal of the class is to help the students create their own stories and find their own voices,” said Mr Wood. “We will spend roughly a third of the time writing, a third of the time reading our work aloud, and a third of the time discussing the works.”

Ms Renzulli leads the Newtown Area Writers’ Group and is a committed volunteer assistant in the Creative Writing program. “I’m inspired by the raw talent of the young adults. They approach their creativity with such enthusiasm that you can’t help but be inspired and entertained by them,” Ms Renzulli said. “What is also nice is to see how they improve from the beginning class to the end of the sessions.”

Sign up online at chboothlibrary.org or call young adult librarian Margaret Brown at 203-426-4533. There is no fee. Participants are expected to attend all five sessions, and preference is given to Newtown residents.