Young Writer as Published Novelist!

Kieryn Ziegler, one of our talented young writers, came to the workshop last summer with an amazing bit of news to share: her novel, Rain, was under contract with a publisher!

Did we mention Kieryn is fourteen? 

As of just a few weeks ago, Rain  (Echelon Press) is available in eBook format on Amazon, and will be available in print later this year!

To say that we are proud of Kieryn would be an understatement! And to celebrate her success, we asked her a few questions about her amazing ride.




1. When did you start writing? Why do you keep writing?

I started writing around…four, I think. I found some old journals of mine with stories dated circa 1999. So I wrote my first story last millennium!

I keep writing because I constantly get new ideas. It’s like I jammed the Idea Machine’s switch in the on position. If I don’t write, they get stuck in my head and eventually might come pouring out my ears, which…would be a very bizarre sight.
 
2. What are your favorite books/authors? Why?

I’ll start off with the cliché and say, the Harry Potter series! And beyond that, I really like the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, the Heir Trilogy by Cinda Williams Chima, and the Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Robert Ludlum and Catherine Coulter are my favorite action thriller novelists. Also I still like Nancy Drew books.

My favorite things about these books are the characters. (Except for the action thriller books—the mystery plots are my favorite parts of those.) Not that the plots aren’t interesting and suspenseful, but for me even if a book had the most interesting plot imaginable, if the characters were boring or flat or cliché, then I would put it down.

3. Can you tell us a little about how the book deal came to be?

The book deal came to be through faith, trust, and pixie dust!

…Erm, not really. I actually attended the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group “Write Stuff” conference (which I am going to again this year) and while I was there I met Karen Syed. Karen is president and CEO of Echelon Press, and she requested to read my manuscript. A few months later, I had a contract!
 
4. What does it feel like to be a published novelist?

Great! would be my initial reaction. And it is great. Being published has been one of my goals for years. But at the same time it also feels like my life sped up and is moving at 100 miles per hour. I constantly have something to be doing, and while it’s all exciting, I don’t have as much time to write.

5. What are you working on now? What's your next project?

Currently I am writing a futuristic dystopia novel that I’m very excited about.
 
6. What advice would you offer to young aspiring writers?

I’d say simply; if you want to write—then write. Finish that story! And then you’ll be amazed where it can go.

For more information about Kieryn and Rain, visit her website. 


Congratulations, Kieryn! Now get back to writing. ;) 

2010 Program Dates!

The Penn State Young Writers Workshop

July 11-25, 2010

We are working on updating the program website, but in the meantime, please contact Kathy Karchner at ksk6@outreach.psu.edu for information about tuition and how to apply.

For information about the program as a whole, please contact Sheila Squillante (sks172@psu.edu) or Camille-Yvette Welsch (cnw109@psu.edu), program directors.

Or, leave a comment on this blog and a way to reach you and someone will get back to you soon!

And tell your friends!

Book Launch--Daryl Gregory's The Devil's Alphabet

Daryl Gregory, local sci-fi writer and crowd-pleasing guest of the Young Writers' Workshop, invites you to a reading and book signing for his second book, The Devil's Alphabet, which was named by Publisher's Weekly as a top 5 Sci-Fi/Fantasy book of the year!


Friday, January 22

6:30 pm

Barnes & Noble
State College, PA

Penn State Young Writers' Workshop 2009: A Pictorial Retrospective

We asked last summer's participants to give us some of the highlights of their experience in the workshop. Here are some of their answers, sprinkled with a few pictures from their time together!

Q: What did you most enjoy about your time in the Penn State Young Writers' Workshop?

A:
That I could write things I wanted to write in an environment that not only supported me, but helped me improve my skills.--Vincent

Being around other people who were interested in writing and wouldn’t say, “Wait, you actually like writing? What’s wrong with you??--Kieryn

The creative energy that jolts through you when you realize you’re not the only weirdo writer in State College. I miss the writing atmosphere, and the other students so much!--Julianne

The people I met and the time I spent with them!--Danielle

"Hi, I'm Danielle and I swim!"

Waiting for class...

Fiction Class with Professor Kellermann

"You have to kill the dog."
--Professor Paul Kellermann

Q: What did you learn in fiction class?

A:
One piece of advice: “You have to kill the dog.” In other words, the character has to make a decision that will lead to a resolution. If the character doesn’t make this, he doesn’t change, and the story is pointless.—Julianne In fiction I feel I really improved not only my own writing but the ability to critique others’ writing as well.—Kieryn


Q: What did you particularly enjoy about your fiction class?

A:
I liked the feedback that everyone was giving for our workshops – they were highly intelligent and relevant.—Vincent My workshop was fabulous, I really enjoyed it.I enjoyed the discussions about the pieces we read, and being very nitpicky, like we were disassembling the pieces and building them back up the way we think would make them better. --Kieryn

Danielle, Kieryn and Julianne in Fiction workshop

Is this what he means by "concrete imagery?"

Poetry Writing Nights at Webster's Bookstore Cafe

Q: What did you learn in your two poetry evenings?

A:
Everything. I’d never actually written any poetry, though I’d read some, and I loved learning that a) it’s not that hard, and b) I actually love it. The worksheet on poetry clichés and the ‘bad poem’ about the train really helped me know what to avoid. Honestly, I loved poetry nights (and Webster’s)!--Julianne That poetry shouldn’t be hard to understand, that there are some words we can never use, that poems have to turn somehow. We learned that we can write 10 line poems in 5 minutes, we learned about prose poems, we learned about collage poems. --Danielle

Websters makes very good cookies! --Kieryn


Q: What did you particularly enjoy about the poetry evenings?

A:
I enjoyed the atmosphere of the bookstore and being FORCED to write poems. Otherwise I might not have actually done them or tried as hard. I also liked reading ‘real’ poetry aloud.--Julianne

They were at Websters, and I like Websters a lot. They were also really informal, and it helped to get out of the classroom setting. --Danielle

The professors were funny and informative.--Vincent

I liked that we could discuss our poems with everyone right after we wrote them.--Kieryn


Sci-Fi Writing with Professor Whitney

Q: What did you learn in your Sci-Fi Writing class?

A:
That sci-fi isn’t all about robots and monsters and outer space, but social commentaries.--Vincent

We learned about different types of science fiction, we read a bunch of excerpts, we talked a little bit about whether or not to choose first or third person. --Danielle

That I need to read Philip K. Dick--Julianne

Vincent and Nicole work on their drafts

Q: What did you particularly enjoy about your sci-fi class?

A:

The amount of in-class writing time.--Danielle

I loved writing a sci-fi story…or at least starting one!--Kieryn

Vincent gets some feedback from Professor Whitney

Q: What did you like about the interns?

A:
I loved the interns! I felt like they were my parents by the end of it.—Julianne

What didn’t I enjoy? I loved Lauren and Jason!!--Kieryn


Q: What did you like about the cafeteria?

A:
The wide variety of choices, the option to have healthy food like salad and fruit, the creamery ice cream, the cappuccino machines.-Danielle

The cafeteria rocked. I’m starving now, and ice cream without 13 ounces of M&Ms is naked. --Julianne

Q: How did you feel about writing nights?

A:
I would love more writing nights! They were great chances to get out the words my fingers had been itching to type all day.--Kieryn


Q: What did you think about living in the dorms?

A:
The dorms were nice, and my roommate and other campers were awesome, and I loved my intern! So the dorms were fun!--Kieryn


Q: How did you feel about your public reading?

A:
I enjoyed it. One of the things I loved about the camp was I had to toughen up. By the end of the week, I was eager to share my work, and it felt like one big family party when we gathered with the parents.--Julianne

celebrating after the final reading!

left to right:
Lauren Wheeler & Jason Sears (interns), Vincent Holden, Danielle Feffer, Nicole Soll,
Julianne McCobin, Kieryn Zeigler
back row: Camille-Yvette Welsch & Sheila Squillante, program directors

Any final comments?

I’m so glad this camp was offered, I really had a great time!--Danielle