Author Kelly Corrigan at RCS

November 7 – New York Times bestselling author Kelly Corrigan met with fifth through eighth grade students to share her tips for young writers.

Here are some of our students’ favorite tips (taken from their notes):

Show, don’t tell
Before you write, talk
Dialogue is number one
Blend long and short sentences
Start with thoughts first, not words
Generalizing is really boring
Use metaphors
Before you worry about what words to use, try to figure out what you are trying to say
Specificity is more interesting than being general
Ask yourself what the point of each paragraph is
Be aware of your “big feeling moments”

Ms. Corrigan, who has written four books and is currently at work on her fifth, also read from one of her books and shared anecdotes about her life. But what we thought the students benefitted from the most (and the adults in the room did, too!) were Kelly Corrigan’s tips.

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Rippowam Cisqua School
439 Cantitoe Street
Bedford, NY 10506
phone: (914) 244-1250

Rippowam Cisqua School is a PreK-Grade 9 independent day school in Westchester County, New York. RCS offers challenging academics built on innovation, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, wellness, leadership, service learning, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.