Mahwah December 7, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 11 Mass presents writing workshop at Joyce Kilmer School Wendy Mass, author of the “Twice Upon a Time” fairytale series, recently presented a creative writing workshop for fourth and fifth graders at Joyce Kilmer School’s Author Day. “What I did with the kids is exactly what I do when I am working on one of my books,” said Mass, who has 13 published titles under her belt. “I gave the kids the worksheet I fill out when I am working through characters and plotlines.” Students energetically filled out character profiles and wrote the beginnings to short stories about a vague scenario presented by Mass. All the while, the kids were able to ask Mass questions. At the end of the workshop, students shared their stories while Mass gave feedback. “The kids are doing a great job, and the teachers are taking this workshop as a teaching moment that they can bring back to the classroom,” Robin Canetti, the school’s media specialist, said. “This is the first year that we have done a school-wide writing workshop.” According to Canetti, JK is using this year’s Author Day, which is funded annually by the Mahwah Schools Foundation, as an opportunity to work on students’ creative writing skills, partly in preparation for the NJ ASK exam. This test, which JK students will take this year, includes a written component. “Our teachers do a great job, but something about having an author here gets the kids excited and focused on their writing,” Canetti added. Mass said she also drew inspiration from the workshop. “Watching (the students) come up with these ideas is what’s so much fun about writing. Each one started from the same place, but each story is so different. I love that.” Wendy Mass (center) with some young authors from Joyce Kilmer School. Mass added that she believes this type of training would have helped her when she was a young writer. “I was always making up stories, but writing itself was a bit of a struggle,” she noted. “Now, I understand the importance of organizing your thoughts, and I think that came across to the kids.”