Local writer inspires HEM students

Local writer Josh Wood spent an entire day at HEM High School as the artist-in-residence Sept. 25, sharing inspiration and words of wisdom with aspiring student authors.

Wood, who is from Saratoga, met with HEM English teacher Brenda Ostendorf’s students for a whole school day, where time was spent chatting about the book or story writing process and what students were writing, or had already written, at the time.

Wood had spoken at HEM’s “literary dinners” before, and was excited to meet more new students with a love of writing.

“Most of the time I talked about writing, and what I was trying to do was establish a repertoire with the kids,” Wood said. “I like to get to know what they like to write and read, and I was able to talk about what I was working on and my experience writing what I was writing at the time. We also talked about some of the difficulties of writing. I’d like to try and do more of these with the kids.”

Wood said building common ground and a relationship of trust with the students was also a key factor in getting them to open up about their writing.

“I tried to first get kids interested and engaged in conversation, such as by talking about different bands or video games they like,” he said. “I liked trying to make different interactions and get to know the kids a little bit better. It was pretty fun trying to get reactions out of people.”

In addition to talking with students during class time and lunch, Wood also met with students individually or in smaller groups. He was able to have a one-on-one chat with senior Bailey Farthing, who was writing her own story at the time.

“I gave her ideas about expanding and giving the background of her characters, and just really fleshing them out” Wood said. “At the end of the period she was bubbling with excitement and couldn’t wait to start writing again. Before lunch I also met with some senior boys and discussed what they’re writing, and I tried to give specific tips to help them with their writing. One wrote a story on fighting in Persia, and we talked about including and researching historical characters to draw people in.”