Percy Jackson's Magic Pen

August 2 – 6
5 Sessions, 2.5 hours
Ages: 8 – 11
Deadline to Register: July 26, 11:59 pm
Instructor: Wendy Low

Percy Jackson is mighty with his sword; his creator, Rick Riordan, is mighty with his pen. Experiment with the writing methods Riordan uses to weave a siren spell. You will need to prepare by reading the first book of the series, The Lightning Thief. In class, we will mine it for models of how to develop vivid characters and hold readers across chapter breaks, and for the benefits of borrowing story elements from past literature. We’ll craft vivid descriptions and humorous wisecracks, similar to those in Percy’s narration. You’ll create your own Camp Half Blood adventure. Meanwhile, we’ll enjoy exploring ancient Greek culture: hear stories from myths and history, attempt a Greek poetic form, and examine Greek artifacts from museums around the world. We also will look at how we still borrow from ancient Greece in our language, government, culture, architecture, and art—to see that ancient Greece lives on.

Wendy Low writes poetry, prose, performance poetry, and drama. Her poems, stories, and essays have been published in Breaking the Silence, Desperate Acts, HazMat Review, Napalm Health Spa, Rochester Woman, on “The Poet’s Walk,” and elsewhere. A former college English instructor, she has more than 30 years of experience in making creative writing enjoyable to beginning writers and helping writers of all levels improve their craft. Currently a freelance writing coach and editor, as former Director of Education at Writers & Books, she edited hundreds of student anthologies.