Guest Author Laine Cunningham Gets Creative

Words and Photos: David Onadipe

Video: Theo Brennan

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Guest author Laine Cunningham shared her insight on storytelling with a lucky middle school creative writing class. She shared some key differences between short stories and novels. One that stood out was how reliant short stories are on the readers' interpretation of one specific event that causes a huge shift in a character’s life. The students had a great time listening to Ms. Cunningham’s fascinating process of how she creates her novels and stories and how the students might create theirs.

Later, through a workshop format,  Author Cunningham listened to the students' own in-progress short stories, giving them valuable feedback. By the end of the class, the students gained priceless insight into the process of writing, many thanks to guest author Laine Cunnigham, Mr. Pangier, and the Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio manager Mayuko Ogawa. 

For those interested in the storytelling process, check out the video below to learn more about Ms. Cunningham’s fascinating look at creating a short story. And if you’re really interested, why not write your own story?