Journey to Becoming an Author (3:45)

What prompts someone to write? Is it because of a desire to share something – like a story or an experience? Sometimes a simple desire to write eventually leads to becoming a published writer. This was the case with Young Adult book author, Jennifer Nielsen. In our program today, Nielsen talks to Rachel about her journey to becoming an author. It started with that simple, strong desire to tell stories. Jennifer Nielsen is a New York Times Bestselling author. Her books include The Ascendance trilogy – beginning with The False Prince; The Mark of a Thief series; and A Night Divided.

Helping the Reluctant Reader (14:38)

Next, Rachel talks to Literacy Learning Specialist, Marné Isakson, who offers tips to parents and teachers that will help struggling or reluctant readers succeed and enjoy their reading. Marné earned a bachelor’s in English from BYU, a master’s in Educational Psychology and Research form Bucknell University, a Ph.D. in Instructional Science–Literacy Education from Brigham Young University. Her dissertation was awarded the Outstanding Dissertation of the Year: Learning from Practice: Supporting the Literacy Learning of Reluctant and Less Proficient Adolescent Readers. She has an ESL endorsement and has been involved in a seven-year research project exploring college reading. Her 36-year career has focused on literacy learning.

Writing (25:05)

We finish up the show today with Madeleine Dresden, who is in the BYU English Graduate Program, specializing in writing fiction. She talks about the contrast between writing for grownups and writing for young readers.