Interview with Ch1Con’s 2017 Mentees!

Hello everyone! Today I have a guest post from an amazing organization called Chapter One Young Writers Conference! I found Ch1Con through a flyer at my public library and was lucky enough to attend the conference this year in Chicago. I had an amazing experience at the conference, and would highly recommend attending if you can! But because Ch1Con is so spectacular at teaching young writers, they have many programs running throughout the year, including their annual Mentorship Program. Today Ch1Con is posting about their Mentorship Program and their new anthology!

 Hello! My name is Zoe Noble, and I am a creative consultant for the Chapter One Young Writers Conference (or Ch1Con for short). One of the exciting programs we run alongside our annual writing conferences is our yearly Mentorship Program, an educational opportunity where young writers submit original short stories and a few winners are walked through the publishing process by experienced members of our team. In the end, the mentees' finished stories are published alongside those of some of our team members' work in an e-book anthology available to all on Amazon, iBooks, and more!

I got to interview our lovely 2017 mentees, Isabel and Joey, for you all, so without further ado...

Why don’t you introduce yourselves a little! Let’s hear your names and ages, your favorite thing(s) to write, and for fun, your favorite writing-session snack!

Isabel: I'm Isabel Coffey, and I'm 19. I usually write poetry, and lately I have had a new interest in creative nonfiction, so that's definitely my favorite right now. When I write, I love to eat York Peppermint Patties (the mini ones!) or Takis.

Joey: Hello! I'm Joseph Brant, or just Joey, and I'm thirteen years old. I mostly write fantasy/horror, but I dabbled in a bit of YA contemporary for NaNoWriMo this month. While writing, I usually eat, unfortunately, candy. Leads to a stomachache, typically, but definitely keeps me writing.

Tell me a little about how you got here. What got you interested you in pursuing writing and publishing? How did you come across the Ch1Con mentorship program?

I: I wanted a chance to work on short fiction, since it's not my strong-suit, and my friend works for Ch1Con, so she told me about the mentorship. I have always wanted to be an author, so it seemed like a good idea!

J: I came across Ch1Con through a little light Googling. I was looking for communities for writers, because there aren't many at my school. I wanted a place to meet other young writers, learn about the industry, and have some fun! Luckily, that's exactly what Ch1Con is! I really became interested in writing and publishing through reading. Ever since I was little, I've loved reading, so it was just a matter of time before I started writing my own stories. I was absolutely fascinated by the process when I was younger, and now it's so amazing my work is in an actual anthology that other people will be reading. It's crazy, really.

As mentees, you two were guided through many aspects of publishing, from edits to contracts. What was your favorite step of the process, and why?

I: My favorite step of the mentorship process was learning to write a query letter, as this is something I always wonder about and struggle with. 

J:  I think my favorite step was the formatting of my story. When you are preparing a story for submission, you have to be super meticulous. There are tons of things that need to be very specifically formatted, so I was glad to be able to learn all of this. Huge thanks to all my mentors! I've learned so much from all of you!

To give the people a taste of all the good they’re in for, how would you summarize your story in five words or less?

I: Family strife wreaks havoc. 

J: Stalker. Blood. River. The End.

We all know the Ch1Con logo is a tomato, and this last question comes from a place of true team spirit: What tomato product are you? Pizza? Chili? Paste? Soup? Pick something that speaks to your soul, and tell us why.

I: PIZZA! I am 100% pizza. I love pizza more than most things and it is so versatile and adaptable, like me—you can eat authentic Italian pizza at a fancy dinner, or sloppy, greasy Chicago style for a family picnic. Have I mentioned, I love pizza?!

J: I LOVE chili, so I'd have to go with that. It's so diverse, and amazing, so I like to think that I model myself after it. It's great to have such an inspiring role model (I'm just kidding. I don't really look up to tomato products.)

Let’s give these guys a big round of applause! Make sure you don’t miss out on this year’s mentorship anthology, This Is The End.

  

From familial trauma to mind games, you never know quite what will lead to the end. During the autumn of 2017, the team behind writerly nonprofit organization Chapter One Events mentored two talented young writers through the publishing process, giving them a head start on becoming the successful authors of tomorrow. Now, read the stories on which these up-and- coming writers worked, along with four by the Chapter One Events mentors themselves. Each of these stories leads to a startling conclusion. Are you ready for the end?

Learn more about Chapter One Conference on their website! https://chapteroneconference.org