Young Voices: Writer and Inventor Cody Zachariasen Speaks Loud and Clear

Cody Zachariasen is a 5^th grader at SELS in Lynn Akers’ class, a pitcher in Little League, and a writer. He’s been writing with me most Wednesday mornings for the past 3 years.  Together we explore what is a story and how to tell stories in different genres and points of view, how to connect what we are reading to what and how we write, and play with craft such as metaphor, leaps in association, writing dialogue and character development. 

On May 3^rd Cody participated in his first open mic at Darkhorse Coffee in downtown Truckee.  The Untitled: a word jam is a gathering of people reading works written by themselves and others on the second and fourth Sundays of each month at 7 pm.  It’s a place for people to read, listen, and be inspired. I had the opportunity to ask Cody a few questions about his experience.

TRW: What are you interested in?

CZ: I’m interested in reading adventure books and making movies.  I especially like the Warriors series and I like to make movies because I’m a creative person. I like the Warriors series because the cats act a lot like humans in their conflicts, rivalries and relationships, also the way they are too proud to admit they need help.

TRW: When you read at the Untitled: a word jam open mic, where you nervous?  How did you handle it?

CZ: Uh, Duh, What do you think, of course I was nervous and I handled it by standing and being nervous for a little bit and then reading without looking at the people.

TRW: Why do you write?

CZ: I write because there’s no better way to get ideas out of your mind and onto something other people can read. For example, let’s say a guy named Billy wants to share his Idea about a solar powered plane.  Now obviously he could draw a picture, but that doesn’t cover several important things about an idea for an invention.  Those things are: What it does, how it does what it does, and why it’s useful.  Now Billy could write an essay – like 1-2 pages where he simply states his idea, what it does, how it does what it does, and why it’s useful. Or Billy could write a story about his idea that includes what it does, how it does what it does, and why it’s useful.  Well, that pretty much covers why I write.  Oh, and one other thing; it’s fun.