Dodge Middle School student presents at writing conference

Talk about it

Farmington student Ben Heckmann represented the community as one of 750 student writers from across the state at the 19th annual Conference for Young Writers Jan. 6, at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minn. A student at Levi P. Dodge Middle School, Heckman was selected as a presenter at the event.

Heckmann delivered a class entitled “Rockin Out with Writing and Illustrating” a subject in which he has demonstrated skill having written, illustrated and published his first book “Velvet Black” at the age of 11.

In addition to writing, Ben is also an accomplished musician and a member of the band Vesuvius. Heckmann’s first-hand accounts are a hit with other students who also selected from 18 other sessions including techniques to write humorous dialogue, character design for science fiction, poetry techniques, screen plays and several other techniques.

The conference featured a keynote presentation by John Coy, of Minneapolis, an author of picture books and young adult novels.

The event was coordinated by the Southwest Minnesota Service Cooperative, a collaborative educational program serving 55 partnering school districts headquartered in Marshall.

Tags: middle schools, education, farmington