This morning, students from around the county gathered in the auditorium of Tuscarora High School to listen to and speak with Neal Shusterman, an accomplished author and screenwriter, most recently recognized for his Arc of the Scythe trilogy. With the release of the third and final book, The Toll on November 5th 2019, Shusterman will not release any new books during the year of 2020, but instead plans to publish 4 in the year of 2021. During his presentation, he inquired for the students to ask questions, and in response gave detailed advice alongside his own personal experiences. The discussion included the journey he took in order to get published, the process of publishing, what he’s currently working on, and a variety of writing tactics as well as useful tips given toward young aspiring writers. In one particular answer, he comments that, “There’s no such thing as writer’s block. It’s just a part of the writing process.” (Neal Shusterman, 2/20/2020) He continues, elaborating on the fact that with every book, there comes a point where you might bang your head against the wall, but if you persevere, perhaps step aside and work on something else and go back to it later, you’ll be inspired and invigorated to try again. To me, this presentation illuminated what professional writers go through, and that there’s more behind the scenes then first meets the eye.