Most students and faculty at Saugerties High School know this senior by the name of Francesca Gomez. But thanks to her WISE project, she also goes by her pen name: Francesca Marie Fahey. Francesca is the author of Perpetual Tuesday, a novella about a high school student who must cope in the aftermath of a tragic accident. And Francesca’s name is not the only thing that changed because of WISE—so did she.

“I really felt like a completely different person from the beginning of the project to the final presentation. I felt proud. I felt independent,” said Francesca about her transformative WISE experience.

The Novella

Perpetual Tuesday is a story about the healing process. Eighteen year old Cella was a normal senior in high school until her life was turned upside down by an accident. To cope with the tragedy, she goes through “trial and error with herself, trying to let herself heal but also afraid to…because she feels like she’d be cheating on her friend for going on living.”

As Cella struggles with the loss of her friend, the novella takes the reader through Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief, providing a fresh glimpse into one of the most universal human experiences: human suffering.

“I like to write about things that are the hardest and try to make sense of them,” said Francesca about her inspiration to write about difficult topics such as loss.

Sneak Peaks

Here is a preview of her novella, available for purchase on blurb.com:

1. The Meaning behind the Title: What do Tuesdays and the healing process have in common? They both drag, according to Francesca’s protagonist.

2. Her Favorite Scene: After the accident, Cella is “lying on pavement and thinking, everything flowing through her mind.”

3. How Does it End?: The novella has “the perfect ending for the characters,” said Francesca. “[It is] not a fairy tale ending, but it was good enough for them.”

 

Francesca’s novella is not the only accomplishment of her WISE journey. She also learned a lot about the world of writing and about herself along the way. Francesca fills us in on the arduous—yet ultimately rewarding—process of becoming an author.

Overcoming Obstacles

“I sincerely loved doing [the WISE program] even when it was hard,” said Francesca.

Writer’s block was one of her main obstacles. With the deadline for her novella looming, Francesca felt the pressure.

“I spent hours and hours writing…but some nights I couldn’t write because I wasn’t inspired, and I knew I was going to write the wrong thing,” said Francesca. “My characters deserved better than [me] just writing because I had to.”

In order to write without forcing it, Francesca started waking up in the middle of the night, when ideas often came to her, to write.

As a high school student and aspiring author, Francesca’s senior year was also a balancing act. Her goal for senior year was to participate—and she did. In addition to publishing a novella, Francesca found time to perform in the school lip-sync, be a part of the school play (she was a puppeteer for a man-eating plant!), and attend an extra help class.

“You can do things” is the advice she gives. “You just have to make sure you make time to do them.”

The Support System

“Ms. Brennan is the teacher who has been here for me through everything from my start in high school,” said Francesca about her decision to choose Alison Brennan as her mentor.

Francesca met with Ms. Brennan regularly to ask for advice and “get [her WISE project] right.” Ms. Brennan also helped edit Francesca’s novella, correcting the grammar to get it ready for publishing.

“When I was wondering how to do everything, she told me I could do it,” said Francesca.

Francesca also had the encouragement of her family and friends as she went through the WISE program. By reading scenes of her novella aloud to her mother, younger sister, and friends, she got the feedback she needed to improve her novella and grow in confidence as a writer.

The WISE Process: Research and Journaling

Is a professional writing career profitable, practical, possible? How do you “keep yourself on your feet when becoming a writer”? Francesca had many questions when she started her WISE project.

After a lot of research, Francesca found her answers, learning many different ways to succeed as an author. She advises:

• Take advantage of classes at local libraries, etc.: Professional writers occasionally teach classes about their craft, sharing firsthand stories of how they entered and stayed afloat in the competitive world of writing.
• Interview other writers: Francesca got valuable advice from interviewing writers of all kinds—those who are published, those who are unpublished, and those planning to publish. They “provided [her] with the support [she] needed to push forward with [her] goal of becoming an author.”
• Self-publishing is a gateway, not a dead-end: Although interested in self-publishing, Francesca did not know what impact it could have on her future writing career. After learning that you can still professionally publish your work after self-publishing, her fears subsided. “You can go bigger,” said Francesca. This opportunity for growth “makes everything less intimidating.”

Francesca documented her research in her WISE journal.

“The WISE journal was a conversation with myself about different things I needed to do, to try, and to look up,” said Francesca.

Through daily journal writing, Francesca was able to reflect on what she learned, realizing that becoming a writer was “not easy, but doable.”

The Future

The connection between Francesca’s WISE project and her future is clear: “It is much more rewarding to have a finished project that I did on my own with some help than sitting in a classroom and having information thrown at me that might not apply to the rest of my life the way this has helped me prepare for my future,” said Francesca.

Deciding to major in creative writing, Francesca will attend Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, where she can continue developing the skills she learned from her WISE experience and grow as a writer.

Because of WISE, Francesca leaves high school a more well-prepared and confident young lady—proud of her academic growth, of her novella, of herself.

Her Next Big Writing Project: Francesca is already working on her next writing project—a novel this time. Set in a mental hospital, the novel tells the stories of different people who  struggle with mental illness. Because the characters are based on real people, Francesca is currently in the research stage of writing.

Read Francesca’s first novella and keep your eyes open for more from this talented young lady. At eighteen years old, she is already making a contribution to the world of writing.