“Inspiration can come from your imagination and it will pop up everywhere,” said author, actor and voiceover specialist David Neilsen, offering advice to fifth-grade students at Washington Irving in January.
The Tarrytown resident has written two spooky story books for eight to 12-year-olds entitled Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom and Beyond the Door.
He inspired the children to unlock their own creativity by showing them photos and asking them to explain what is happening and why. Using their ingenuity, the children discovered stories to tell.
Fifth-grader Maddie Choi said, “I like how funny he was, and he gave us a lot of good tips about writing.”
“Meeting an author from Tarrytown makes this real for the students,” said teacher Abbey Gilligan. “They can say, ‘if he did it, we can do it!’”
