Elizabeth Orosco
Northeast News

New York Times bestselling author W. Bruce Cameron visited students and faculty at Frontier STEM High School Friday, Jan. 11 to talk about his work and engage with students curious about writing.

Cameron grew up in Prairie Village, KS and graduated from Shawnee East High School. He is the author of 15 books, including ‘A Dog’s Way Home’ and ‘A Dog’s Purpose,’ both of which are major motion pictures. The students previewed the film ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ and were able to discuss the process of writing and filmmaking with Cameron.

He spoke to the students about his desire to become a published author, and his journey of writing nine books before his tenth book was finally published. He said persistence is key.

“You only fail if you stop trying,” he said.

A dozen curious students raised their hands, asking questions about the writing process, what inspired him to write, how he handles writers block, and how it felt making a movie.

Cameron gave several words of advice to those aspiring to be writers, saying every writer is on his or her own path, and everyone should focus on finding their own way.

He discussed the many different jobs required to produce a movie, highlighting roles such as sound technicians, makeup artists, actors, camera operators, lighting directors, film editors, and directors. He told students there were a host of options for them if they are interested in getting into filmmaking.

Cameron told The Northeast News that he hopes his presentation provided a little bit of inspiration to the students.

“I remember high school being this one long trudge, so I want to introduce a little bit of relevance and show them that life after high school can include a Hollywood career if they want. I grew up here, so they can look at somebody who came from the same stuff that they came from, and now I’m doing this. For some people, that’s the dream.”