Artist of the Week: Isabella Costanza

For Warwick Valley High School junior Isabella Costanza, writing started as something small. In middle school, she wrote short stories, ideas, and characters that took shape on the page. Over time, what began as a creative outlet eventually grew into something much bigger ... a published novel!

Isabella is the author of “Catch Me,” a more than 200-page story that she began writing in eighth grade. After working on it throughout high school, she officially published it this past December. The process took several years, evolving alongside her as both a writer and a person.

“I thought it would just be another short story,” Isabella said. “But it kept going.”

A willingness to stick with it carries into the rest of her work at Warwick Valley. Isabella serves as the managing editor of “The Wildcat Press,” the school’s journalism magazine, where she helps oversee the production of several issues each year. In that role, she edits articles, designs layouts and works with peers to bring each publication together.

“Journalism helped me develop stronger grammar and editing skills,” she explained. “Now I can look at something and immediately see what needs to be fixed.”

A long-time Odyssey of the Mind participant

Beyond journalism, Isabella is also involved in Odyssey of the Mind, performing creative problem-solving skits since kindergarten. Serving as president of the club two years in a row, Isabella helps lead a team through months of preparation leading up to competition.

This year, her team developed a performance based on Problem 3, building a full storyline around a rock, paper, scissors concept that earned a sixth-place finish at the state level.

“It’s kind of difficult because Regionals is harder than the State competition,” she explained. “Our region is so creative and competitive, and it’s a lot harder to get out of Regionals.”

With nearly a decade of experience in Odyssey of the Mind, Isabella has developed a range of skills, from scriptwriting to sportsmanship, but one stands out above the rest.

“You’re spending so much time together, and everyone has different ideas,” she said. “You learn how to compromise and work through that.”

Her experiences with Odyssey of the Mind have also influenced her approach to bigger creative projects outside the club.

“I’ve always had a lot of story ideas, but Odyssey helped me see them as something I could expand on,” she said.

Teacher encouragement

Isabella’s approach to writing is rooted in creativity and storytelling, first shaped in seventh grade under the encouragement of her English teacher, Amanda Terralavoro.

“I remember Isabella as one of my most enthusiastic writers,” Terralavoro said. “She was always busy crafting exceptional stories in her spare time, and I felt so lucky that she chose to share them with me.”

Building on this encouragement, one year later, she began writing what would become “Catch Me.”

“I am incredibly proud of her for chasing her goals and becoming a published author,” Terralavoro added. “Her novel is currently displayed at the front of my classroom, and I’ve been sharing her success with my current students to encourage them to never stop pursuing their passions. I look forward to seeing what she does next.”

The novel follows a main character, Lola, as she navigates loss, identity, and the process of rebuilding herself. Although inspired by Isabella’s own emotions—particularly her fear of losing someone close—she emphasizes that the story is not autobiographical.

Isabella’s writing process

Writing became a way to process thoughts she found difficult to express elsewhere.

“I used it almost like a diary,” she said. “It was easier to write it as someone else and still put my own feelings into it.”

Over time, the project shifted from drafting to refining. Isabella spent months rereading, editing, and restructuring the novel, often printing full drafts and marking them up by hand. Some sections were rewritten entirely, while others were cut to strengthen the story.

“There were a lot of plot twists I thought were a good idea when I was younger,” she said. “I had to go back and rethink what actually worked.”

Balancing that process with school responsibilities required patience. After finishing homework late at night, Isabella often returned to the manuscript, slowly building the story piece by piece. Sometimes she stepped away, then came back with a clearer perspective.

Her persistence paid off when she published the book and shared it with her family, many of whom did not know she had been working on it. This marked a major turning point in her creative journey.

“It was a little surreal,” she said. “They were talking about parts of the book, and I was like, ‘Oh, you’ve actually read it.’”

A future in publishing

The reaction from family and friends was emotional, particularly for those closest to her. For Isabella, sharing the book represented both a personal milestone and a shift in how she saw herself.

“It felt good to have something I worked so hard on out there,” she said. “I don’t do sports or things like that, so this was something that was mine.”

As Isabella looks ahead, she plans to pursue a career in publishing, combining her love of writing with a desire to help others bring their stories to life.

“I still want to write,” she said. “But I also want to be part of the process of getting books out into the world.”

Isabella’s work is already out in the Warwick Valley community. Catch Me is available to check out in the high school library, where it is currently featured in its own display!