FROM YOUNG WRITER TO YOUNG AUTHOR
Celebrating (and Learning From) Our Published Writers!
Has your child ever said they want to be a writer? Or write a book? I am often told that by young writers, or their parents. Here’s the good news! It’s not an out-of reach dream!
In my experience, all kids and teens are natural story tellers. Some never think about sharing their writing more widely–they write just for fun, or creativity, or to achieve academic and life goals. But for others, sharing their work with the outside world is part of the creative process. Many come to writing because they love reading themselves. They love how the books they read take them to new worlds, and they want to transport other readers, as they themselves have been transported by stories. Others want to see their words in print and the worlds they’ve created become real. Others write to participate in a community, or to make the world a better place by expressing the values they hope to see in society.
Whatever it is, publishing takes an extra level of effort and motivation by any writer, young or old, so please join me in congratulating three of our young writers who’ve published their work this year. We’re very proud of them! Three different writers, three different motivations, three different types of writing, but the same effort, dedication, talent!
Portland: (Sophomore, Barrie School)
A serious, and seriously gifted, writer, Portland, one of our private coaching students, began writing several years ago when, inspired by the Wings of Fire book series, he started filling notebooks with his imaginative stories–creating whole worlds of forests, caves, fortresses, dragons, and other creatures. Murderer of the Mystic Bog and Other Writings is his collection of short stories and sketches written over the years. Filled with whimsical characters and brilliant description, it celebrates his imagination, skill, and mostly his joy of writing. Fun fact: Portland drew the dragon illustration for the cover art himself too!
And an extra round of applause for Portland, because he just got accepted into the highly prestigious Iowa Young Writers’ Workshop this summer, from an applicant pool of over 1,800 students! We are so proud of him, and we expect this will not be his last book!
Murderer of the Misty Bog and Other Writings, by Portland. Fun fact: Portland drew the cover art as well as wrote all the stories in this fun, imaginative collection.
Sam (7th Grade, Deal Middle School)
Sam didn’t come to our tutoring sessions to do creative writing. He came to work on improving his writing for school. But like Portland, his publication stemmed naturally from something he loved: Minecraft! A fan of the video game, he began listening to the Minecraft Short Stories Podcast, which airs discussions and lore on the popular video game. Sam eventually got the idea to write and submit his own story, “The Overworld Takeover,” which was accepted by the podcast and aired on April 6 this year! “The Overworld Takeover” recounts the history of Minecraft and its civilization, and showcases Sam’s talent for detail and imagination. We’re so proud of Sam: this story is so well written, and he took the initiative to write and publish it all on his own! You can listen to it here!
You can listen to Sam’s Story “The Overworld Takeover” on the Minecraft Short Stories Podcast, where it was published this past April.
Kennedi: (Sophomore, Winston Churchill High School)
Kennedi, is the kind of student who can do it all–she studies Chinese, piano, art, in addition to being a talented writer. At her high school, she has focused her writing energies on journalism and serves as the Arts Editor for her high school newspaper. This role was a natural evolution for Kennedi, who started out as a reporter last year, then Assistant Arts Editor, before advancing to Arts Editor. Kennedi has written a number of articles over these two years reflecting her interests (including some great restaurant reviews!), but as someone who cares deeply about social issues and equality, she is naturally drawn to issues that affect communities and people. We’re very proud of her. Although the field of journalism is changing rapidly, we will always need writers like her who know how to write well–researched, detailed and succinct articles. You can read some of her work here and here!
So What Can We Learn from These Young Writers?
- Write what you love! Follow your interests. Stay true to who you are. Each of these young writers did that: dragons, Minecraft, journalism. They put their energy into something that was important, interesting, or fun for them. Their motivation came from the inside out, not trying to figure out what other people wanted them to write.
- Keep Learning! Each of these students shows up week after week to work on their writing. They don’t just think about writing or talk about writing or day-dream about having written. They actively put time into writing, taking opportunities in and out of school to learn and practice and be inspired by other writers. As I tell all my students, I still take writing classes myself with poets and writers I admire. There is no end to learning to write. Take lessons, read, join your school’s newspaper, start one, ask someone for help! Actually, that’s our point number three:
- Ask for help! None of these young writers published their work alone. And guess what–no adult does either! It’s a group effort. We rely on writing colleagues, mentors, teachers, editors, book designers for advice, feedback, support. In addition to the work we did in our sessions, Portland worked with an editor/book designer to bring his book to life, meeting with them to discuss nuances of grammar and comma placement. Sam drafted his story independently, but brought it into our sessions for help with editing after he had it finalized. In addition to our writing lessons, Kennedi works with her newspaper team at school, including student writers, editors and faculty support. Most successful writers have a writing community they lean on and trust. Young writers need that especially
- Writers of any age and level can share their work. Writing is for everybody, and no matter what level your writing is, you can find ways to share your work. There are so many opportunities now, via electronic and virtual publication to help students pull together their work and share it with others. It can be as simple as a home-made book that you copy at Fed Ex, or a story read in school (both things my students have done). Giving them that opportunity boosts confidence and reinforces why we ultimately write, ultimately write—not just for a grade in school, but to communicate with others, to make them laugh, think, feel, imagine. And to have fun! Which brings us to our next point.
- Learn and Enjoy! Writing and publishing your writing should be a fun, rewarding process. It’s a learning process, for sure. Each of these students learned a lot about editing, grammar and style as they went through the process of polishing their work, not to mention about the visual and technical side of production itself. And, like many worthwhile learning processes, there are some tedious parts. Like soccer practice, you sometimes have to put in effort even when you are not feeling it. But the overall arc of the effort should feel fun and rewarding, a culmination of doing something you love….which leads back to step one! Do what you love!
If your child is interested in learning writing and perhaps writing their own book or story, here are some resources available for them. We would love to welcome them into our community of young writers!
Summer Camps:
Build-a-Book Camp: A fun day-camp where students learn storywriting techniques day-by-day, culminating in writing their own story over the course of the week. Read more here.
Creative Writing and Story Lab: An interactive week-long day where students experiment with different forms and genres of writing, creating a unique portfolio of creative work over the course of the week.
Individual Writing Coaching
Working one-on-one (either in-person or virtually via Zoom) gives students the opportunity to focus on the creative project of their choice and helps build their skills in an interactive, supportive environment Email for information
Writing Newsletters
Subscribe to our bimonthly newsletter In The Write Zone, filled with tips and opportunities for young writers. Subscribe here
A few of the titles written by our young writers in last summer’s Build-A-Book camp.This summer’s camp takes place from June 22-26.
District Writers’ Academy’s mission is to create a fun, safe and inspiring space for young writers to learn and grow. Please let us know if we can help support your young writer.