Empowering Young Writers

Empowering Young Writers


     It was “Writer’s Prism” week in my Adventures in Creative Writing Club, a virtual club where young writers gather to create and share.  I got the idea for this lesson by watching David Baldacci’s Masterclass.  He talks about the writer’s way of looking at the world, and it’s so much fun.  A writer can look at any situation and spin it into a scenario for a story.  While he was explaining this concept to a journalist, they were walking in front of the White House.  She looked across the street, and said something along the lines of, “Okay, show me what you got.”  

     He looked at the scene, saw a gardener digging a hole to plant a tree and a nearby tourist with a camera around her neck. In less than a second, he replied that the gardener wasn’t really a gardener.  He was a spy, digging a hole to use as a dead drop.  He was planning on dropping a flash drive into the hole.  And, of course, the tourist with a camera wasn’t really a tourist.  She was also a spy, and they were working together.  They would communicate through the placement of the camera.  If it was up at her eyes, she was sending one message, if it was hanging around her neck, she was sending another.  

     With that introduction, I put up a slide that showed four different scenes.  Writers could choose from any of the images on the slides, or they could come up with their own situation to put through the writer’s prism. A few minutes into our writing time, a learner sent me a message asking if his idea was good.  I don’t usually interrupt during our writing time, but my answer contained a message that I wanted to make sure the entire class heard.  And now, I’m sharing it here, hoping that it reaches even more writers.

     The first part of my answer was that yes, it was a good idea.  I said that first to put my student at ease, but the real answer was that it didn’t matter what I thought.   I don’t want my students to give me, or anyone else that power.  If you think it’s a good idea, then it’s a good idea.  Full stop.   

Let your imagination soar, and don’t judge yourself while you are creating.  There’s plenty of time for that in the editing process.  If you would like more information about my creative writing clubs, use this link to find me on Outschool.

Cal State Northridge Writing Project

Cal State Northridge Writing Project

When I started out as a writing tutor six years ago, I had a master’s degree in writing, a love of language and an enthusiastic, almost evangelical, energy about the subject.  Instinctively, I knew how important writing is to a child’s future. After all, even the most brilliant scientist needs to be able to communicate his/her ideas. In addition, our first impressions are made in writing today.  I don’t want this to turn into a listicle of the top 10 reasons why kids need to learn how to write; suffice it to say that writing is a critical skill.

    Thanks to the National Writing Project, I have gotten to spend the last two years studying the way we teach writing.  And yes, there’s a lot of science and data that goes into building writing programs. Two summers ago, I was a fellow in the Los Angeles Writing Project Summer Institute at Cal State LA.  Since then, I’ve taught in the summer camp and tutored in the Alhambra Unified School District. This summer, I was a fellow at the Cal State Northridge Writing Project and am now officially a teacher leader.  I look forward to continuing involvement with both branches of the Writing Project.

    Learning about pedagogy, using scaffolding and mentor texts has made me a better teacher.  However, I’m going to call myself a coach, tutor, or maybe a cheerleader, because I want my kids to think of themselves as writers, not students.

    Look for blog posts about creative spelling, writer’s workshops, 5 paragraph essays, and more.