Creative Writing is for Everybody

Did I catch your attention? Did she say that creative writing is for everybody? Really?

I put my money where my mouth is, not only in my own writing, but in working with kids of all ages on theirs as well. Two years ago I began working alongside Writopia founder Rebecca Wallace-Segal in New York City, and last summer I was thrilled to be trusted to spearhead the Writopia movement in Northern Westchester when I moved to Katonah. Now I am equally excited to help foster the Writopia  growth throughout Southern Westchester as it's program manager.

Creative expression isn't just for those who have confidence in their own creative juices, in fact it's just as important for those un-inclined, to fall in-love with some aspect of personal expression.

I invite you to hop on over to Writopia's blog to read an essay I just posted about this very subject. It starts like this:

As Writopia Lab continues to grow in Westchester, our partnerships with local libraries, schools, and bookshops remain crucial to how our writing community fits within the broader network of institutions that advance literacy. Because of this, I'm afforded frequent opportunity to interact with many like-minded kids, educators and authors. They, along with the many enthusiastic librarians and booksellers I meet, sometimes make it easy for me to forget that not everyone sees value in learning the art of written expression.

Yet I am sometimes asked why creative writing should matter at all for kids who are not considered predisposed in some way as writers.

Want to read more? Click here!

Apostrophe, I Luv You

Image via Wikipedia

I'm listening to the Apostrophe Song for the third time and can't stop giggling - so I thought that I'd better channel my glee and weigh in on the Apostrophe "problem" that has been creating such rancor as of late.

I have nothing to add to the debate: indeed, this will be much more of a confession.

Folks, I have an apostrophe problem. I know, I know (wringing hands). And I'm working on it, have made major strides in improvement really. But there's just something about that apostrophe . . . makes me want to . . . put one in where it doesn't belong! This desire must come from the subterranean regions of my unconscious, making nouns possessive when they should be plural. Dr. Freud, does this mean that I want my objects to control one another? Or me?

Or . . . I'm careless, and have more in common with those unapologetic peeps out there who don't edit before putting out their work (or signs) for public consumption. I'm sure that there are a couple of these unedited blogs that have mistakes. If so, I apologize and I hope you don't stop reading! (I'd like to think that my grammar faux pas are not as bad as the above.)

Everyone needs to self-edit and then some. I do know that the more I practice writing, the better I get, and that we all make mistakes in our first drafts. Indeed, this has helped shape my approach to working with others - focus on creative expression FIRST and then learn the rules as we go along. (Because rules can suck the fun out of EVERYTHING!)