Wednesday, September 2, 2009

About A Writer's Journey

A few summers ago, I volunteered to teach a creative writing workshop to children at the local public library. For weeks, we discussed characters, conflicts, and solutions. Finally, the children finished their stories, and they were all bound into a small publication just for them.

The children ranged in age from 7 to 14. That's a pretty good age to be when you first get published.

The idea of publishing students' work is something I've found appealing since I began teaching in 2006 at Westmoreland County Community College in Pennsylvania. The students in my College Writing and Advanced Composition classes were creating some impressive work, but only their classmates and I could see it.

This semester, that's going to change, starting with a class of College Writing students who are eager to compete for the spots on our live blog. When the students submit writing assignments and essays to me, I will review them and choose several to post here. There will likely be extra opportunities to write for the blog around holidays and on specific issues as well.

I'm really excited to share with you my students' work as they develop on their individual writing journeys. Through this medium, they will understand there is a huge audience for their work and know that exhilarating feeling to see their names "in print."

Thanks for being a part of our experiment. We look forward to your comments and feedback.