Friday, February 24, 2017

Writers: Take Time to Mentor the Next Generation

When I was in sixth grade, there was one specific day that I recall very well. Our class had study hall, and once a week during study hall we went to the school library. It was one room of wall-to-wall books.

On this particular occasion, the teacher, Sister Joan Bailey, called me over to her from the other side of the room. I went. As I approached, she pulled a book off the shelf and handed it to me. It was about creative writing. "I think this book would good for you," she said. And then she walked away.

I stood there for a moment in mild surprise. My first thought was, "Wow, she thinks I have writing potential??" Then, my second thought was, "Wow, she thinks I have writing potential!!!"

I had my first story published in the 8th grade newspaper, then another in a high school book. It all went up from there. Today, I am a professional writer. And it all began with a nun who spoke one sentence.

Yesterday, I received an email from my local library announcing a new writing group for girls between grades 5 and 8. It brought me back to that time when I was a girl between grades 5 and 8 and I was just starting to plant the seeds of my future.

And I felt a sense of both hope and wonder. Hope that this new writing club would help open the creative minds of many girls between grades 5 and 8 and plants the seeds of their future. And wonder about whether any of those girls, either here in my home town, or elsewhere throughout the world, would become the next great writer.

I look forward to seeing who that might be, and even to mentoring some of those future writers myself. If you are a successful writer, think about who you might be able to mentor -- high school students, college students, your next door neighbor's kid. Look around you. Reach out and share your gift with the next generation.

The future awaits! And you have a very big role to play in it.

Please check out my novel, In Fashion's Web on Amazon.