WriteGirl

Between texting and tweeting, it may seem the that the need for “real” writing has gone out the window. But writing is important, and creative writing is more important still. The ability to express oneself, in public, professional and private contexts, is critical for success, effective communication and the development of community.

WriteGirl has more than 12 years of success in guiding young people to express themselves through creative writing and mentoring. The results have been extraordinary and despite the rapid digitization of the globe, reports of writing’s obsolescence are greatly exaggerated!

The purpose of the Power of the Pen: Writing Together project is to leverage the abundant creative writing and educational talent pool of Los Angeles, and to foster the joy of writing. We hope that this project will serve as the pilot program for annual city-wide writing events. The project website will remain active year-round, showcasing selected writing and inspiring stories. We want to guide our city to write together, to empower any individual to express his or her stories in creative ways.

Everyone has a story to tell. Los Angelenos have rich personal histories and perspectives. The Power of the Pen: Writing Together project emphasizes the community’s role in education. The project will be kicked off by a week-long co-ed program of creative writing workshops in middle schools and high schools throughout Los Angeles.

Who would lead these workshops? We believe that with the right tools and training, anyone who loves to write can be an effective, powerful mentor. WriteGirl would recruit and train men and women from all walks of life to become Writing Guides during the week-long Power of the Pen: Writing Together project.

Simultaneously, the Power of the Pen project would galvanize the city through a series of creative writing activities around the city, so that Angelenos can write and create together, with the carefully scoped guidance that we specialize in (and that helps us get great writing from virtually anyone). The entire community of Los Angeles would be invited to participate by sharing their written stories through a website specifically dedicated to this program. The theme for the kick-off week will focus on writing personal stories about where we’ve been and where we’re going.

These events can be presented with the many organizations we partner with or who currently support our work, but also in settings that are both new to our traditional work and also new as settings for creative writing. That means outdoors, in the middle of the workday (and workplace), on public transportation, in the chambers of government, at the schools and universities, in the company of people you love and value, and in the company of strangers (or not-yet-met friends). We propose to write in the shadow of Los Angeles landmarks to draw inspiration from our unique landscape and culture, to write with the inclusion of the many, many professional writers who congregate to our city and its various media-driven enterprises, and to connect online with groups and individuals, inviting them to write with us, in real time, to reiterate the value of writing together.

When people participate in creative writing (which is distinct from school-based writing), they often experience transcendence. Gone are the red pencil marks from a teacher who didn’t understand, the feelings of exclusion because a mandate for perfection excluded you from one of humanity’s core activities – expressing our true, uncensored creative instincts – the things we make up entirely on our own, often in a completely unique way. Creative writing is different because it prompts the writer to take risks, to explore ideas that are not yet fully formed or perfected. Creative writing presents a standard to meet that is entirely self-designed. It is freeing, fortifying, and prompts people to travel even further along their own journeys of personal development. Creative writing brings what is inside to the outside so you can share it with the world around you and, if need be, create that world for yourself.

You are what you write. That has been the experience of WriteGirl over the past 12 years. We have guided young writers and adults to produce writing that has thrilled those near enough to hear it read aloud. Our books have been lauded with 48 national and international awards. We have mostly worked with high school girls, but have also very effectively developed events for boys, co-ed groups, middle schoolers, adults, and youth who are critically at risk, such as those who are pregnant, parenting, or incarcerated. Even the audiences at all of our large events get to connect with the power of the pen – you can’t attend a WriteGirl event without being prompted to write something!