2022-23 Happenings
While some folks love to plan in advance, not everyone likes to commit in advance so scheduling is always going on. If you want to organize a 3-4 student workshop series in your area, call me and we’ll try to set something up.
ONE-ON-ONE Personal coaching
As scheduling 6-10 families gets more difficult (!!!), I am doing a lot more individual coaching via ZOOM. Does your child have a story/book inside just itching to get out. I work with several kids -- ages 8-14 -- for whom writing is a passion. Email or call me and we can meet to discuss how I might work with your budding JK Rowling. Ooooooor, maybe your child compares writing to trips to the dentist. (I LOVE my dentist!) Inspiration is what it is all about The skills will come. And I know how to deliver both.
On the CREAtive front
The short story is, I believe, story in its most perfect form. A brilliant short story begins with a message (theme). When I say “begins” I don’t mean within the story, I mean within the process and the head of the writer. Writers must decide upon a message they want to communicate in their story. Then they must concoct a rough storyline to communicate this message, they must create characters with all of the strengths, weaknesses and idiosyncracies to both tell that story, and make it intriguing.
Oh yes... and then they have to write it.
Then rewrite it.
Some parents and kids will look at the above and go: Whoah... alot of work.
Well, yes. but, a short story... a really tight short story... is truly a labor of love. It is jam packed with surprise, observation, and the kind of details that cause readers to smack their lips! Along the way, it really teaches one to write. And at the end? Well, I have written maybe 300 short stories in my time. Among them are ones I would call pretty doggone good. Decades later I am reading them to my students to rapt attention. Some stories, after a gazillion readings and many years, still have me tearing up towards the end. That folks, is a reward. (Crybabies run in the family. Every year as a kid, the family would watch Wizard of Oz together on TV when it came around. And when Dorothy started saying goodbye to her pals at the end, we would all look to Dad to see if the tears had started dribbling yet.)
As you can imagine this is not a form you rip off every week. Deadlines are not our focus. Mastery IS. The feedback loop for my individual sessions are robust as I attend to individual needs along the way. This loop will include some line edits.
And another cool thing: the sharing aspect. As kids share potential ideas, characters and plot lines, it will be a wonderful opportunity for the kids to develop communication skills they will carry until they are old and grey. (Seen any of those guys around here?)
And Then There is the Essay
Essays will be in your student's life for the remainder of their academic studies. And... beyond! Just heard this from a Silicon Valley techie about another side of writing prowess:
"I'll just add my .02 and say the rewards go far past the academic world. The Valley is full of smart STEM career types with marginal writing skills. Inventing a cool product is one thing. Getting approval from the government agencies that decide if you can sell it is another. Converting engineering drawings into unambiguous manufacturing instructions is yet another. Then there's marketing."He/she writes like an engineer" is a common joke. There are plenty of high paying jobs in manufacturing, regulatory affairs and elsewhere for folks skilled in expressing ideas clearly and in ways that cannot be misunderstood. "
Essays are all about structure. Does that mean they have to be boring? Of course not. The sooner your children get the hang of writing an top notch essay, the bigger the more impressive they will be. Persuasive, literary, descriptive, narrative -- each of these essays has a slightly different approach. But all follow a basic formula your student needs to learn.
I have several ongoing students, but it’s not too early to put feelers out to families in your circle to gauge interest in a 3-4 student ZOOM writing class. Or, if you would like me to work your child one-on-one, shoot me an email boomkids.d@gmail.com. Or call me at 650.339.4908. My first meeting with you and your child are on the house,