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Teaching Tips

Champing at the Pen: Helping Your Eager-to-Write Students
by Gabrielle Linnell

They're every English teacher's dream: the student who, whether in Honors, AP or regular, lives and breathes the written word. They have T.S. Eliot on their IM away messages, Stephen King on their MySpace, 95s on every paper and the best seat in your classroom. One day, they linger after class and tell you they want to be a writer. Do you have any suggestions? Like for right now?

The world of freelance or fiction writing and the world of teaching English are in the same universe, but are several galaxies apart. Here are some tips that you can pass on to your students.

Interest them in writing magazines
Writing magazines such as Writer's Digest, The Writer, and ByLine are often available in libraries. If they're not, subscriptions are usually under $50. Writers' magazines may be something students might ask to be added to their Christmas wish list. There are also many free writing e-zines online. Some, like KidMagWriters.com, occasionally focus on teen-friendly markets.

Suggest that they read writing books
There are books specifically for child and teen writers like The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Writer by Janet E. Grant and The Young Writer's Guide to Getting Published by Kathy Henderson. Encourage your students to read adult guides such as Stephen King's On Writing, On Writing Well by William Zinsser, and Putting Your Passion into Print by Arielle Eckstut and David Sterry.

Invite them to write constantly
Blogs (always with Internet safety in mind!) and diaries are excellent, writer-approved ways of honing skill. Also, advise that your students try different forms of writing such as haiku, creative nonfiction, and flash fiction.

Encourage them to find friends that write
Many bookstores and libraries host monthly writing groups that are fantastic sources of information and fun for the beginning writer. If there are none in your area, be the faculty sponsor for a Writer's Club at your school. There are also many writing message boards and discussion forums on the Web, but remind your students to be cautious about handing out information on the Web.

As a teacher, incorporate Publication 101 in the classroom. Take a day to talk about the life of a writer, or ask one to come in and speak to your class. The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (www.scbwi.org ) has chapters in almost every part of the country. Contact the regional director to ask about potential speakers. If your classroom can't host a speaker, try your local library.

It's a wonderful thing to encourage young writers, whether they simply journal in their spare time as adults or end up on the New York Times Bestseller List. There's always that extra page at the end of a book, where authors thank those wonderful teachers who've helped them along the way.

Gabrielle Linnell is the editor of a writing e-zine for teens, Innovative: A Word for the WriTeen (www.innovativeteen.blogspot.com), as well as a part-time freelancer. She's been published in FACES, New Moon, ByLine, Once Upon a Time, Stories for Children and other places.