I just started to teach a creative writing class in which my students are all teenagers. The workshops I give are normally for adult writers, people seeking publications, those with a bit of, well, life experience. So when I took on the adolescent set, I was a little nervous about what to expect.
Let me just say...I am so impressed. Not only by their passion for writing which, lets face it, is rare, but also for their willingness to share it. I also love the angst. You know, how everything and every moment could lead to disaster or life changing triumph? Because, well, at that age its kinda true.The late adolescence to early adulthood is a critical decade. Decisions you make now will most assuredly affect your future. Maybe not what to wear, but certainly who you spend time with, and what you do with that time could be what sets the events in your life in motion.
To that end, I truly love reading the free writes of my students. They are at once, noir foreboding and bright eyed hopeful. Love and loss intermingle with possibility and the chance to get things right. I am inspired by these writers. Age-wise or not, it takes a strong person to delve into the emotional depths of story writing.
It makes me think back to when I would scribble out scenes in my black and white composition book instead of taking Biology notes like I should have been. I had so much I wanted to get onto the page, so many scenes, so many connections to explore. What do you remember about your early days of writing? What would you tell your past self about writing?
Photo by Spree 2010 Photograph by Calsidyrose