One of the amazing leaders I met at the forum!

Thanks so much to Ann Dillard, an awesome educator making a profound difference in the lives of our youth. I was honored to meet so many fabulous people at The African American Speakers Forum/Dress for Success. As promised, here are some resources for the young writers I met:

Teenage Writers www.teenagewriters.com (contests and grants)

Loft Literary Center/ www.loft.org (workshops and classes)

Teen Ink/ http://www.teenink.com (magazine/books/website written by teens)

Writer David Barr Kirtley’s website: www.davidbarrkirtley.com/teenwriter/TeenResources.html

Hennepin County Library Bookspace: Minnesota Authors for Teens page: http://www.hclib.org/ (lots of local authors do free readings-go pick their brains about writing!)

Writing Circle for Teens offered by Intermedia Arts/ www.intermediaarts.org

Canvas-Art Based Teen Center in St. Paul/ www.canvas651.com

Addendum Books/ www.addendumbooks.blogspot.com (Young Adult Bookstore in St Paul)

Ancestry Books in North Minneapolis (coming soon!)

Writing Group Tips:

Find a group of people you trust! That means you can take risks in front of them and feel safe sharing your work.

Let your writing partners know what you need. For example, you may need help with spelling, help building tension, or help making dialogue sound real.

Read your work out loud. Sometimes you need a friendly ear. Your work will sound different out loud than it does in your head.

Ask them questions; listen to their feedback without defending your ideas or explaining what you were trying to do. Take the ideas that help you move forward and leave the rest behind.