Join Young Willamette Writers...
Why?

• It's Free!
• You'll meet and join other students like yourself who have an interest in and love of writing.
• Share your work with your peers, and help each other grow as writers.
• Meet and learn from writing experts.
• See your best work published on this Web site and in an annual anthology.
• You'll have fun, make new friends and learn how to improve your writing!

Meetings . . .

are held at the same time and place as the adult Willamette Writers.

• Day: The first Tuesday of each month (YWWs meet only during the school year).
• Time: From 7 to 8 p.m.
• Place: "The Old Church" on SW 11th and Clay in Portland, Oregon.
• Price: Free! (Unless you want the Newsletter and other benefits of regular WW Membership.) Parents can attend the adult meeting for free while you are in the group.
• Who: Students from 5th through 10th grades who love to write. Our meetings are divided between mini-workshops led by the co-chairs of the group, and special presentations by writers, editors, publishers and other writing professionals. Students usually get a chance to read their work at the end of meetings. YWWs meet in the Victorian parlor off to the side of the reception room. Parents are welcome to stay with their students or to attend the main WW meeting at no charge.

Our next meeting...

Corey Stixrud

Last Tuesday I relearned a valuable lesson about "knowing your audience." When I surveyed 20 Young Willamette Writers, asking (amongst other things) if they read this column before coming to our January meeting, I received the written equivalent of 20 blank stares: "No," "Nope," "Didn't know there was one," and my favorite: "Sometimes, but only if I'm out of things to do."

See, I had written the first two columns under the assumption that I was addressing the young people that attend the monthly meeting, when in fact my audience is really you, the general WW reader, or, even better, the parent of a potential YWW. (I know this because another one of the responses was: "Someone showed me the newsletter because they wondered if I'd want to come….which I did!) Lesson learned. Which is why I think it would be instructive and fun to educate you, the WW member, about our young writers, in their own words as gleaned from a selective look at the survey results.

Why do you like to write? "I get to create my own worlds." "I have all these situations in my head and I just need to get them down on paper." "…because everything turns into a story for me." and, "I like writing because I like books. I like books because it unlocks a whole new world. I want to give other people that experience." What do you like to write? "Fantasy," "Fantasy," "Fantasy," (this stretches on FOREVER) "Realistic fiction," "Science fiction," "Poetry," "Romance," and finally, "Adventure, suspense, history, mystery, humor, and song lyrics!" What are your strengths as a writer? "Catching the reader by surprise," "I have a way with words," "Descriptiveness," "Intensely detailed action scenes," "Getting a good start," and "ending my stories." What would you like to improve on as a writer? "I'd like to improve wording, dialogue, and flow." "I would like to build up confidence to actually finish a book." "I need to bring the plot forward earlier in the story." "Editing. Ugh. I hate this process!" and "I don't know (not that I don't want to improve)." I assured them that their answers to that questions were pretty darn universal. What types of speakers would you be interested in inviting? "Published authors," "Songwriters," "Screenwriters," "Agents," "Publishers," "Playwrights," and "My mom!" A number of specific authors were also listed, including Erin Hunter, Rick Riordan, Suzanne Collins, J.K. Rowling (just in case you're reading this and interested, J.K) and, wonderfully, J.R.R. Tolkien (to which the young writer added, "If you have some pull in Hades.")

So there you have it, a snapshot of your Young Willamette Writers. What I personally take from this survey is that we have a group of enthusiastic, talented, cheeky, and invested writers (who aren't reading the following very cool announcement, so be sure to let them know.)

Next up: I'm excited to announce that our March 2nd guest is the extremely talented YA author Rosanne Parry. Her debut fiction book, Heart of a Shepherd is on numerous "best book" lists for 2009, including Kirkus, Horn Book Fanfare, and Washington Post. Don't miss this opportunity!

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Young Willamette Writers meets at the same time and place as the adult meeting: 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month at the Old Church (SW 11th and Clay). Our next meeting will be on February 2nd. Feel free to bring a friend. See you there!

During one of our classes, one student wrote the first line of a poem then passed their paper to the next person who wrote the second line, and so forth around the room. The students wrote the poems quickly, drawing on their instincts. Their poems are presented to honor their way with words.
Joni, joni-h@comcast.net.

Play
We play outside and
Never stand doing nothing
Trust me, I'm not bluffing
It's fun to swing
Entertaining just to run around
I cook "food" with dirt and petals
Pretend play. . .that's the thing
That makes me happy
It's fun to cook
Even without a kettle.

Flower Magic
The roses had dew on their petals
Like sprinkles on a cake
This is what only nature can do,
That man could never make
Whenever I could, I stole a glance at them
No matter how many times
My Mom told me to wait
They are true magic
That makes these roses beautiful,
As though they have wing
But they can not fly in the air
To share the clouds with birds

The Wind
Swiftly, swiftly blew the wind
As it flew across the pond
Green grass blades swayed with the wind
And they shimmered as always
But this time there were no swans
Just frogs and muskrats
And with them jumps and dives
The pond was not lonely.