The following article was published in 2011 by a California parenting periodical, Growing Up in Santa Cruz.

Teens and Writing:
Using Creativity to Fuel Better Classwork

Nancy Sondel particularly remembers one 16-year-old who took [Sondel’s] fiction workshop. After school started, Sondel received an e-mail.

“She said she got an ‘A’ on her [autobiographical essay], and she was sure our work on story-crafting had helped!”

These days, Sondel...runs workshops for teens who love to write. But she says that good writing—whether a research paper or a short story—comes from the same place.

“Telling stories is not just an idle pastime for children,” Sondel explains. “It can provide a vehicle to explore structure (beginning, middle, ending), logic (cause-and-effect), and the rendering of sensory, specific details—elements that can enhance school work, such as a book report or biography, or a paper on life in China.”

... All the [interviewed] teachers point out that praise and encouragement validate the process, no matter the level of achievement of the writer.

“Kids are motivated by sincere praise for what they do well,” explains Sondel. “Consider how baby’s first words and steps quickly progress in an environment that rewards the effort alone.”

... Local mom Elise McCandless’ daughter took part in one of Sondel’s workshops, and was immediately inspired to get out and share her writing more.

“My experience has been that what keeps teens interested in writing is the opportunity to share their writing and the fun of writing with their peers, such as participating in a regular writers workshop or group,” McCandless explains.

Finally, all writers who successfully work with teens know that they can’t talk down to them. Though teens aren’t adults, they aren’t little kids, either.

“I feel I have an obligation to treat them with a great deal of regard and not in any way to talk down to them,” [Patrice] Vecchione says... “They deserve to be listened to,” [Laura] Davis says. “They have great stories to tell, both real and imagined.”

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