FOR EDUCATORS
At Society of Young Inklings, we provide you with classroom resources, and your writers with tools and guidance to develop their unique writerly voices
At Society of Young Inklings, we take youth on a journey to discover and cultivate their writing voice. In partnership with author-mentors and a passionate community of peers, Inklings develop the essential thinking skills writers need to get their creative ideas on the page.
How might you collaborate with us?
We have partnered with educators and schools for over 15 years, creating tools and opportunities for classrooms based on our Writerly Play toolkit. Writerly Play partners well with many common writing curriculums, and utilizes tools from improv theatre, as well as other movement, visualization, and play-based strategies to invite writers to access their natural storytelling abilities and to find joy in the writing process. We have a Writerly Play toolkit filled with activities, printables, videos, and lesson plans for educators that you can access by signing up for our mailing list.
Sign up for our educator resources here:
HOW DOES IT WORK for youth writers?
First, we invite youth writers to join the Society of Young Inklings
In our membership community, youth writers share their writing, receive feedback, and offer feedback to others on the Inkwell. Members also receive monthly prompts, resources, and games. They’re invited to join our community for live online author interviews and writing workshops. They’ll be inspired at book launch celebrations featuring youth authors, just like them. All of that momentum will urge them onward as they pursue the creative writing project of their choice.
Next, we support them as they build their
creative writing skills
Once writers are ready to further develop their creative thinking and writing craft skills, they can enroll in a mentor-facilitated experience, such as a writing workshop or a one-on-one mentorship. They might create a poetry collection, design a plan for a novel, experiment with a new genre, or even draft a full novel. We offer quarterly Writers Circles, summer camps, and customized one-on-one mentorships.
Third, they are able to share their work
with readers
Each year, we offer a writing contest for 3rd-12th grade writers, in which they can submit a short story or poem. Winners work with a mentor to revise their piece. All applicants receive a personalized, encouraging editorial letter from one of our Inklings team. Other sharing and publication opportunities at Society of Young Inklings include publishing your work on our Inkwell, mentorship showcase reading, or even publication of your novels through our Fresh Ink publishing program.
What do youth writers gain as part of Society of Young Inklings?
- Expressive writing opportunities, and an outlet to process challenges and emotions
- Critical thinking and sense-making skills
- Reading expertise, including the ability to reverse-engineer texts
- Writing craft and storytelling skills
- Self-awareness and reflection practices
- Empathy and the ability to listen deeply to others’ stories, even those with stories far different than their own
- Flexibility, openness, and improvisation skills
- Emotional, mental, and social resilience
- Visioning, goal-setting and project organization skills
- Collaboration techniques and tools
- Creative confidence
For example:
Like William, they might write a poem to enter into our Inklings Book contest, win, work with a mentor to revise their work, and then be published in our Inklings Book.
Like Avery, they might build character development skills in a series of short story experiments, and then dive into a major project, like drafting, revising, and publishing a trilogy.
Like Madeline, they might write a play, enter the Scholastic Art and Writing awards, win a Gold Key, and then even see their play produced at a local theatre company.
But being an Inkling isn’t only about publishing books and winning contests. The real fun of being an Inkling is that writers are part of a community of artists who are excited about exploring their creative potential. Often that starts with the little things, like the practice of jotting ideas in a journal, or of paying attention to the fascinating details in the world around them. Our major focus is on helping youth to think like artists, developing a set of thinking skills and creative confidence that will serve them well in every endeavor, including school, career, and hobbies. Whether they write every day, every week, or even once a month, writers grow as artists as part of the Society of Young Inklings.
