As with any art form, Developing as a creative writer is a journey

You can dip a toe into mentorship for a short, exploratory project, or you can develop your craft over time. With that in mind, Society members who work with 1:1 mentors are guided through a structured learning process that can be customized to fit their interests, goals, and ambitions.

A New Chapter: Stepping Into Society of Young Inklings

Every writer is unique—that’s why we personalize each and every mentorship at Society of Young Inklings.

   When writers begin their Inklings mentorships they might be:

Some writers enter their Inklings mentorship with a project in mind, or mid-way through a draft, and others enter with a learning goal in mind.

On top of all those differences, Inklings begin mentorships when they’re nine, or eleven, or fourteen, or even eighteen! There’s no one-size-fits-all path for all of those writers and their creative development.

That said, when you begin your journey at Society of Young Inklings, we encourage you to consider this an opportunity to begin a brand new chapter in your writerly development. Your mentor will help you take stock of where you are right now, and then, together, you’ll set goals for what’s next.

Keeping in mind that your mentor will customize your program to fit your specific needs, here’s a general overview of what you’ll experience in your first twelve sessions at Society of Young Inklings:

SESSIONS 1 – 4:

• Identify your creative style and personalize your approach to the creative process.
• Experiment with activities and strategies to stretch your creative ideas into fresh territory.
• Hone in on your creative taste by curating a list of your favorite books, movies, and games – what can you learn from your creative heroes?
• Begin your writer’s travelogue – a journal to capture questions and ideas, to record memories, to make note of what you’re learning, to sketch and improvise.
• Review your past writing, note your strengths, and set a goal for what’s next.

SESSIONS 5 – 6:

• Choose a project and experiment with ideas.
• You might develop a collection of poetry, a short story, or a chapter of a longer work.
• If this is a project you’ve already begun, add layers and explore possibilities. If this is a brand new project, play with concepts and test them out.

SESSIONS 7 – 9:

• Draft your piece, focusing on building specific writing craft skills as you go.

SESSION 10:

• Review your draft and make any big-picture revisions you’d like to make.
• Then, post your work-in-progress on the Inkwell and give other members a chance to offer feedback.

SESSIONS 11 – 12:

• Review your Inkwell feedback and use the information to choose a revision focus.
• Use that focus to revise your work, learning strategies for leveling up your craft as you go.
• Make a plan for sharing the final piece with family and friends—maybe you’ll even want to print your work in book form!

After your first twelve sessions, the sky’s the limit for how you’ll continue onward. You’ll have one full writing project cycle under your belt, and you and your mentor will have a strong idea of the next right step for your creative development. Most of our Inklings continue ongoing sessions with their mentors far beyond their first twelve sessions, and their achievements are remarkable.