Welcome to Society of Young Inklings!
MEMBER CERTIFICATES!
Welcome, welcome, welcome! You’re official Inklings members! Here is your official certificate, which you can download and print for your club members. We are thrilled to have you as part of our community, and can’t wait to hear the big ideas you have to share.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN INKLING?
FOLLOW YOUR CURIOSITY
Poke around on our site. Seek adventure in the world around you. Soak up experiences and transform them into stories.
One of our favorite authors, Kate DiCamillo, says: “There is no right or wrong way to tell a story. You have to find your own way. You can get your idea from listening, looking, or imagining. Stories are everywhere.”
As a Writers’ Club, together, you can seek out stories, create stories, collaborate on stories, create plays, movies, audiobooks, and more. You can also create your own stories to share with one another–no one gives more in-depth feedback than a fellow writer. We’ll be here, sharing resources with you, such as feedback forms you can use to talk about your writing, games, facilitated by video, that you can play together, and access to author interviews and publishing opportunities.
Make sure you don’t miss our monthly Ink Splat, where we talk shop with our favorite authors. Each month, these insightful pros pull back the curtain for us and share their experiences, strategies and tools. Plus, along with their interview, they throw down a writing challenge. If you take the challenge, and submit your writing, you could be published on our website!
Here’s one of our favorite Ink Splats, a heart-to-heart with the talented Lauren Wolk, about her writing process and her book, Beyond the Bright Sea. Remember, you can always take a past writing challenge and submit your writing. We can’t wait to see what you’ll create.
INKLINGS PLAY
SPILL SOME INK MINI BOOK
Games are more fun when they stretch us. At SYI, we're not interested in perfection. We're interested in your potential!
Play your way past perfect as you put together this mini book. It's a bit of a puzzle, but the video will guide you step-by-step. It shouldn't take more than ten minutes to make, and when you're done, you'll have a pocket-sized book to take with you for writing prompts on the go.
You'll Need:
- a printer
- the interior page of the book, printed double-sided
- the cover, printed on thick paper
- one piece of regular white paper and (if possible) one piece of white card stock
- scissors
- double-sided tape or reliable glue
Instructions:
Print page one, and then feed the page through your printer again to print the second side. Make sure to feed the page correctly, so that neither page is upside down.
2. Download and print the cover.
If possible, use card stock or thick paper for the cover.
3. Fold, cut, and assemble the interior pages.
If you're feeling puzzled, or you just want step-by-step instructions, watch the video.
4. Make sure the folds line up so the pages turn properly.
You will likely have to fold some pages the opposite way before taping the interior pages to the cover.
5. Use your tape or glue to attach the interior pages to the cover.
The pages that are supposed to be attached are labeled.
How'd you do?
(Gold star if you stared your perfectionist in the face along the way and kept on going!)
spill your ideas onto the page
Don’t let your Spill Some Ink book go to waste! Flip to a page and try out a prompt. Remember, writing sessions don’t have to be long to be creative.
Whether you’re writing prompts, poems, stories, or working on a novel, what’s most important is writing regularly. Keep drafting fun by making the most of your Writers’ Club, and working together.
Collaborative Drafting Strategies:
Start With a Prompt
Whether you choose to use prompt from the Spill Some Ink mini book, one of our Ink Splat challenges, or create a prompt of your own, using a shared beginning point and drafting from there will lead to fun (and wildly varied!) results. Share your work aloud when you’re done, and enjoy your collective creativity.
Try a Drafting Sprint
Create a Shared Game Board
INKLINGS GROW
Learn, Learn, Learn
Work with a mentor one time or on an ongoing basis.
Would you like to take your Writer’s Club to the next level? Sign up to work with an Inklings mentor. You can choose to have your mentor visit periodically, monthly, or even weekly, depending on the structure of your group. In these video conferences, your mentor will guide your group through brainstorming activities, discussion, and feedback, all focused on your writing goals. To discuss mentorship options for your writer’s club, please email Sarah at: sarahp@younginklings.org
–Lauren Crawford, Inklings Book 2017
INKLINGS SHARE
your voice matters
You’ve got big ideas to share, and we want to read them!
Society of Young Inklings has small, medium, and large publication opportunities, so you’ll definitely find one that’s perfect for you, right where you are.
Ink Splat Challenges
Each month, our guest author throws down a writing dare, and it’s up to our Inklings to meet the challenge. Will one of your club members be the next Inkling featured on our blog? Submit your most imaginative, most lively, most well-crafted short piece of writing, and the chances are high.
Inklings Book Contest
Are you ready to enter an international writing contest? 3rd-9th grade writers are invited to submit stories and poems for this annual contest, one of the highlights of our Inklings year. Remember, as Society members, your club members receive a full editorial letter, no matter what. It’s a win-win!
Your Name in Ink Editorial Program
If any of your members have dreamed of seeing your name on the spine of a book, check out Your Name in Ink. In this program, you’re mentored through a full editorial revision. You’ll end up with a beautifully printed or published book available through independent bookstores and other retailers.
Where should you start?
We know! There's so much goodness to explore. Bookmark this page, becaue you can always come back and explore further.
For now, we suggest:
Step One: Put together your Spill Some Ink Book.
Step Two: Flip to your favorite page and try a drafting sprint.
Step Three: Submit your Spill Some Ink story or poem by emailing submit@younginklings.org. You never know, you might be published on our site!
P.S. We're here for you! You can always email with ideas or questions: info@younginklings.org.
