Let’s say you were a bird on a tree, watching Jack trade his beloved cow for a handful of magic beans. Curious, you might have followed him home, only to see those beans fly out the window and into the garden. What if you stayed and watched those beans sprout into a beanstalk that grew straight up into the clouds?
Hope is the thing with feathers, Emily Dickinson tells us. Hope is the thing that urged Jack upward into the sky to face down a giant. Hope allowed Cosette to build her castle in the clouds.
Society of Young Inklings is a community filled with creative vision, and our mission is to activate those hopes and dreams. Yes, it’s delightful to cheer dreamers on as they pursue their visions. It’s meaningful to celebrate their wins—drafts completed, contests entered, books published.
However, scratch the surface of any dream pursued, and you’ll see that neither the beginning or the end of the story is most important. It’s all about that murky middle. The middle is where growth happens and where grit and empathy are built.
Throughout the upcoming season, we’ll share stories of our Inklings dreamers. We’re inviting you to a front row seat, because your support of our community makes not only the beginning and endings of these stories possible, but also that essential murky middle. You may be surprised by some of the stories you’ll hear. While you’ll meet our youth writers, you’ll also meet our Youth Advisory Board, mentors and volunteers, and even our board members.
By supporting the Society of Young Inklings, you activate a community of visionaries. While our author-mentors support the youth in our program, the opposite is true as well. Like Jack, who had the capacity to believe in those magic beans and follow where they might lead, our youth light up our community with hope. They inspire one another, and everyone in our community, to dream bigger and to see those dreams through.
Walk with us, shoulder-to-shoulder. Create space and support for youth to grow, and to build grit and empathy, as they bring their hope-filled visions to life.
Questions I asked our featured interviewees:
What inspired you to join the Inklings community?
What’s one dream you’ve pursued while taking part in our Society?
Why is that dream important to you?
How has the Inklings community supported you and your dream? (ideally a story)
How have you grown while pursuing this dream? (one way)
What’s next? What’s your vision?
How can the Inklings community support you in activating that vision?
Support Grit, Empathy, and Vision through Creative Writing
When passionate youth mentor with talented pros, they not only grow as writers, but they develop core skills that affect every area of their lives. In Inklings programs, youth learn practical strategies for developing as artists, gain creative momentum, and tap into the power of their voices as they share their work with peers and a reading audience. Thank you for our financial support of Society of Young Inklings.
