I believe that participating in a writing community is an important part of the writing life. For many, many years I worked with other writers as a writing teacher and as one of the founding faculty for the Vermont College Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. I continue to seek out a community of writers through activities such as LoonSong, a wonderful writer’s retreat set in the serenity of Minnesota’s north woods.

So how can you help the young writers in your classroom feel like they are part of a writing community? These resources from Education Week and the Two Writing Teachers blog may be helpful places to start.

To aid the writers in your classroom, I also have a number of writing tips on my website, covering topics such as “Getting Started,” “Using Verbs,” and “Story Problems.” For those looking for more in-depth advice, you can also steer young hopefuls to my writing guides for young people, What’s Your Story? and Our Stories.