Creating Characters

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Creating Characters

By Saenah B., Age 14

Although this is already my third character and dialogue workshop, each year brings exciting surprises and guest stars. When I first enter the lobby of the Linwood Dunn Theater, I notice a rack of eccentric attire, from chic flapper dresses to fur-lined blue capes to a traditional German dirndl. Behind each outfit is a story: the women who irons her traffic officer uniform for work the next day, the bustling German lass with her hair woven into a dirty blonde plait. This demonstrates how tirelessly the volunteers at WriteGirl work to bring something interesting to the table every workshop.

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In Her Own Words: If I Were A WriteGirl

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In Her Own Words: If I Were A WriteGirl

Essay written by WriteGirl mentee Janel, 12th grade:

Three years ago, if anyone had asked me to read my poetry aloud in front of an audience, I would have laughed and politely declined. I was hardly comfortable sharing my written work with others, let alone getting up on a stage and performing the poetry I had scribbled into my journal and tucked away for safekeeping.

This all changed when I joined WriteGirl.

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Hello World! A Mentor/Mentee Interview

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Hello World! A Mentor/Mentee Interview

Carly Pandza (mentor, 25) and Zoe C. (mentee, 18) have been a mentor/mentee pair with WriteGirl since February 2012.  They meet once a week and at monthly genre-specific writing workshops. They meet for about an hour and do all sorts of writing from poetry to short stories.

In honor of National Mentoring Month, they decided to interview one another about their personal experiences and opinions as writers and as a mentor/mentee pair.  This is their interview.

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In Her Own Words: Doing the Write Thing

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In Her Own Words: Doing the Write Thing

Essay by Jacqueline Uy:

"Back in elementary school, there was always that one kid who, when asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, would say, 'I want to be president.' That kid was me.

But as I got older I realized that what I really wanted to become was a journalist, specifically a foreign correspondent. Even with this, I never really thought that I would ever step foot in the White House, much less meet first lady Michelle Obama. So when the opportunity to do both arose, I reacted like any normal 16-year-old in my situation: I didn’t believe it."

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