This article is sponsored by Write On! Creative Writing Center.
You can do it, but it’s hard to find many things we do that don’t require communication. Whether written or spoken, between friends or coworkers, or any other scenario, words connect us. They define how our messages are formed and how they are received.
With that in mind, making 2021 the year to improve writing skills is a resolution that can help your whole family. Don’t worry about losing those five pounds — your yoga pants and loungewear are stretchy. Instead, edit your resolutions and turn your attention toward your writing.
What Are You Afraid Of?
First, relax. Catch your breath. It’s not that scary. Yet, the fear or dislike of writing, Graphophobia, is common, plaguing people across gender, age, profession, and the globe. The good news? It’s easily treated by, you guessed it, writing.
While this seems like a cruel trick, it actually does work. And if you’d like a guide, Dawn Rice and the team at Write On! Creative Writing Center are willing, able, and ready to help.
“I want writing to be fun, exciting, and attainable for everybody,” says Dawn, summing up her philosophy and approach.
For many people, this guidance and support, along with encouraging nudges to keep you writing, does the trick. Like riding a bike, writing gets easier and more fun with practice. And, on the bright side, you’re highly unlikely to fall and skin a knee while at your keyboard.
Now that we’re feeling more courageous, let’s look at how creative writing can impact everyone in a household.
Make Your Writing Work for You
Unemployment and underemployment are at record levels. The likelihood that you, reading this post, are open to a new job, is significantly higher than any time in recent history. Misspellings, poor formatting, and rambling content are oft-cited by employers as reasons to pass over a resume.
Admittedly, job searches are not comfortable. Thus, it’s crucial that you feel at ease representing and advocating for yourself.
Perhaps you’re wondering how a course in poetry or creative writing will help you prepare a resume. You know what that document that lists your accomplishments and credentials is? It’s your story! While your content here must be factual, it must also be clear and concise. The importance of presenting yourself effectively in a competitive environment cannot be overstated. For some, investing in a One-On-One Writing Session is the first step in their next career.
And, it doesn’t stop once you’ve landed the new gig. You know what most jobs require? Writing. You know what can help advance that new career? Writing and communication skills that set you apart. Not to mention, those same abilities come in handy when you’re not on the clock, too.
Fun for the Whole Family
The disruption in our education system has increasingly made education a familial collaboration. And while this has added stress, it has also created opportunities to learn and grow together. As students study beside their working parents, they witness first-hand how their classwork can impact their professional future.
This is powerful stuff which can be hugely motivating. However, motivated students still need time and resources to master the skills that help ensure future success. Also, they need the right instructor. After all, when it comes to accepting new information, the messenger can be as important as the message. Thus, kids who might be reluctant to listen to their caregivers need an alternative.
In response to the pandemic leading to various combinations of on-campus/virtual/blended learning environments, Write On! Creative Writing Center developed a semester-long comprehensive program. Students are guided through the elements of a story: character, setting, plot, beginning, and end.
By the end of the course, they not only understand each component but are on their way to mastering the craft of developing each element and then weaving them together. These lessons and the structure of regular guidance are empowering and reassuring at a time we need both.
Adaptability is the Name of the Game
When Dawn opened Write On! Creative Writing Center in Frisco, she had a vision. The charming, welcoming location in central Frisco would be a haven for writers of all levels. Novices and pros would interact and engage, inspiring one another endlessly. She opened her door in February last year. And, yes, by March that model was temporarily out the window.
Adapting to the page-turner of a year that was 2020 meant addressing a critical need to help struggling students, empowering overwhelmed adults, and doing it all while staying apart. Simple, right?
No. Not simple at all. But doable. Now, writers can gain coping skills with journaling workshops, access tutoring, or train other abilities at socially distanced in-person and remote events. They have to be more flexible than ever because the needs are greater than ever.
A Valuable Side Effect
It turns out those words you want to put to paper or screen are also the ones you speak. And, while this is obvious, folks are often surprised to find better writing leads to better speech.
This matters now more than ever.
We spend less time face-to-face than at any point in modern history. Sure, Zoom gives some visual clues and lets us rate each other’s rooms, but we largely miss out on body language and other cues that pervaded our pre-pandemic exchanges.
Words matter. Arranging them effectively in writing or speech fundamentally empowers you to communicate your intended message, to the right audience, in the most effective way. So mastering or even improving your writing ability can add to everything you write and every conversation you have.
This Part is the Conclusion
Most stories don’t announce their ending. But here we are, wrapping up. And, hopefully, sooner than later, the pandemic will conclude, too, sending us forward to our new normal.
There’s a chance here to emerge better than before. You can gain confidence and skill in writing and communicating well. Besides, think about it. The essays, books, and novels about this point in history will be plentiful. Maybe, just maybe, one of those will be written by you.
