Monica, Age 20
Last week, August 28, WriteGirl got a visit from some of Hollywood’s best minds. WriteGirl interns and mentees had the opportunity to hear Sonay Hoffman, Bernadette Rivero, and Victoria Kennedy speak about their careers in the entertainment industry. We were treated to their personal stories, struggles, and insights, enlightening our own paths as writers.
Read MoreMarian age 18, Addissyn age 17, Ana age 18
On Wednesday, August 6, WriteGirl had the privilege of hearing District Attorney Jackie Lacey speak about her experience as a lawyer and first woman district attorney of Los Angeles. We were inspired and empowered by her words. Here are 5 things we learned.
Read MoreWriteGirl mentor Katie Geyer and mentee Jackie, age 16
WriteGirl mentee Jackie, 16, joined Exec. Dir. Keren Taylor in accepting the National Arts & Humanities Youth Program Award from Michelle Obama at the White House in November. Jackie’s mentor Katie Geyer, a photojournalist, was granted a White House press pass to photograph her mentee meeting the first lady! The two were separated for most of the day and each emerged with their own stories. They recently sat down to reflect on that day in November when they were invited inside the White House!
Read MoreSharmin and Joy, Ages 16
WriteGirl Summer Interns
If you’re anything like us interns here in the WriteGirl office, you probably know how difficult it can be to prevent errors while writing essays for school, work, or creative pieces in general. Every single person who has ever written a formal paper has made unnecessary mistakes. And we don’t blame you; English can be a confusing language! So for those of you who continually struggle with the rules of writing, worry no more! We have created grammar guide for those of us who keep making the same mistakes with punctuation and grammar with a special focus on apostrophes and the active and passive voice; so none of you WriteGirls will be deterred to write creative writing pieces due to an inexplicable fear of making grammatical mistakes.
Read MoreEmily, Age 17
WriteGirl Intern
Writing a resume can seem pretty intimidating—after all, as a teen girl, your life probably isn’t filled with tons of cubicle experience. But it’s not nearly as scary as you might think.
Read MoreWritten by Brandy age 14 and Monica age 16
WriteGirl Interns
Lydia Davis is considered one of the most original minds in American fiction today. Aside from being a novelist and an essayist, her short stories offer the element of surprise and grasp your attention in one whole swoop.
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You might not realize it yet, but it’s true. Here are some writing tips for unleashing your inner Maya Angelou.
Read MoreIt's time for our annual Poetry Drive! We'll be sharing original poetry written by our teen girls. Today, a poem about bravery...
… written by one of our talented and wonderfully unique WriteGirl teens! Want a custom poem? Get a girl power-themed poem for your favorite niece, or a go-get-'em poem for that recent grad.
Read MoreBlog post for Women’s History Month written by WriteGirl mentee Jackie, 12th grade.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to travel around the world. But not in the usual sense: I didn’t dream of five-star hotels or hyped-up restaurants. I wanted to be in the midst of it: to take in the culture and really connect with the people of that specific country. And Christiane Amanpour represented that dream for me.
Read MoreBlog post for Women’s History Month written by WriteGirl mentee Amanda, Age 16.
“They thought that the bullet would silence us, but they failed. The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life, except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.”
If you aren’t acquainted with the speaker of these fiery words, the wise, 16-year-old Pakistani teen cloaked in vibrant hijabs and shawls of courage, then I am glad to introduce you. Malala Yousafzai, who, in 2012, was shot point blank in the head on her school bus by the Taliban for standing up for her right to education, was never weakened by the violent attack against her. If anything, the shooting empowered her.
Read MoreEssay 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.
The WriteGirl Poetry Workshop successfully used a creative atmosphere, encouragement from mentors, and special guest presenters to empower young girls to write different types of poetry. Over 60 teen girls explored the art of crafting poems as they learned about stanzas, rhyming, forms and techniques.
Read MoreAt the annual WriteGirl Skylight Books public reading on Saturday, February 15, approximately 20 teen girls bravely stepped up to the podium to read from their journals and WriteGirl's 12th anthology, "YOU ARE HERE: The WriteGirl Journey." A captivated crowd heard poems, essays, and short story excerpts about everything from love and self-identity to heartache and the color purple.
Read MoreOn Saturday, January 25, over 100 WriteGirl mentors and mentees got an intimate view of the La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum during the Creative Non-Fiction Flash Workshop. This two-hour workshop explored many different types of creative nonfiction writing, including personal essays, memoirs, blogging, and literary journalism.
Read MoreCarly 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.
Read MoreWriteGirl was honored by First Lady Michelle Obama with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award
An initiative of the President’s Committee on the Arts & the Humanities (PCAH). The President’s Committee partners with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to administer the program.
WriteGirl is a creative writing and mentoring organization that promotes creativity, critical thinking and leadership skills to empower teen girls.
WriteGirl is a project of Community Partners, a nonprofit charity exempt from federal income tax under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
