Participants will discover their writing identity through introductory texts grounded in identity and develop writing courage to overcome the fear of the blank page.  Most writers hold onto this concept of a Master Writer, in which a writer always knows exactly what to say and how to say it. We will work through this misconception in order to achieve the social-emotional resilience needed to carry out the act of writing. 

 This lesson will be centered around celebrating each participant through truth telling about their own lived experiences and establishing the liberating courage for them to speak in their own voice and language, bravely tackle topics they potentially haven't felt invited previously to share, and to practice getting the details true to their own experience on paper. Participants will have a chance to receive writerly feedback and learn revision strategies to strengthen their writing 

 This session will be dedicated to helping participants develop basic writing skills. They will complete a Student Self-Skill Assessment that helps them identify what personal project they'd like to complete during our course together and the form they'd like to write in (speech, blog memoir, essay, short story, poem, etc.) They will have a chance to create goals and connect in Writer's Response Groups that provide targeted feedback surrounding this project. 

 Our time will be spent meeting in our respective groups based on our project type and writing goals. The mentor texts we will analyze for style, structure, and voice will be tailored and individually selected to inspire participants on the project they selected. They’ll have a chance to collaborate, share ideas, and receive productive and meaningful feedback. I’ll teach students how revision strategies to enhance their piece.