The Mentor Project
My first attempt at getting published happened while I was still in high school. The manuscript was typed and then mailed to a teen magazine. The rejection letter put up a brick wall on my creative daring that lasted almost twenty years. A mentor would have been a tremendous blessing.
Attending writing conferences and making online connections has allowed me to find encouragers and mentors to help with my new writing adventure. Getting over that twenty year mole hill was tough. I would prefer no other person ever face that challenge.
Launching the Mentor Project
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1. Starting a writing website was my first step in helping others develop their own writing careers. My plans include expanding the tips and suggestions into a monthly news letter/mag.
2. Leading a writing workshop allowed me to make more connections and share the experiences and mishaps that littered my own freelance writing career. I need to make those workshops a regular part of my writing journey and consider adding online versions through the website.
3. The more people find out I am a writer then the more they ask my opinion about their writing. I have to do more to follow up on those requests for critiques. A few minutes of my time could mean helping them avoid their own twenty year mole hill.
4. My status as a feature writer on a local paper gives me the ability to set up a junior writing program. Settling into this program will allow me to also establish a writing program for older kids and even adults in the future.
Finding a mentor and being a mentor can help push a writing career to the next level. My own writing pursuits were stunted without the tending of an encourager. The mentor project should allow me to keep that same result from happening to other writers starting out on their freelance journey.
