Are you on the Writer's Pathway? Follow me for resources and support!

WOOOOOOOO, you! There are two big parts of writing, whether it's a book, poems, songs, or creative nonfiction--the "on your own," and "need support from others" parts. Writing is usually solitary, but we need editors and an audience to help us make our work better.

Start "on your own."

1. Commit to writing each day or week.

2. Easily distracted? We all are! Here are some helps:

• Use pen and paper. No internet temptations. Your mind also works more slowly, allowing you to think situations through more thoroughly.

• Prefer the computer? Here are some plain-text editors for you (but close all other tabs to avoid distractions.)

  • ZenPen.io: Write. You can save it on this site. Or, when you're finished, copy & paste your work to a Google Doc.

  • Draftin.com: This one is good for "Hemingway mode," in which you can write without editing. Just do the brain dump and get it out there.

  • Google Docs: It's free. You already have it. Put your document in full-screen mode (Menu>View>Full Screen) , and goodbye, distracting other tabs!

• Need writing prompts?

  • Here's 1000. Have fun.

• Celebrate the small and big wins. You wrote something. Good on you! Your ideas belong somewhere. Come back and do it again next time!

Build community. Or share & submit work with others, or to potentially win prizes.

1. Join NaNoWriMo's Young Writer's Project, and become part of Ms. Lane's Wryclones group (Code XHTYXPWE. We will meet during Genius Hour in the weeks to come, so stay tuned.)

2. The motherlode of contests geared toward middle-grades learners!

3. Student writing contests (just so many...)

4. And here's another list of big-deal contests that accept diverse genres!

5. Are you a BIG DEAL? (Of course you are.) Want to submit your work for PUBLICATION? You know, like a REAL author? Click here for publishers who will consider your stuff!