Monday, September 21, 2009

Guest Lynn Tincher & Encouraging Young Writers



Lynn is on my list of authors-I-just-have-to-meet-in-person-someday! I admire her dedication and I just know we could have some fun together. Or is that cause trouble...?

At any rate, please welcome Lynn!

Encouraging Young Writers

The youth of today are amazing. They have a wealth of knowledge and experience at their fingertips. I know I would have loved to have access at a young age to all that is readily available at the touch of a button today. Oh the things I could have learned and drawn from for my creative mind to work. That’s only part of the reason I am dedicating some time as an adult to help encourage creativity and imagination in our young ones.

We’ve all said it. Our children are smarter and grow up faster than we did. Why not help guide them along the way to express their imagination? It doesn’t have to necessarily be in writing alone. There are many art forms in which our children can express themselves. Writing is just one of them and a crucial one at that. In the age of email and text messaging, written communication has become a vital part of our every day life. I want to help encourage our youth to branch out beyond that. Even if it is just creative blogging.

What incredible minds our children have. Their dreams become bigger and bigger. Much bigger than the dreams I had as a child and my dreams were bigger than my parents. What a wealth of experience our children have to create amazing stories. Their forward thinking is our future. Books, screenplays, and Broadway musicals that will be written twenty years from now are in their hands. I want to help encourage that now.

I love watching the face of a child when I’ve said or done something that gets them excited. Its wonderful when they bring a sheet of paper with a poem or a drawing that is truly amazing and I’ve give them a hug, brag on their work and praise them for a job well done. It’s even more wonderful when later in life, they come back to visit you or send you an email telling you how much you’ve encouraged them with their art.

That’s what I want to be. I want to be the role model that is there with an open heart, giving my all so that I can influence each child to find their way and achieve their dreams. If I can do it, any one of them can. I want to show them that with dedication and hard work they too can make their dreams a reality. In the face of rejection, I want them to know that it’s OK to stop, learn, try again and not give up. I want to help them learn to never get discouraged but be proud of their accomplishments, no matter how small. These are not only great lessons in breaking into the tough world of writing and publishing, but life lessons as well. Life is not fair. We do run in to people that hurt us and try to discourage us. It’s all a part of it.

There is a downside to the way things are today and the addition of text messages. Proper grammar had gone out the window. We need to encourage our children to focus on increasing out communication skills. I can’t imagine today’s executive communicating with LOL’s and OMG’s. I’m quite certain that tomorrow’s executives will not as well. Encouraging our youth to write their thoughts and ideas while increasing their vocabulary and writing skills is a win for both now and in their professional careers in the future.

I challenge each of you to take on the role of encouraging our youth in both writing and in life. I hope that one day you will have a long line of people wanting to express their gratitude in the influence you’ve had in their life. For me, that is the ultimate accomplishment.



About Lynn Tincher
Author and Publisher of The Literary Lynnch Pen

Lynn was born in the small town of La Grange, Kentucky and grew up in Goshen. She has always had a vivid imagination. One of her fondest memories of growing up was when a short story of hers was read in front of the students at Oldham County High School. Since then, her love for writing blossomed.

Lynn studied Theater Arts in College in hopes of becoming a Drama/English teacher. She has written articles in local newspapers and travel brochures. Now, she is focused on writing novels, short stories and poems.

Not only does Lynn look forward to sharing her stories, she is also focused on helping other new writers in their efforts to get published. She publishes The Literary Lynnch Pen as an effort to help writers and offer advice.

Lynn Tincher’s Website
The Literary Lynnch Pen
Lynn Tincher’s Blog

13 comments:

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

I don’t think there is a more important job out there than encouraging children to dream and equipping them to follow that dream. Keep up the good work, Lynn. And thanks for introducing her to us, Diane.

Unknown said...

Very well said, Jane! Encouraging, guiding and nuturing children is so important in who and what they become...and helping them to reach for and achieve their goals and dreams!

A pleasure getting to know a little about Lynn and her work!

Diane - please visit my blog - I've given you an award!

Happy Monday!

Helen Ginger said...

It is an amazing world we live in today. And a scary world. There's almost too much online for kids to see and learn. And yet there's more good things available to kids today. We, as adults, have to be encouraging of our kids. Find out what their passion is and help them. Thanks for the thoughtful post and encouragement.

Helen
Straight From Hel

April said...

What an amazingly wonderful post. I can tell this is something you feel very strong about, Lynn, and I am right there with you. A child's mind is beyond amazing and the things they can do with it given the right encouragement is boundless. My seven-year-old daughter has been writing little books since she was five and it is so much fun to see what her mind comes up with. A child's dreams should be held in high regard and letting them know and encourage them that with hard work and persistence anything is possible. Thanks for this great post!

The Old Silly said...

We need more people like lynn. Such important work - glad to read about this, it's heartening.

Marvin D Wilson

Morgan Mandel said...

My brothers and I all started reading early on and we still love it. I'm glad we were encouraged when we were young

Morgan Mandel
http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Well, as a sort of young writer, I really enjoy this commentary.

Thanks for the encouragement and the good reminders!

I hope all of us youngins' can actually do something or that we can at least rise up to the challenge the world has put before us.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Lynn's an awesome person and I'm really glad she contributed today!

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

This is really a wonderful reminder of passing good things forward.

Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Blogging at Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites pick www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Loved this post. My 12-year-old is a writer. One of my favorite young writers...although she's now a young lady is Dallas Woodburn.
allyn

Lynn said...

Thank you everyone. I'm glad to help remind and encourage each of you. Thank you Diane for helping me share this post with them!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Always delighted to have you visit, Lynn!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Lynn and Diane,
Great post! I was reminded of my visit to my daughter and granddaughters in Woodstock today.
I brought down some graph paper to help diagram the garden in their new home, and at dinner I showed them plans for the addition I hope to add onto my home one of these years. I gave some graph paper to my granddaughter Kaya, aged 10, and she immediately began designing her "dream house." It included a dance studio, photo lab, video performance space and a stable for all the horses, just to name a few of the features. I wish I had the courage to dream that big! And I hope she retains the courage to dream big dreams.

Julie Lomoe's Musings Mysterioso
http://julielomoe.wordpress.com