Interview with Young Author Marina Baker

I am so excited to feature an interview today with young author Marina Baker, who I have been honored to know for a few years now. She has participated in Write On's Summer & Winter Writing Camps and she is also a featured author in Dancing With The Pen II. 

Marina is a prolific and talented writer and has already published a collection of poetry titled Sock Drawer. Now, she is celebrating the publication of her novel Escape Reality, which is available on Amazon here. 

Read on for Marina's insights about the writing process, finding inspiration, going after your goals, and publishing your work!

Marina and her brother, Miles, in Colorado.

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

My name is Marina Baker. I am in ninth grade and I live in Ventura, California. Some of my other hobbies, besides writing, are swimming and reading.

How did you get your idea for Escape Reality? Take us through your writing process. 

I got the idea for Escape Reality when my mom said that I had a little inner monster inside me after I got really mad when doing yard work. I thought that this would be really cool if I actually turned into a monster, which happens to the main character of Escape Reality, Lily.

What do you like most about writing? 

What I love most about writing is the fact that I can create a whole new world that can be my own. I also love that I can possibly inspire other people, just like how I was inspired by some of my favorite authors.

Marina, you are quite amazing because at your young age, this is already your second published book! (Your first, Sock Drawer, was a wonderful collection of poems!) How was writing and publishing Escape Reality different from the writing and publishing experience of Sock Drawer? 

I think that when I self-published Sock Drawer I was new to the world of publishing. One big difference was that my parents and I really had to set up the font size and page breaks, everything like that. When publishing Escape Reality I didn't have to worry about that as much, because the book was published as a Kindle eBook. I think that both experiences were very important and memorable. 

Do you have any advice for other writers, or for other young people going after their dreams? 

For other authors, I would say to keep working for your goals. If I had scrapped all of Escape Reality because of the first page, I wouldn't be where I am now. For other young people, I would say the same. Go with your gut and keep pushing because you are going to achieve great things. 

Can you share a few of your favorite books or authors? 

One of my favorite books is the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. I really look up to JK Rowling and think that she is an amazing author. Another one of my favorites is the Selection series by Kiera Cass. I would definitely recommend both of them.

What inspires you? 

I am really inspired by other writers as well as my cat, Chanel. I also really like to write about magic and far off places.

What are you working on now? What’s next? 

Right now I am working on a story about an escaped prisoner. I don't really know how it is going to pan out, but I really like it so far, and I hope that I can stick with the story.

Anything else you’d like to add? 

Some other things about me: I am addicted to Harry Potter books. I just love the story so much!!!


Links:

• Order Marina's book Escape Reality here.
• Learn more about Dancing With The Pen II here.

Write On! Youth Fiction and Poetry Prizes

Ten years ago, I held the first Write On! Summer Writing Camp for young writers. In the years since: 

• Summer Writing Camp has expanded to two summer weekends with sessions in both the morning and afternoon. 
• I now also offer a Winter Writing Camp. 
• Dozens of students are enrolled in my yearlong Guided Mentorship program. 
• I have been honored to teach hundreds of young writers. 

Many of my students have gone on to publish their work and win writing contests; many have become editors for their high school newspapers and literary magazines; some have even gone on to study Creative Writing and Journalism in college! I am so proud of every single one of the young writers I have had the privilege to meet and teach in the past decade. All these years, one thing has remained the same: my belief in the magic of unleashing your creativity through writing.

Exciting news! In celebration of the 10th Annual Summer Writing Camp—held this year in Ventura, California, on August 15, 16, 19, and 20—I am holding the first ever Write On! Youth Fiction and Poetry Prizes for young writers ages 18 and under!

You can win prize money, books, a free coaching call with me… and you might even become a published writer! Read below for the rules and submission procedures. I can’t wait to read your work!

Prizes in all categories are: 

• First place: $50, a free 30-minute coaching call with me, a signed copy of my book of short stories 3 a.m., and publication of your work on Word Smorgasbord online literary magazine
• Second place: $25, a signed copy of 3 a.m., and publication of your work 
• Third place: a signed copy of 3 a.m. and publication of your work 
• Finalists: publication of your work 

Contest Rules: 

1. This contest is judged BLIND, which means no identifying information should be on your entry. You will submit your name, age and contact information through the submission form. If your name is included on your entry, it will be disqualified. 
2. Word limit: fiction should be 1,000 words or less. Poetry should be 2 pages or less. 
3. There is a $10 entry fee for each piece, or you can submit 3 entries for $25. This helps fund the prizes and the administration costs of Submittable. You also have the option to purchase a copy of Dancing With The Pen II: a collection of today’s best youth writing at the special discounted price of $15, rather than its cover price of $25. 
4. You may submit as many entries as you would like, as long as you pay the entry fee for each piece you submit. 
5. The contest deadline is midnight Pacific Standard Time on Sunday, August 20, 2017 (the final day of this year’s Summer Writing Camp). 

 –> Click here to submit your work now! <–

I can't wait to read your wonderful, beautiful, amazing, brilliant, scary, funny, thrilling, heart-wrenching, goosebump-inducing, magical, lovely stories and poems! :)

Try, Try, Try Again, Try Something New

One of my favorite things is teaching a writing camp every summer in my hometown for kids and teenagers. For a couple hours over two back-to-back weekends, we all sit together in a purple-walled conference room and write. (Still mostly with pen and pencil on notebook paper, although I allow the kids to bring laptops and iPads if they wish. A few do; most opt for old-school notebooks.) I write a prompt on the whiteboard, turn on some Norah Jones or Jack Johnson, and they are off and running.

It’s nothing short of magic, being in that room. It’s calm, peaceful, with a quiet energy buzzing below the surface. You can practically hear the ideas whirring around the room, as surely as you can hear the pencils scratching their ways across sheets of paper. You can feel the ideas, swirling around. This is perhaps my favorite thing I have ever created, my proudest accomplishment—this classroom of young writers.

My writing campers inspire me in so many ways. They are passionate, driven, unabashedly enthusiastic. They are ambitious. (Do you know any 9-year-olds writing 300-page novels? I do!) They are creative, and well-read, and perceptive, and supportive of each other.

Perhaps most of all, these young writers inspire me with the way they embrace new challenges and take risks in order to push themselves to grow. I have taught writing classes for adults as well, and always need to plough through much more resistance before getting down to business. As adults, we too often become set in our ways. We become afraid to try something new because we might not do it the “right” way – we might make mistakes, do something wrong, have to stumble our way through a learning curve. Kids, in general, seem much less concerned about stumbling.

Time and again, I present to my young writers an utterly new idea or wacky concept, intended specifically to push them out of their comfort zones. And what do they do? Embrace the new challenge. They dive right in. My writing campers are adventurers. They explore.

One small example is an activity relating to structuring a short story. My only guideline is for them to try something they have never attempted before. Write a story in reverse chronological order, from the ending to the beginning. Write a story with alternating perspectives of two characters. Write a story from the perspective of an animal, or an insect, or an inanimate object. Write a story in poetic verse.

My amazing students try it all. They inspire me with their bravery. The way they eagerly raise their hands to share the yearnings of their hearts and minds, ideas that they only just scribbled down onto paper moments ago, their just-birthed words still fragile and new—nevertheless, they are unselfconscious and unselfish in their sharing. They are generous, both in confidence and in spirit. When do we lose this, us grown-ups? When do we cross that threshold and become shy, stifled? Why are we so terrified of looking foolish that we keep our voices silent? Why do we stop daring to try?

The inspiring and beautiful book a picture is worth: the voice of today's high school students(Arch Street Press) is an anthology dedicated to the importance of sharing our voices, of being brave enough to shed light on our stories and bare our truths to the world. Featuring personal narrative essays from high school students at the I-LEAD Charter School in Reading, Pennsylvania, each essay in this book is brimming with meaning and relevance -- not only to students and teenagers of today, but for adults as well.

In the book's introduction, David Castro and Alisa del Tufo write:

"By sharing these stories brought to life through the faces and voices of our young learners, ILCS expects to inspire new learning and new educational pathways for their peers. In studying the personal narrative essay, we must question why it should be necessary to reach far away -- to places remote in time and culture -- for strong examples of the essay form. We can make a different choice that contributes highly relevant and engaging content to present school curricula. Powerful stories, shining examples of the personal essay, arise within challenged communities; they spring from the minds and hearts of the learners themselves. We know why. Art and genius beat in every human heart."

Art and genius beat in every human heart.

I could not agree more. We all have the capacity to write down our own stories, share our own lives, create our own magic. You don't need to be a writing camper to do so. You don't need anyone's permission. All you need is a pinch of bravery and the willingness to try, and try, and try again, and try something new.

I don't know about you, but I'm going to smooth a fresh new page in my writer's notebook, turn on some Norah Jones, and get to work writing what matters to me.

Seventh Annual Summer Writing Camp is Open for Registration!

This year is the SEVENTH ANNUAL Write On! Summer Writing Camp!

What: Students will have FUN while learning how to improve central components of their writing, including dialogue, characterization, plot and setting, through various creativity-inducing writing exercises.

Who: Students ages 8-18. Poets, playwrights, short-story writers, future novelists – all are encouraged and welcome to join!

When: The weekends of July 19 & 20, 26 & 27. There are two time sessions available: mornings from 10 am-noon or afternoons from 1-3 pm. It is perfectly all right if you can only make one of the weekends, or even just one day — I’d love to have you join us!

Where: In the conference room of Jensen Design & Survey in Ventura at 1672 Donlon Street (near Target).

How: If you’re interested in getting signed up, simply download, print and send in the PDF of the registration form (link below). There are early-registration and sibling discounts available! Proceeds benefit Write On! For Literacy, my organization that empowers youth through reading & writing projects including an annual Holiday Book Drive for underprivileged kids.

Download the registration form here: http://writeonbooks.org/?page_id=2

Price breakdown: SPACE IS LIMITED!

Early Registration Special (before June 30)
All four sessions: $125.00 – BEST VALUE!
Three sessions: $100.00
Two sessions: $80.00
One session: $40.00

Regular Registration (after June 30)
All four sessions: $150.00 – BEST VALUE!
Three sessions: $125.00
Two sessions: $100.00
One session: $50.00

Hope to see you there!! 

Write On's Sixth Annual Summer Writing Camp is Open for Registration!

This year is the SIXTH ANNUAL Write On! Summer Writing Camp!

What: Students will have FUN while learning how to improve central components of their writing, including dialogue, characterization, plot and setting, through various creativity-inducing writing exercises.

Who: Students ages 8-18. Poets, playwrights, short-story writers, future novelists – all are encouraged and welcome to join!

When: The weekends of June 13 & 14, 20 & 21. There are two time sessions available: mornings from 10am-noon or afternoons from 1-3pm. It is perfectly all right if you can only make one of the weekends, or even just one day — I’d love to have you join us!

Where: In the conference room of Jensen Design & Survey in Ventura at 1672 Donlon Street (near Target).

How: If you’re interested in getting signed up, simply download, print and send in the PDF of the registration form (link below). There are early-registration and returning camper discounts available! Proceeds benefit Write On! For Literacy, my organization that empowers youth through reading & writing projects including an annual Holiday Book Drive for underprivileged kids.

Download the registration form here: http://writeonbooks.org/?page_id=2

Price breakdown: SPACE IS LIMITED!

Early Registration Special (before June 30)
All four sessions: $125.00 – BEST VALUE!
Three sessions: $100.00
Two sessions: $80.00
One session: $40.00

Regular Registration (after June 30)
All four sessions: $150.00 – BEST VALUE!
Three sessions: $125.00
Two sessions: $100.00
One session: $50.00

Hope to see you there!! 

Write On's Summer Writing Camp!

This year is the FIFTH ANNUAL Write On! Summer Writing Camp!

What: Students will have FUN while learning how to improve central components of their writing, including dialogue, characterization, plot and setting, through various creativity-inducing writing exercises.

Who: Students ages 8-18. Poets, playwrights, short-story writers, future novelists – all are encouraged and welcome to join!

When: May 19 & 20 and May 26 & 27. There are two time sessions available: mornings from 10am-noon or afternoons from 1-3pm. It is perfectly all right if you can only make one of the weekends, or even just one day — I’d love to have you join us!

Where: In the conference room of Jensen Design & Survey in Ventura at 1672 Donlon Street (near Target).

How: If you’re interested in getting signed up, simply download, print and send in the PDF of the registration form at www.writeonbooks.org. There are early-registration and returning camper discounts available! Proceeds benefit Write On! For Literacy, my organization that empowers youth through reading & writing projects including an annual Holiday Book Drive for underprivileged kids.

Hope to see you this summer!

Winter Writing Camp -- You Are Invited!

Due to some very sweet emails from parents and young writers, I am excited to share with you that I will be holding a special one-day Winter Writing Camp when I am home for winter break this year!

• Who: Young writers ages 7-18.
• When: Saturday, December 17 from 10am to noon 
• Where: Jensen Design & Survey at 1672 Donlon Street in Ventura, California.

In the spirit of the season, the Special Holiday Rate for this session is $20, half the price of a day of writing camp during the summer. You can sign up on my website: http://writeonbooks.org/festivalofwriting.aspx or you can email me at dallaswoodburn@gmail.com and I will send you a PDF of the registration form.

Hope to see you then! Happy holidays! 

Summer Writing Camp a Great Success!

The first weekend of Summer Writing Camp was a huge success! I feel so privileged to work with such amazing, talented, imaginative young writers. They inspire me to no end with their creativity and, even more important, their respect and kindness to each other. Here are some pictures:

The wonderful morning session

The delightful afternoon session.

Camp will be held next weekend as well -- there are still spots available if any young writers in the Ventura County area would like to join us! Learn more at www.writeonbooks.org/festivalofwriting.aspx.