The Merlyn's Pen Mentors in Writing Program

See also Finding "I" in the College Admission Essay

ABOUT MENTORS IN WRITING

The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) and Northwestern University's Center for Talent Development recommend The Merlyn’s Pen Mentors in Writing Program as a distance-learning option for serious teen writers. The Mentors program matches student writers, grades 6-12, with published writers and editors from the Merlyn’s Pen staff for personalized, one-on-one writing tutorials. There’s no travel involved, no juggling of busy after-school schedules. Students work at home, at their own pace. Assignments and follow-up critiques are sent by email or through the mail.

Just do it. And do it. And do it...
What do piano virtuosos have in common with Olympic skaters? Practice. And lots of it. Both are highly demanding activities requiring excellent skill and control, a complete mastery of the form that can only come with constant practice. Talent supplies the fire. But only practice can create the solid base that allows talent to soar.

Good writing requires the same kind of dedicated practice that athletes and musicians give to their work. But too often, young writers aren’t given the structure and support they need to practice writing skills and develop their talent to its fullest potential. School English classes may not provide individual attention, and the kinds of writing that students are asked to do may be limited. School newspapers or magazines are great activities, but still don’t give students the day-to-day practice in writing and rewriting they need.

That’s why the Merlyn’s Pen Mentors in Writing Program is so valuable to the student who really cares about writing. It gives you a chance to learn by doing--to gain experience and insight--and to take your own writing as far as you want it to go. In this program you won’t read books about how to write. You’ll learn by writing!

"When I was in the program, I really liked the advice I was getting on my writing, and when it ended, I missed it a lot -- so much, in fact, that I ended up going to school for creative writing."
-Clarissa Y., Sarah Lawrence College

Like having your own personal trainer
The Merlyn’s Pen mentor program is like having a personal trainer who works with you as you learn the art and craft of writing. Your mentor is your "coach" who’ll give you encouragement and support as well as constructive criticism. He or she will show you new ways of looking at a story, an essay, or a poem and direct you through revision exercises. You’ll be alerted to recurring problems in your writing, and, with your mentor’s help, you'll find strategies for solving those problems.

Linda Rief, in her book Seeking Diversity: Language Arts with Adolescents, suggests the apprenticeship model as a way of learning to be a writer. Young people who want to write seek out other writers, looking for validation of their work, a sense of themselves as writers. The Merlyn’s Pen Mentors in Writing Program helps to bring new writers and established writers together for an apprenticeship in which both can learn.

A tradition of excellence
A poll of English teachers, published in English Journal, found Merlyn’s Pen mentioned most frequently in answer to the question, "What magazine or periodical publication do you find useful in the English classroom?" (The magazine Merlyn's Pen was published from 1985 to 2001.) The New Library of Young Adult Writing, available to students and teachers online, now features nearly 1000 selected works from the magazine's archives.

Booklist lauded Merlyn’s Pen for providing "a forum for thoughtful adolescent writers" and a chance for young people to read "some of the best writing by peers."

Founding editor and publisher R. James Stahl (M.A.T., University of Chicago) established Merlyn’s Pen magazine in 1985 as a forum for student writers in grades 7-10. It grew to include two editions --the Intermediate Edition, for grades 6-9, and the Senior Edition, for grades 9-12. Merlyn’s Pen then published once annually, featuring exemplary fiction, poems, and essays from writers in grades 6-12. Its dedication to showcasing top teen writing earned Merlyn’s Pen national recognition: Seven times winner of the Parents’ Choice Foundation Gold Award for Magazine Excellence. Voted "Best of the Best" for children by the American Library Association. Winner of the EDPRESS Golden Lamp Honor Award. Profiled in the New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and Wilson Library Bulletin, and featured on cable television’s Discovery Channel. Today, Merlyn's Pen meets the needs of 1,000 readers each week through its New Library of Young Adult Writing. The Mentors in Writing Program holds itself to the standards of excellence Merlyn’s Pen readers and teachers have come to expect.

         "Merlyn’s Pen helped me develop my own style and technique and

          did something a lot of places are unwilling to do: it listened

          and responded."
           -Tamar F., published Merlyn’s Pen author

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

The Merlyn’s Pen Mentors in Writing Program is a guided correspondence course in which students complete eight writing assignments, including revisions. Students begin by submitting a writing sample of their current work. Fiction writers should submit one short story, or from three to ten pages of a longer work. Poets should send two or three poems. Nonfiction writers may send an essay or prose piece of three to ten pages. This can be work you’ve done for school, for your own enjoyment, or a new piece you’ve written especially for this program. All writing samples should be typed, double-spaced, in 11-point or larger font. These samples will be returned with revision suggestions later in the program.

Approximately every ten days (in the 12-Week Program), or every three weeks (during the 24-Week Program), you will receive a new writing assignment in the mail or by email, along with detailed comments on your last assignment. Many of the assignments will take off from your previous work. Others may use short samples of work from other writers as a basis for a new assignment. You will not be asked to write a complete story, essay, or poem every time; most assignments will involve shorter exercises focusing on specific parts of writing. But by the end of the program, you will have produced at least one new scene, story, essay, or poem--work that’s truly an achievement you can be proud of.

APPLICATION AND ENROLLMENT

Tuition and Enrollment
To enroll, please contact Merlyn's Pen at 1-800-247-2027, or email merlyn@merlynspen.org.

 

Tuition for the Merlyn’s Pen Mentors in Writing Program is $595, payable upon acceptance into the program. Checks or money orders should be made payable to "Merlyn's Pen, Inc." Please do not send payment until speaking with an editor.

Merlyn's Pen, Inc.

Mentors in Writing Program

11 S. Angell St., Suite 301

Providence, RI 02906

"The comments I got were so insightful . . . I learned a lot, not just about the craft of writing, but about myself."
-Matthew C., five-time published Merlyn’s Pen author

COMMON QUESTIONS

Q. What is the Merlyn’s Pen Mentors in Writing Program and how does it work?
The Mentors in Writing Program is an intensive, individualized writing course designed for students in grades 6 through 12 who want to learn to write better fiction, poetry, or nonfiction. You will be matched with a personal tutor who will help you bring out the best in your writing. You’ll get specially tailored assignments sent directly to you--then mail back your work and get feedback on your writing right through the mail or via email. It’s like taking a writing workshop...without leaving home.

Q. Who are the "mentors"?
Student poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers will be matched with published writers, writing teachers, and professional editors from the Merlyn’s Pen staff whose writing interests match their own. You will work with a personal mentor who will evaluate your writing, offer constructive criticism and strategies for revision, and create writing exercises that focus on sharpening specific skills: finding your own writing voice, making details count, framing a scene, bringing characters to life, creating powerful images, writing more persuasively.

Q. Can I get school credit for taking the course?
The Mentors in Writing Program is not designed as a credit course and is not associated with any educational institution. It is not intended to replace school writing courses, but to supplement them. The emphasis is not on grades or academic credit but on personal enrichment and achievement. Some schools may offer credit for extracurricular activities; you would need to check with your principal or headmaster. And, of course, listing your participation in the program on your college applications won’t hurt!

Q. Do I need to have good grades or be in a gifted program at school to be accepted? Are there tests to take?
No. There are no special academic requirements to be accepted into the Mentors in Writing Program, and no tests to take. Creativity, interest, and the desire to write well are what’s important, not standardized test scores! In applying for the program, you will be asked to judge what you think are the strong points of your writing, and what areas of your writing you want to improve. On completing the program, you will be asked to evaluate your own writing achievement. You will also receive a written evaluation of your semester’s work from your mentor and a Certificate of Achievement in Writing, showing that you have successfully completed the program.

Q. Can the Mentors in Writing Program help me to get published?
Many students in the Mentors Program have gone on to be published, but no writing program can guarantee publication for all its students. Our focus is on teaching you to do good work and achieve the satisfaction that comes from within, from knowing you’ve written well. Still, if being published is your dream, your Merlyn’s Pen mentor can offer insight into what editors look for...help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your writing...suggest ways to personalize your writing voice by "writing what you know, right where you are." Most important, you’ll finish the program with a sense of achievement: the knowledge that you’ve reached your goal of writing better fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

If writing is your dream...make it a reality!