By Eve Mefferd, College Intern

It was standing (and occasionally running frantically) amongst over 65 volunteers in training, that my time at WriteGirl really came into focus. January 14th was the largest WriteGirl Volunteer Training to date, a packed room filled with men and women with an LA skyline to our backs and up at the front, a presentation miraculously condensing the essence of this organization into just six hours. I got to take part in and help plan this exciting event as a WriteGirl college intern. Helping to organize this training, and working with volunteer liaisons and staff to see that it ran smoothly, provided a different window on WriteGirl than the one I got as a mentee.

By Savannah H., Age 14

Over 100 WriteGirl mentees explored the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens as part of our annual Creative Nonfiction workshop. WriteGirl mentee Savannah House, age 14, was inspired by a marble statue in the American Art Gallery named Ruth from 1853. 

By, Addissyn H., age 16

It’s that time of year again. I’m talking about the holidays. Halloween haunts begin the best horror novels known to man, and family woes surrounding Thanksgiving give way to the next bestseller in the genre of realistic fiction. Christmas inspires a funny children’s tale about when Santa converted to Judaism, and New Year’s provides the perfect scene for a cheesy romance. 

More specifically, though, I mean we’re racing toward November, which means National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is fast approaching.

This November marks my third year as a participant and – dare I jinx it – winner, which just means I was able to successfully write 50,000 words in 30 days, regardless of quality. Even being somewhat of an oldie at this, it’s terrifying. Somehow you have to pull 50,000 consecutive words out of a hat in such a short period of time, while not compromising your social life (however small it may be). 

By Patrice G, age 17

WriteGirl helped me find myself. I’ve been a part of WriteGirl for five seasons. It was here that I discovered my gift for writing poetry. I didn’t know my talent until I wrote my first poem, “My Mask,” and a WriteGirl mentor told me I was very imaginative. I’ve taken the guidance and feedback and now I’m self-motivated and determined to continue writing poetry and exploring my talents. 

Sharmin, age 17

Gender inequality has existed in every nation and every period in history. But here at WriteGirl, we are committed to joining the effort to stop gender inequality now. We want to encourage our girls, women, and male friends and supporters to stand and unite ourselves as Feminists against gender discrimination. We want to propagate equal opportunity for the masses and ensure that no one gender is neglected. 

Jacqueline, age 17

"Working together, we can bring equality to the sexes. Girls around the world should be allowed an education, a chance to express themselves using pen and paper. Writing is important to ending gender inequality, because our voices sometimes fail us. Our voices, it turns out, we can sometimes best express through the written word."

Clara age 17, Addissyn age 15, Jacqueline age 17

In August of this year, three lucky WriteGirls had the awesome experience of attending the Writer's Digest Novel Writing Conference! Over the three days of the conference, our WriteGirls picked up some great writing tips and insight from professional writers and publishers who shared their knowledge about writing, completing and publishing novels.