A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Continuing our series of interviews with our fabulous writing instructors, here’s the latest installment: an interview with the incredible Karen O’Connor!

Karen O’Connor is a published author, mentor, and speaker who loves to work with Brave Writer students in her Write For Fun classes. She is also Julie’s mom! Watching young people share their thoughts and ideas and creativity keeps her smiling. And when she isn’t teaching she’s either hiking or line dancing or playing choo-choo train with her great-grandson Massey.

What kind of a writer were you in high school?
Writing was always my best subject. I worked on our high school newspaper.

You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why?
I’d be mint green (unless someone beat me to it). I wore a mint green and lace dress to my senior prom and since then that color has been my favorite.

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Continuing our series of interviews with our fabulous writing instructors, here’s the latest installment: an interview with the wonderful Samantha Burtner!

Samantha was homeschooled K-12 and even took several Brave Writer classes back in its early years! She holds a degree in Journalism from Patrick Henry College and has written for local newspapers, city magazines, online news sources, blogs, and even a communications shop at a think-tank in Washington, D.C. Now Samantha enjoys channeling her love of language and writing in the Brave Writer classroom teaching Expository Essay, Essay Prep, and The Scoop: The Art of Journalism. Last, but not least, she was recently sorted into Hufflepuff and isn’t sure how she feels about that.

What kind of a writer were you in high school?
A melodramatic one. My journals are brimming with outlandish tales, embarrassing moments, and comments or gestures blown completely out of proportion. I blush when I re-read them, but I can also see that the pages are filled with experimentation and risk-taking! I could try out new ideas or words or phrases and trust that my journal would be discrete and non-judgemental. As Virginia Woolf puts it: “The habit of writing thus for my own eye only is good practice. It loosens the ligaments. Never mind the misses and the stumbles.”

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Continuing our series of interviews with our fabulous writing instructors, here’s the latest installment: an interview with the wonderful Lora Fanning! 

Lora has a history degree from Mary Washington University and an unfortunate familiarity with chemises due to long days in costume as a docent at living history museums. She nurtures the next generation of wordsmiths around the world as a writing instructor for Brave Writer and as a teacher for local middle and high school co-ops. She practiced her storytelling for 11 years on her blog where she wrote about her full-time gig as a wife to her Superman and mother to seven kids.

What kind of a writer were you in high school?
I was usually the English teacher’s pet. It was instinctive for me, and both my parents are wordsmiths, so I didn’t think it was a big deal. But I definitely relied on my professor mom to help me edit, so that probably improved my grades a bit.

You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why?
The shade of blue grey where the sky meets the ocean. The ocean is my happy place. It makes me feel so small, yet is so grounding. It makes me fling my arms wide in worship.

What is one of your favorite classroom moments?
Online: It’s when the parent of that one kid, the one who has struggled from day one, sends you the update that there was a light bulb moment – they grabbed the pencil and dove in. I usually do a lot of fist pumping and air-fives while sitting at my desk.

In-Person: I love doing the Mixed Media Journaling (from Journaling Jumpstart) in my co-op classes. I play music and the kids get lost in words and creativity and the room fairly buzzes with peaceful energy. It’s a joyful mess.

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