A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

by intern Amy Hughes

Brave Writer has always been a significant part of my homeschooling journey. While from an early age words and stories have been a key part of my life, Brave Writer nourished my writing skills and helped direct them to new levels.

When I was eleven, I took my first Brave writer class. It was Kidswrite Intermediate. I remember loving the online interactions, and the chance to meet people from all over the world. Aside from the social aspect, the class improved my writing skills and confidence. I learned that while I could write well, there were many ways in which I could write better. As a writer, I needed to keep learning and growing: a key belief that I still hold today.

Later, I took the Boomerang class. I loved the books we covered, many of which became my favorites, and the discussions of classic literature inspired me so much that I decided to read classic literature on my own. The year after became the year of classic fiction, as I read my way through classics, including some by the same authors we covered in class (such as reading nearly the entire works of Jane Austen). Classic literature became something that I still enjoy reading and thinking about today.

Film, through the Movie Discussion Club, was also something which Brave Writer encouraged me to explore. My parents would never have offered such a program on their own, so it was wonderful that I had the opportunity to learn about movies and discuss them online. Another fun aspect of the film class was the communal atmosphere that encouraged whole-family participation. While writing can be frequently personal the movie club sparked a number of family discussions around movies, a practice which still continues today.

Brave Writer has also significantly improved my academic writing skills. In high school I took two essay classes, the Expository Essay class and the MLA Research Essay class. Unlike most of my peers, by the time I reached tertiary education I had already written a long essay with a number of correctly cited sources. I had developed note-taking skills, and knew the importance of getting citations just so – something that goes a long way in improving essay grades. Today feedback from written assignments is often accompanied by a compliment on the quality of the writing and the correct use of citations, regardless of the actual quality of the content.

I’m very glad that Brave Writer has been part of my homeschooling journey. I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had to learn and grow in the presence of other homeschoolers. Writing brings such joy to my life, and I’m happy that Brave Writer helped this process.