Words Are Power

On the first meeting of my college-skills course for new undergraduate students, I tell them how I avoided teaching because I was scared of it. I care about teaching and about the power of education, and I didn't want to mess up. But people kept pushing me to try it, saying I was missing a calling. And even though I was petrified the first time I taught a class, I loved the chance to build relationships with students and make an impact on their lives—and I found a calling. As I finish my talk, I challenge them to think about what scares them. To question why it scares them. To think about the possibility that what scares them is something to embrace.

Words are power.

When I'm introducing undergraduate students to my composition classes, I tell them that English classes should be more than a long list of grammar rules. And while I might instruct them on the conventions of Academic and Professional English, I do so in order to provide them with tools to communicate as clearly and persuasively with as broad an audience as possible.

To give them power.

A solid grasp on the conventions of English can open doors and smooth your interactions with others. Do you need to convince your boss that you're ready for more responsibility and the commensurate compensation? To land that new client? To sell a new product or service? Or just to express yourself more clearly on social media so that your meaning is less likely to be misconstrued?

Story is power.

Human beings are social creatures, and we form connections through story. We share the stories we've heard and the experiences we've had in order to bond with others, even if we don't necessarily do so around a campfire at night. We tell stories on coffee breaks or in meetings. At family gatherings or when marketing a product or service. Stories bring us together and forge relationships.

Story both reflects and shapes culture. Writers have the ability to touch hearts and minds, influencing policy, creating sea changes in opinion, and shaping the way people view the world for generations.

My passion.

My goal is to create online courses that would be accessible to people who want to improve their grasp on English grammar for clearer communication, who want to understand the fundamentals of story, or who want to write meaningful fiction or memoirs that draw readers in and leave them changed.

I've been editing for over twenty years and teaching composition, the history and grammar of English, and creative writing for more than a decade on both the undergraduate and graduate levels. I've run workshops at conventions for beginning and immediate writers. For the past couple of years, I've been working on video content and courses of my own that I can make available for private students—people who don't want the expense of a college or graduate-school education, who don't have a professional reason to sink thousands of dollars and multiple years into earning a degree, or people who already have a degree or degrees but didn't focus on writing. Anyone who wants to improve their writing skills, either for their job or to leave a personal record of their life for future generations or to write short stories or novels for publication.

It's scary to put myself out there to a wider audience. To leave behind the the relative safety of teaching regularly at universities. But I have to practice what I preach. If this is meant to be the next evolution of my career, I need to embrace what scares me.

My hope is to reach many more people than I can as an adjunct instructor, to help them better mold the raw power inside their minds.

The power of words. The power of story.