1. What is the VL Mentorship?

The VL Mentorship is a dream of Sarah Tisdale’s from Sincerely Sarah Studios to provide a  place for teenage friends to take some big writing risks in a safe and nourishing community.

It is a reading and writing mentorship— a group collaborative experiment!

Her goal is to help the flourishing of young writers through fostering encouragement through  community, accountability, and mentorship. You would be the first group to take this journey with her so your input will help pioneer this venture greatly!

 

2. What does VL stand for?

Ah, well, it’s a secret. Maybe Sarah will trust you with the knowledge of it some day. Her  brother H.A. Tisdale might have a thing or two to share sometime too. And you should check out his first book The Geode King from The Pit series, by the way. He might chime in a time or two in our group. He is a full time law student so can't fully commit as of now. Oh, and you will collectively select a cohort name with these initials. Each year will be a different name.

 

3. What are the commitments of the group?

-One $50 commitment fee for the inaugural FALL 2020 COHORT  + signed commitment +  parent waiver to participate in the following activities VIRTUALLY (and surprises from Sarah will be taken from this fund)

-Reading The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (and challenge to read the rest of the Narnia  series)-to delight and read for fun!

-1 writing support group workshop each month where everyone shares a selection of their work-in progress

-3 book circles (super FUN themed nights of sharing a reading of a favorite selection on theme) 

September, October, and December (days TBD by group) 

-Email and/or Text encouragement community

-NaNoWriMo Team-a commitment to writing every day in November; encouraging each other

-OPTIONAL: Beta Reading Sarah’s Young Adult Novel when she has completed it in December!

 

4. What do you get from Sarah?

-Mentorship and direction on one selected writing piece (short story, a chapter, or 3 poems), 

-Leading in prompts on the theme of “The Voice: Delight in Narnia” and Narnia for weekly encouragement emails.

-Resources! Resources! Resources! Custom tailored resources to the group and to each  individual to aid them in their writing journey.

-Spiritual guidance and prayer in the writing journey; Sarah is a follower of Christ and believes writing is an essential part of her walk with Him to be able to grow in grace and truth over time. While faith is not required of each individual, it will be addressed and led from that place of love and grace and truth. This letter to a young artist encourages Sarah (as she reads it just about every month) and hopes to encourage you wherever you are in your faith/creative journey.

-A chance to be on her book launch team and see what the process is like in the future!

- Friendship and a cheerleader for life!

 

5. Who can apply?

-Anyone in high school who thinks this sounds awesome and wants to take the next big step in their writing. For all types of writing. Share with your friends. Let’s take advantage of this  pandemic to add beauty to this weary world!

 

6. Why do we have to apply?

-Simply so that Sarah can see your commitment and writing style. Furthermore, the cohort will be no larger than 12 to keep it relational, allowing each writer to have a voice in the group. She values quality over quantity and knows a small group is best in these situations.

 

 7. How do I apply?

She thought you’d never ask. Simply email her at sincerelysarahstudios@gmail.com with two  samples of your previous writing and a letter of interest. Why do you want to participate in this group? And very importantly, what is your most favorite word? Do elaborate. And finally, what proposed cohort name have you imagined with the initials V.L.?

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Applications due by September 15th, 2020 at 12 noon.