Brave Writer

by Nancy Graham, Brave Writer Minister of Magic Hi everybody! Our summer online writing classes are filling up but there are spots left in a choice few (classes start July 5th!)— Kidswrite Basic with Deb Bell, April Hensley, or Sarah Holden my summer movie club, Magnificent Horses, and the SAT/ACT Essay class led by longtime […]

Image of Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is by Melissa Deakin It was my delight and privilege to talk with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. Her poetry is delicious—like a strawberry smoothie or a fresh mint lemonade. She brings vowels and consonants together in ways that leave the mouth happy and satisfied. Not only that, her family lives in […]

Welcome to our first Poetry Teatime Podcast! I was honored to interview Marilyn Singer, award-winning poet and author. Marilyn and I met for the interview long distance—she, in her home in Brooklyn, and me, Julie, in a library in Cincinnati. Unfortunately the library failed us, a bit. The Internet connection was variable throughout and you […]

Johannah (26) was in town, and Noah (28) was downtown. I brought them together in my backyard for a conversation in front of our Periscope audience. They share about their experiences growing up, what they are doing today, and answer questions from parents. I am hyper and too loud and talk too fast. I was […]

After a long, dark slumber, we return! In fact, we recorded this podcast a couple months after recording the previous, Englishes, but because of complications in life, it sat forgotten and ignored on the Internet. No links, no listeners, no happiness. No more! Please join us as we tackle a topic close to my heart, […]

Today’s podcast discusses the relationship between speech and writing. For those of you who are long-term Brave Writer fans, you’ll know that I refer to Dr. Peter Elbow as “my guru.” His vision for writing has long guided how I teach. When this new book Vernacular Eloquence hit the stores, it was thrilling to realize […]

I’ve written about the One Thing Principle many times on the blog. Today, though, I wanted to share with you in more detail about how to get that fantasy homeschool you imagine into the real world of your routine family practice. Noah shares about our family and what we did that he remembers and I […]

Finally!! We are at the end of our series “The Natural Stages of Growth in Writing.” This podcast features discussion about the high school writing life, on into college. Don’t miss it! It will help to shape your philosophy of writing, not just your program for writing. Enjoy! Julie

  Today’s podcast (podcast player at the bottom of this entry) features children’s author and home educator, Melissa Wiley. Melissa and I met in 2005 online and instantly formed a wonderful connection around writing and homeschool. Her most recent children’s novel, The Prairie Thief, is the featured title for the October Arrow. You may purchase […]

This podcast discusses the role of the brain in writing as well as how to teach the mechanics in a way that actually leads to their incorporation in the original writing task. Be sure, too, to sign up for Rita’s Class: Foundations in Writing. It starts October 1 and always fills up so don’t miss […]

Hi everyone! This is our 7th podcast, 5th in the series related to the Natural Stages of Growth in writing. We started discussing the Transition to Ownership in podcast 06 and this is the second half of that conversation. You’ll want to listen to that half first. We continue our discussion of your role in the […]

This is our first of a two part discussion of the Transition to Ownership stage of writing growth. This is the time when your 13-14 year olds (8th-9th graders) are making the somewhat treacherous journey from adorable, fact-centered child to rhetorical imagination (the awareness that the world is inhabited by unlimited numbers of perspectives). Noah […]

Today’s podcast features the characteristics of writers between the ages of 11-12. Join us as we look at how you can create the conditions for growth and joy in writing with your kids. Julie UPDATED: Faltering Ownership product now available A Year-Long Language Arts Plan! 11-12 year olds (age range is approximate) Developmentally appropriate projects. […]

We press on! This week’s podcast is the second in the series where we look at each of the natural developmental stages of growth in writing. This particular episode focuses on the most overlooked stage of development in the writing journey and accounts for the development of writer’s block and writing resistance in kids. If […]

In this week’s podcast is the first in a series where we look at each of the natural developmental stages of growth in writing. In my years of working with families, I’ve found that it is much more effective to look at how writers grow naturally than to focus on scope and sequence, grade level, […]

Our second podcast features a discussion between Noah and me. We look at how a parent can help a child understand the value of writing in his or her life rather than resenting or resisting it. Noah shares memories from when we worked on writing together when he was young. And we added intro music. […]

First test podcast with Julie and Noah!