The Girl Can Write

I must say, this is the first time I've stayed up late for writing--and not written a word of my own other than this blog. Tonight I stayed up to help my older daughter, who was determined to finish a story for her school assignment and wanted her writer mom's input. It's the most excited I've ever seen her about writing, and this time it was her fingers on the keyboard in front of my computer, not mine. She worked for hours...and she can write. I know I sound like a proud mom, but color me guilty. I didn't even have to do anything, really. Her story has a teenager's voice--but a well-spoken teenager with an education. She's witty, bright, and informed. Her characters' dialog reads well, and her description isn't bad. She writes like a person who reads, which is perhaps the highest complement I can give her. I was impressed.

She used to not like writing, but somewhere along the line, something changed. Earlier tonight I was amazed to watch her discover what it was like to fall into the flow of a story and exclaim "I know!" whenever she suddenly knew what would happen next. For the first time, maybe, I got to watch the magic happen. So I watched, and I watched....ZZZZZ.

Yep. I almost fell asleep in my chair. I know, I know. But watching someone write isn't nearly as fun as writing yourself. Tonight, I was just the support crew and morale person. Not even co-pilot--she really didn't need one, other than when she'd suddenly pop up with a question. I'm just very proud of her; she rocked it. At this point, she's got the basics down cold. The rest is all practice, practice, practice. She seems to have made a great start.

Now if I can just cure her of separating independent clauses with a comma....