Media Macaroni

I’m happy to introduce lovely and talented guest blogger Margaret Crocker. Margaret is a writer and content producer of children’s media, and is currently getting her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Check out her website for a sampling of her fabulousness. Please be kind to her so she comes back and visits us often. 

Brooklyn Superhero Supply 

I notice an unassuming store on 5th Ave in Brooklyn. Its sign is industrial gray, and it has a LOT of words on it. Some of those words are “invisibility,” “smokescreens,” and even “underground lairs.” This is worth investigating.

The Store

What a find! I’ve been looking everywhere for Anti-Matter, not to mention a new secret identity (Myrtle Hopkins––she is 57 and recently divorced). Of course, before you buy anything, you must take a vow to use it for good, not evil. How reassuring!

The Secret Door

Whoa! I pull on a metal shelf to reach a can of Truth Serum, and it swings open to reveal a whole other room––a cross between a curiosity shop and Bruce Wayne’s library. I slip in while the clerk is looking the other way.

The Writing Center, 12:30PM

Fascinating. A class of 15-30 students sits on the floor, shouting ideas about character, setting, and plot. These are not the kind of ideas that lead to things like “Everybody Loves Raymond” or The Sun Also Rises. These are genius ideas, resulting in stories about hybrid piranha monkeys. The class is on a field trip to write picture books, sitcom screenplays, or choose-your-own-adventure stories. It is not a quiet process.

3:00 PM

The field trippers are replaced by an endless stream of kids armed with backpacks. There is work to be done! A few gentle grownups mingle, ready to help the homeworked or suggest a creative project for the homeworkless. 

6:00 PM

Next up: some more storytellers arrive to make a book about Treasure Hunting. Or perhaps a Love Song for the Broken Hearted. Whatever the workshop, these kids will walk out with something to show for their efforts: a short film, a CD, or a bound book. Because if a tree falls in the woods reciting a poem about hybrid piranha monkeys, did it really happen if nobody publishes it?

Listen to “The Quest” by Rory M. from the Writing for Radio workshop

8:00 PM

I am now overwhelmed with curiosity about 826NYC, so I pepper Education Director Joan Kim for details. She’s had a long day, so she tells me to check the website for more details. Can I volunteer? I ask. Check the website. Can I send my fictional child Jack Clooney to this wonderful place? Check the website. Does the Superhero Crew ever jetpack over to local schools for fieldwork? CHECK. THE. WEBSITE. Joan pulls down the security gate and locks it firmly. Time to go home.

Not from NYC? No problem! The organization has chapters in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Ann Arbor, and Boston. And they all need your help to stay open and do their thing.

To get a closer look at 826NYC, check out this video.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Kids Creating Content. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.