A Family of Writers: Handing Down a Writing Tradition

My family has a tradition of writing that goes back many generations. This lens is to celebrate that heritage and to give ideas about making writing a tradition in your own family.With encouragement, we see the younger generation taking an interest and wanting to write as well.

My mother didn't realize that her own mother (Ruth McGhee) was a writer until she discovered some of her writings after her death. Ruth McGhee entered a screenplay writing contest in 1924 and won second place. It wasn't until her children were grown that my mother had the time and energy to devote to her own writing. She hadn't saved her childhood efforts or the stories she wrote in high school study hall.

In posting her essays and poems to the Our Echo website, she encouraged her daughters, and several grand-daughters to contribute their writing as well. Several great-great-grandchildren have entered stories and essays in school contests and the Reading Rainbow competition. How much is genetic and how much is fostered from one generation to the next, I don't know. It's a wonderful tradition to share across the generations.

I've included some ideas for encouraging a writing tradition in your own family.
(ink bottle photo from stockxchange)