As a result, I learned to be sensitive
to these types of bad writing.
Today, I publish original fiction,
and no one has ever called me out
on a florid writing style.”
She concluded with,
“I think if a teacher had simply
red-pencilied my childish scribbles,
I might have been so discouraged
as to never write again.”
Another author,
who later became our student,
told us that she learned about spelling
and grammar while writing fan fiction.
But she also told us,
“When I started writing
fanfiction at age 13,
I was a queer, autistic middle-schooler
who hadn’t yet realized
I was either of these things.
I had difficulty with social situations.
Fanfiction communities
were a vital social and learning outlet.”
Today she’s done something
that few undergraduates ever have.
She’s published a first author
academic paper in a top-rated venue.
(Applause)
After studying many individual
writers’ stories over time,
we came to see that these personal stories
were consistent with the data,
The young writers’ use of words
grew more diverse