This half-hour long video of Taylor Swift meeting with some young kids discussing reading and writing is filled with sound advice for any writer of any genre. Taylor partnered with Scholastic to provide 25,000 new books for NYC schools. Taylor then donated her time to do this webcast with these great kids. This webcast is worth every minute of it's short 30-minute length and I highly suggest all writers listen to and watch the video .  A few of my favorite quotes from the webcast are: "Journaling is what made me discover that I loved poetry and poetry is so close to song writing in concept." "Writing your feelings down simplifies them." "If you make writing something you look forward to, who knows where it will take you?  Who knows if you'll start to think about story lines and you'll decide that you want to write a book someday?" "There are so many things you can discover about yourself if you write." ...

As a writer, I am struck by Taylor Swift . Not only does she write all her own lyrics and music, she oversees the production of her albums and videos down to the last detail. In a recent interview, she said that since the songs are hers, she can present them however she chooses. Taylor was the victim of severe bullying in school while growing up. As an artist, she was told she couldn't sing or write. Because she did not define herself by those around her, she didn't listen to her naysayers. She pushed through, wrote songs about those who bullied her, and truly changed the music industry forever. Just this week she topped herself on the charts with singles from her her newest album, 1989. Kudos to Taylor ! I admire her for her tenacity to believe in herself and push through to her own success. She was even told to wait till she was 18, but she pushed through, claiming she was ready. Indeed. I so wish I had learned to think that way as a young woman! She's not the first ...