Here on the Gulf Coast students get out of school before Memorial Day. Temperatures have been in the 90s this week. For me, summer begins with the first meeting of my creative writing class at Fairhope Public Library.

I’m fortunate to offer the class on a quarterly basis, but I enjoy the summer sessions the most. Last June, the age range of my students was 18-86. This year is shaping up to be just as diverse with a full class of high school students and seniors. The range of ages also makes it a bit more challenging to prepare for, and I love the challenge. I think this is a product of not having lesson plans. No, actually it’s a product of constantly changing the readings, in-class discussions, and the writing exercises. Although I don’t have any students who have taken the course before, I like to keep it fresh by introducing new material. I always include something about amputees, writing forms, and some of my favorite writings. Where I switch things up is in the discussion topics and the writing exercises.

Rather than teaching someone how to upload a file, print a document, read books on the Overdrive App, or provide a refresher on the Dewey Decimal System, all things I love to do as a reference librarian, the writing class gives me the opportunity to share what I’ve learned about the art of creative writing.

Here’s to the start of summer.