I am sitting with Elliot. He is a new student who needs help with his freshman writing.  He goes to Beverly Hills High.  His mom is here with him and she is reading a book while we write.  We are going to write for five minutes as our first quick write. 

The dogs have been banished upstairs with my husband.  They are a corgi and a terrier who are very sweet but can be very noisy.  Elliot, you will get a chance to meet them either at the end of our session or next time.

Let me see, what can I tell you about myself?  I am the mother of three grown daughters who all live in LA. Their names are Sarah, Elizabeth and Rachael.  Sarah is married and I have two grandkids named Luna and Nico. They are 4 1/2 and 2. The good news is that I will get to see them tomorrow.  My grandkids are two of my favorite little people in the world.

What else? I like your name.  I might suggest Elliot as the name of a future boy grandchild.  That is a short list so far. Aidan is on the list and now Elliot. You can see I don’t have many. Consider this a major compliment.

This quick-write gives you a tiny window into who I am.  We will get to know each other much better as we spend time together. The most important thing for you to know about me is that I will not be super critical of your writing. I believe in supporting the creative flame, not snuffing it out.