Welcome to The Write Zone

My name is Celise Colston and I'm an undergrad student at Prescott College getting my degree in Nonprofit Management. I'm also an indie author who writes young adult fiction (www.celisedowns.com). By indie I mean "self-published". Way back in 2001-2002, I created my own company, Gemini Mojo Press, to publish all the books I would write. In 2008, I closed GMP and decided that I wanted to publish the work of aspiring teen writers. That spawned another company, Youthful Wisdom Press. During it's short-lived reign, I didn't publish any books by teen writers.

Because by then, I figured out another way I could inspire teens who love to write: by providing a place just for them to learn about all the different forms of writing--from full-length novels to screenplays. Creative writing is a dying art that is no longer available in public schools. Untapped talent is being squandered. Imaginations are being stifled. I believe that teens will always have a story to tell and should have an opportunity--and a place--to express it.

And eventually they will.

At a place called The Write Zone.

I wanted this place to be special and you really can't get any more special than a nonprofit. But I knew nothing about the nonprofit sector from a business standpoint. Only from a volunteer perspective. I've always wanted to go back to school, but never felt motivated to do so until my best friend told me about Prescott College. There, I could create my own degree plan and get the hands-on guidance I needed from experts in the field. So I closed Youthful Wisdom Press in 2009 and began my journey...

I am now in my second year of school and will finish in September 2012. As I've gone through this undertaking, the idea of The Write Zone has manifested in many different ways. In all of my school assignments to date, I've been referring to my future organization as "The Write Place", because I see my NP  in a Victorian house (like Hugo House). The more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that, while that may be pretty cool, what if it doesn't happen? What if it doesn't end up residing in a "place", but a place within a "space" or a small corner of the Internet? Writing isn't about the physical place you go to write, it's about the inner place that makes you want to write.

For us writers, that's called The Zone.

Hence the new name.

On this blog, I plan to chronicle the journey of opening my nonprofit--from education to grand opening. I'll be writing about the successes, lessons learned, A-ha moments, and epic fails---all the while hoping that I'll be entertaining and imparting knowledge to the public at large.

The most talked about categories will be:

• In Session - stuff I'm learning in my courses at Prescott College (including my mentors) and other continued education resources.
• Sector Knowledge  - stuff I'm learning through conferences, workshops, seminars, forums, networking, retreats, etc.
• A Little Reading - books and/or articles I've read.
• I Signed Up - my volunteering experiences.

Everything else is gravy. I hope you join me for this wonderful experience and provide your $1.50 (inflation and all) when it comes to advice, suggestions, tips and whatnot regarding the nonprofit sector.

And when the time comes, and you happen to live in the Valley of the Sun, stop by The Write Zone and say hello. :)