Mentor Public Library has writing clubs for kids & teens

Young writers can hone their craft at our Write On club for teens or Wordplay club for younger kids.

Do your children love to write?

If so, Mentor Public Library has the perfect club for them—two actually.

Our Write On club is for teens. It meets on the third Monday of every month at our Main Branch.

They use different writing prompts and brainteasers to hone their writing skills. Any teen who wants to join their ranks is welcome. It’s a fun, supportive place to practice and improve your writing with other teens who are doing the same thing.

Our next meeting is 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 18, at our Main Branch. You can register for it on Mentor Library’s website.

All teen writers are welcome at our Write On Club.

We also have our Wordplay Club for younger writers. It's for kids in third through sixth grade.

The also use different ways to boost their creativity. At their most recent meeting, the kids each got Surprise Bags with a different—you guessed it—surprise inside.

They then had to include the surprise item—be it a wrench or plastic insect—into their story.

Wordplay Creative Writing Club meets at 4:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month at our Main Branch. The next meeting is Jan. 13.

You can register your child for Wordplay by calling (440) 255-8811 ext. 221 or by visiting the Mentor Library’s website.

Eric reacts to pulling a wrench from his Surprise Bag during Wordplay.

Book, writing and gaming clubs for teens at Mentor Public Library

Kerri decorates cookies during the Teen Holiday Party at Mentor Public Library.

Some teens only come to the library when they have schoolwork to do. They have no idea how much they're missing out on.

Mentor Public Library has clubs for young writers, readers and even gamers. And there's always room for more!

Our Write On Club meets on the third Monday of every month at our Main Branch.

They use different writing prompts and brainteasers to hone their writing skills. Any teen who wants to join their ranks is welcome. It's a fun, supportive place to practice and improve your writing with other teens who are doing the same thing.

Our next meeting is 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 21, at our Main Branch. You can register for it on Mentor Library’s website.

All teen writers are welcome at our Write On Club.

Meanwhile, our Teen Book Club discusses the best of YA fiction from authors like John Green, Rainbow Rowell, Ransom Riggs and more. Its next meeting is Saturday, Jan. 2, at our Lake Branch.

We'll talk about Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick. You can pick up a copy at the Lake Branch, if you want to join us.

Finally, this Wednesday (Dec. 16,) we're hosting our monthly Clashing Controllers tournament at our Lake Branch.

Teens can compete in Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart and other games. We provide the game and the snacks. You just bring the skills.

For more teen programs at Mentor Public Library, check out our online event calendar.

You don't have to sign up for Clashing Controllers. Just show up and get your game on.

Teens can hone their writing at our Write On Club

Teens write their own stories using different prompts and brainteasers when MPL's Write On Club meets.

On the third Monday of every month, teen writers gather in the Frances Cleveland room of our Main Branch.

They use different writing prompts and brainteasers to hone their skills. For example, this month, they took random books, opened to page 46 and used the first full sentences they read as the first sentence of their stories.

They are our Write On Club and they are awesome.

Any teen who wants to join their ranks is welcome. The Write On Club is a fun, supportive place to practice and improve your writing with other teens who are doing the same thing.

Our next meeting is 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 21, at our Main Branch. You can register for it on Mentor Library's website.

By the way, Mentor Library also has a book club just for teens. Their next meeting is 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, at our Lake Branch. We'll be discussing Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park. You can pick up a copy of it at our Lake Branch if you'd like to join us.

All teen writers are welcome at our Write On Club.

Teen Project gives teens a place to be themselves at our Lake Branch

Roast your friends during the first meeting of The Teen Project on Feb. 9 at Mentor Library's Lake Branch.

Ready to get messy? Get busy? Get wired? Then you’re ready for The Teen Project at our Lake Branch.

The Teen Project has one mission: to give teens a fun place where they can be themselves at the library.

It starts at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9 with a Super Smash Bros tournament. (Register for it here.) Any teen who wants to play is invited. There will also be pizza and pop.

After that, The Teen Project will meet the second Monday of every month at our Lake Branch.

Video game tournaments are just the beginning. Teens will paint, compete in trivia contests, customize coffee mugs and more. The teens will be able to suggest their own ideas for The Teen Project, as well.

"In the digital age, ‘hanging out’ can mean four teens talking over Twitter or Snapchat—each from their own homes," said Ariel Johnson, the manager at our Lake Branch. "We want to bring the hangout back with video games and pizza and people actually in the same room."

For more information on The Teen Project or to register for the Super Smash Bros tournament call the Lake Branch at 440-257-2512.

Mentor Library also has book and writing clubs specifically for teens. The Teen Book Club meets at 2 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month at the Lake Branch. Their discussion book on Feb. 7 is Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher. Any teen who wants to join the club can pick up a copy of Ketchup Clouds at the Lake Branch.

Meanwhile, the Teen Writing Club meets 4:30 p.m. on the third Monday of the month at our Main Branch. During each meeting, they hone their writing by using a different story prompt. On Feb. 16, the story prompt will be "from a rock's perspective..."

Teens can register for either or both clubs by calling Mentor Library or signing up on our online event calendar.

Wands, Wizards & Writing this MLK Day at Mentor Library

It's going to be a Harry Potter party this Jan. 19 at our Lake Branch. (Don't worry. No snakes are invited.)

Schools are closed this Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but we'll be open with a full carte du jour of programs for teens and kids.

If your kids are looking for something fun to do on their day off, we have you covered.

At our Lake Branch, we're throwing a Harry Potter party at 6:30 p.m.. Kids can make their own wands, while playing wizarding games. (No curses allowed!)

Meanwhile, Studio MPL—our art club for kids in first through fifth grade—will have its monthly meeting at 4 p.m. at our Main Branch.

During the last two years, the kids in Studio MPL have made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock; so, whatever they have planned for this Monday, it's going to be fun and creative. (And maybe a little messy.)

Each month, Studio MPL experiments with a different form of art.

Our new Teen Writing Club is also meeting at 4:30 p.m. at our Main Branch. Each month, our young writers get together to hone their craft by trying a different story prompt. This month's theme is creating complex characters.

If any of these programs interest you, we'd recommend registering for them soon—either by calling Mentor Library or by using our event calendar online. Each of these programs only have so many available slots—our Frozen program on Monday is already completely booked—and we don't want anyone to get left out because they waited too long to register.

If you have any questions, you can call our Lake Branch at 440-257-2512 or our Main Branch at 440-255-8811. See you at the library!

Our teen writing club tackles different story prompts and shares their stories each month.

Mentor Library launches new writing club for teens

What story do you want to tell?

Writers all share one common attribute. They feel the need to write.

It doesn't matter if they're 16 or 67, from Cameroon or Colorado. Writers have stories inside of themselves and they need to get them out.

That's why Mentor Public Library has started a writing club for teens—to help young authors tell their stories.

The first meeting will be from 4 to 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 15, at Mentor Library's Main Branch. It's open to anyone in seventh through 12th grade.


"The Teen Writing Club is all about our young writers," said Kristin Milks, the reference librarian who started the club. "Each month, the writers are welcome to come in with their current work or a blank slate. I'll also have writing prompts that we can play around with and use as story starters."

September's theme is "A picture is worth a thousand words." The teens can create short stories using photos as story prompts. Teens can also bring any writing they want to share with the club.

While Kristin will oversee the Teen Writing Club for the library, it's ultimately up to the teens on what they want to do.

"I want everyone who comes to our club to take ownership of it," she said. "Because, in the end, it's all about having fun and honing your writing."

Teens can register for the writing club on Mentor Library's website. By the way, we also have a book club especially for teens.