After a few sessions, the boys began to test Ron. They acted bored and didn't want to pay attention to what he was teaching. "I had to earn their trust," he said. "It was as if they would push me away to make sure I'd actually come back."

Through some insightful advice from our Executive Director Jill Gurr, Ron adjusted his workshop to include movies the boys enjoyed. They explored the connections between these movies and the their own scripts and quickly became engaged in the workshop. Ron had won their respect. The boys paid more attention and were enhancing their literacy skills.

"I learned to scale back my expectations - from turning all of them into writers, to just being happy they were showing up. I felt like an Olympic medalist to see them walk in one night with hand-written pages... as rap songs, as autobiography, as prose fantasy. And I learned to encourage them to continue expressing themselves in whatever form they desired."

Ron brought his mentees books from his own library. Upon leaving, one youth asked him, "When do you want this back?" Ron told him that he could keep it. The boy, 17 years old, responded, "Huh! My first book."

Through our Artistic Journeys program, we arranged for the boys to see the movie "Mask" and then attend the musical staging of it at the Pasadena Playhouse. They loved the experience and are now looking forward to returning to the Pasadena Playhouse next month for their production "Of Mice and Men."

James, 17 years old, is working on his autobiography. "In this class, I learn how to write better and express myself on paper better and build my imagination."

Derron, 16, enjoys the workshop because, "Ron taught me about conflict, so I put it in my songs. He helps me to express my rapping and put it in order."

Jeremy, 16, is working on a vampire fantasy. "It's a good class if you're into writing. It makes more sense of how to set up the way you write."

While Nicholas, age 13, is relatively new, he shares that "I like it because I'm writing it, then reading it, then seeing it in my head."

Ron's eight-week Screenwriting Workshop just finished. We gave all the boys a wrap party, complete with pizza and gifts. Both the boys and Ron were so enthusiastic about their experience that the workshop is returning. An Advanced Writing Workshop will be offered to all participants who are passionate about writing. We can't wait to read their creations as they Create Now.

We thank the Verizon Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation for making this project possible through their support of the Write Now literacy program and to the Northrop Grumman Foundation for their ongoing operating support.