Are you among the many seniors who want to write their life story or a family history or maybe document their military experiences, but don't know how to start? If so, Nancy Kastman-Scott has the answer.

"Join one of my writing classes. It's free!" she said.

Kastman-Scott, 84, is a former English professor who has been teaching senior adults how to write fiction and non-fiction stories, poetry, and essays for more than 20 years.

"I do it as much for myself as for my students," she explained. "I'm a people-person. I love coming up with ideas for my students to write about and helping them with grammar, punctuation, and spelling. After all, I'm still an English teacher, you know."

Kastman-Scott, a 1944 graduate of Shawnee Mission Rural High School, graduated from the University of Kansas in 1949 with a degree in English. After a marriage, five children, and a divorce, she began a teaching career in 1962 at Center High School in Kansas City.

"I taught English, language arts, English literature, a little bit of everything," she said. "I had five mouths to feed."
She retired from Center in 1986 and moved over to UMKC, where she taught writing composition, introduction to fiction, and poetry for four years.

"There were frequent discussions among faculty members indicating that writing stories might be useful in keeping senior minds active," Kastman-Scott said. "It made sense to me. I thought, Why not give it a try?"

At that time, Kastman-Scott's father, who was living with Alzheimer's disease, was residing at The Atriums.

"I thought, I'm there visiting several times a week; maybe I could do something for the residents," she recalled. "So I started my first writing class for seniors. It proved to be popular."

Her father died in 1990 and, at the urging of her brother, she retired again and moved to Lubbock, Texas, where she started a senior writing class at a nearby retirement home. Word got around, and before long she was teaching classes at four retirement homes. She enjoyed teaching, but after 10 years she'd had enough of Texas and moved back to Overland Park, wanting to live in an area more central to her children.

She moved to Lakeview Village in Lenexa and established a writing class there; it meets at 9:30 each Tuesday morning for two hours. That class was well-accepted, so she started another class that meets at 9:30 a.m. each Saturday.

"All my students right now are Lakeview residents, but that's not a requirement," she said. "I'm happy to have anyone join who is interested. It's free to everyone."

Kastman-Scott's classes usually have six to eight students, ranging in age from around 60 to 97.

"The first thing I ask students is, 'Why are you taking the class?'" she said. "More than half say they want to write their life story or a family history. Some want to write poetry. I have one mother-daughter team. The daughter brought her mother to class and stayed. Now she's writing a novel."
As a typical class begins, Kastman-Scott hands back stories she has critiqued from the week before.

"I go over each story and explain notations and corrections I've made and suggestions that I think will improve the story," she explained. "As each student reads his or her story, the class offers its opinion on what changes should be made. As a rule, they're more complimentary than critical. I suggest topics or let them select one to write about for the next class. If students miss a class, they can pick up where they left off."

When students start writing the story of their life, Kastman-Scott tells them the worst thing they can do is start with "I was born at such-and-such a place."

"It's important to focus on memorable moments of their lives, moments that only they remember; expand on them and go into detail," she explained. "Those moments make a story interesting for others. Other people can write about where they were born after they die!"

Her students are loyal. If one has to drop out, it's usually because of health or personal problems. Several have been in the class since it began. Often a class may take on an atmosphere of a social gathering, with cookies, coffee, and other desserts.

Although she was born in Omaha, Kastman-Scott's parents moved the family to Johnson County while she was "still in a baby basket," she said with a chuckle.

It comes as no surprise that English and writing are her favorite subjects.

"My mother taught me to read before I started kindergarten," she said. "I've always liked words, and I love to read."

For more information about Kastman-Scott's senior writing classes, call 913-649-2425.

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