Every Tuesday, the writing community of Two Writing Teachers hosts Slice of Life. All are welcome to participate by linking up posts or commenting on other participants.
Eighteen years ago, my friend Heather theorized to me that "sleep begets sleep." In my sleep-deprived state, I'm surprised I remember the phrase so vividly except that it struck a loud and shrill chord with me. She had her first baby five weeks before I had my second daughter. Her daughter took two long naps and slept through the night. My Julia did. not. sleep. Fast forward eighteen years, and Julia is home from college for a few days, and she is sleeping.
I am writing.
This morning, I read through other people's posts from a weekend writing retreat we shared (shout out to Tara and Clare and Tammy), and I'm thinking about how writing begets writing. It's funny how the more I write, the more I have to write. I am in the middle of a program for my MFA in creative writing, I blog a lot, I am working on a nonfiction piece for the state social studies department, and I am constantly writing for classroom demonstration. When I sit with my fingers on the keys and a cup of coffee by my side, I rarely struggle with not having anything to write; my struggle is more about what piece to work on.
What I'm really wondering is how we duplicate this sort of sensation in writing classrooms. I've always been a big believer in volume. When children write a lot, they don't get so attached to a piece that they refuse to return to it and work on it. They also develop courage to start new pieces since they aren't so worried about ever finishing it. With the phrase "writing begets writing" at the forefront of my brain, I think there's also a mindfulness and a belief in myself as a writer when I'm in the habit of writing. Writers spend life capturing words, and it becomes a practice that lives healthily beyond desks and classrooms and the comfortable chairs where we write.
I'll be percolating these thoughts over the next week--hopefully there will be more to come about it, and I look forward to reading comments and insights about how writing energy generates and perpetuates itself within individual writers and writing communities.
All good things,
I agree! It's amazing just how easily students 'get into' their writing when it's a given that they will write regularly. I find my students energised to write when I've shared my love of writing and the joy of finding just the right word in our shared writing.
ReplyDeleteProfessionally, it's all about audience and purpose when it comes to writing. Like you, I blog for: my colleagues, my school community, myself and on Tuesdays, for SOL. I am thankful for SOL as it's giving me back the discipline to break out of the mold and write reflectively and creatively on a regular basis - not just work. :-)
Love this -- "writing begets writing!" So true - it does make a difference when you are truly engaged in the process. How can we duplicate this in classrooms? This is a really important idea to explore. How can we get our students invested in the process and thinking more about different writing projects? Lots to think about.
ReplyDeleteHope your ride home was easy!
Clare and Tammy
Choice and voice play into that "writing begets writing" in my mind! Students are still being given tooooooo many prompts to write about in too many classrooms across the country.
ReplyDeleteI agree that writing is easier when writing on a regular basis. I used to have lists of topics and several drafts started during the March Slice of Life Challenge - ever fearful that I would falter and (gasp) no topic would surface for the day. That's less of a worry now. . . but maybe that's a false sense of security. An overconfidence that my trip me up in the future!
Choice and voice play into that "writing begets writing" in my mind! Students are still being given tooooooo many prompts to write about in too many classrooms across the country.
ReplyDeleteI agree that writing is easier when writing on a regular basis. I used to have lists of topics and several drafts started during the March Slice of Life Challenge - ever fearful that I would falter and (gasp) no topic would surface for the day. That's less of a worry now. . . but maybe that's a false sense of security. An overconfidence that my trip me up in the future!
Beautiful post! I totally agree. I felt that way after my first month of the Slice of Life Challenge. The more I wrote, the more I had to say!
ReplyDeleteWriting begets writing. I need to remember this. I know it's true, because although I approach each March with trepidation, I find myself with lists longer than days to write long before the month is over. It's surprising, but true! I'm hanging onto your phrase, "..writing energy generates and perpetuates itself..."
ReplyDelete