Writing Reflection

As the year makes its way to the home stretch, I took some time to reflect on my writing habit. Or maybe I should say my lack of a writing habit.

I am almost to the end of a notebook, which has taken me much too long to fill. Running my fingers over the slight indentation of the ink on the pages, I reread some entries tonight. The poems, reflections, and memories came flooding back, and I realized how much I miss regular writing in my notebook. I have written a lot this year, but it has been more professional writing. But writing in a notebook is just...well it's just different.

I made a list of what kept me from writing this year. Three things bubbled up:  my phone, not creating a habit, and making excuses. These are three areas I intend to improve on in the coming year, and I know these will be the catalyst for my writing goals for 2024. 

My next decision:  Do I abandon a notebook that has taken too long to fill, or do I plug away and finish it before starting a new one in 2024. This is hard for me, as I am one who likes "fresh beginnings." 

What about you? Do you like new notebooks at the beginning of the year? Or are you a start-to-finish kind of notebooker?

Here's to writing in 2024! May my words return and find a home on the page.

 Thank you Two Writing Teachers for creating a space to share our stories.

And so it begins... #SOL20

Once upon a time, there was a notebook. She was a black Moleskin lined notebook with a pocket in the back that could hold ephemera, a ruler, and stickers, an attached bookmark ribbon for keeping her writer's spot, and a matching elastic closure. The pages were heavy so the ink wouldn't bleed or ghost through to the other pages.

The perfect notebook for a notebooker wannabe.

Sadly, this notebook sat empty for months and months because the writer was afraid. Afraid of making mistakes. Afraid of not having anything to write, and afraid that what she did write wouldn't be perfect.

These fears, which are common among many writers, are detrimental to the writing process, so she decided to join a group of other notebookers (386 to be exact) to challenge herself to write for 100 days. Yes, 100 days! The notebook was a little skeptical because the writer had never been committed to any notebook. Why should this be any different?

But the writer is doing it! She has written for over 50 days! Yes, she missed few days here and there, but showing up to the page has become a habit.

Now, this writer is trying to decide what to do with all these entries. Some of them are snippets of her day, rants, all kinds of lists, ideas she has tried out for the first time, poems, quotes from books, and her thinking about books she has read. She knows there are stories hidden within the pages and tucked in among the words. She is ready to do the work she asks of her students:  to mine the pages and look for the golden nuggets, to find the stories, and to share them with her writing friends and maybe even a stranger.

She is ready to join the Slice of Life Community for the 7th year. And I can't wait to read her stories!

Please join Two Writing Teachers and the annual Slice of Life March Challenge.

#100daysofnotebooking

Have you ever had someone share an idea with you, and you think, "Oh yeah, that would be fun!"?And then that idea grew like a snowball rolling downhill.

That is exactly what happened when Michelle Haseltine told me about her 100-day notebook challenge. It was a simple concept - write in your notebook every day for 100 days and share it on social media. Michelle's goal was to help others develop a meaningful habit of writing and to discover the power of writing and the joy it can bring.

But it has created a writing revolution.

I started my day writing about my one little word and posted it in the #100DaysofNotebooking Facebook group and on Twitter. Twelve hours and 160+ members later, writers are still posting and tweeting and sharing and commenting and inspiring and encouraging each other.

People have posted inspiring notebook pages full of one little words, thoughts, dreams, vulnerabilities, pain, and artwork. The community that has evolved from this little idea is inspiring.

Who wouldn't want to be a part of this!

As a member of #TeachWrite, I believe that teachers who write make better writing teachers. But I also believe that writing makes us better humans. One thing I learned from the events of today is that people want to write. People want to share their words. People want a community.

I don't know where this will lead, but I am honored to be a part of it.

If you are interested in learning more, check out Michelle's website here. It is not to late to join us!

A Peek into My Writer's Notebook #sol17

I believe being a writer is one of the biggest gifts you can give to your students. ~ Stacey Shubitz

This month I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge.  Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for creating a space for me to share my corner of the world.

Notebooks.  This word haunts me.  It taunts me.  It terrifies me because I want to live a writerly life, and I have this idea that "writers" keep notebooks.  I have tried keeping them.  I have tried many different kinds and sizes.  I have tried narrow ruled, regular ruled, and blank ones.  I have tried writing with fun, colorful pens and markers and colored pencils.

But I have failed each time.  I think I need to toss out the window the expectation that it has to be perfect.  Setting these expectation so high are only setting me up for failure.

There are so many metaphors for notebooks.  One of my favorites is from Ralph Fletcher in his book, What is a Writer's Notebook?  He tells a story about a ditch that was being dug at his house when he was a little boy.  He describes his writer's notebook as, 

"a ditch, an empty space that you dig in your busy life.  A space that will fill up with all sorts of fascinating creatures.  If you dig it, they will come.  You will be amazed at what you catch there."

Well, I am digging my ditch once again.  I want my students to keep a notebook, so I must model this important part of living a writerly life.  This month I am going to share bits and pieces and pages from it with all of you.  

Maybe this will turn my "haunts" into "hunts" and I just may be surprised at what I catch.

This heart map was inspired by Georgia Heard's book, Heart Maps and Shana Karnes at Learning, Love, and Literature. 

A 1971 Writer's Notebook

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for creating this space for me to share my corner of the world.

Last week a former student walked into my room and said, "Mrs. Eck, I know you like old things, and I thought you might like this."  She handed me an old journal.

"Where did you get this?"  I asked her.

"I found it in an old abandoned house in my neighborhood."

Upon further inspection, I noticed the pages, brown and brittle with the passage of time, but on each page, the writer captured the finest details of his day, recorded with neat penmanship and written with a black marker.  Every single day was recorded.

Anyone who blogs, especially those who slice, knows the power of a story.  We know that stories are all around us, and we know everyone has a story to tell.  

As I read through the pages, I began to wonder what stories this journal held.  

I found out his name was Chauncey Carr, and he lived in Louisville, Kentucky and here in Vincennes, Indiana.  

I believe he had a close relationship with his mother because he frequently wrote letters to her, and on Mother's Day he sent her $5.00.  She must have lived in my hometown, yet he traveled quite extensively - many trips to Louisville, Evansville, Cincinnati, Terre Haute, and New York City.  Again, recording all of his travels and collecting artifacts and ephemera which were carefully glued into the journal.

At some point he lived at the YMCA and "sunbathed on the rooftop."  He spoke about his quiet evenings in his room and the people who came to visit with him.

He listed his meals - what he ate, with whom he ate, and where he ate.  I assume that because he lived at the YMCA, he ate most of his meals out because he listed the cafeterias and the restaurants.  

His mother regularly sent food with him because when he would return from a trip home, he mentioned that he had a "quiet meal, food from home, in my room".  I know he enjoyed a "Big Boy (whatever that is) and pecan pie at Frisch's", and he must have made a mean Italian meatloaf when he visited home.

He was a reader!  He recorded when he finished books in the daily pages and kept a running list in the back.  He favored Agatha Christie and shopped frequently at used book stores.

To many people, this journal would be considered junk or trash.  I consider it a treasure.  He must have been a disciplined writer to record his life each and every day.

In one entry, he mentions a family that I knew from my childhood.  He says he took James "Digger" Foster to a department store and bought him a cap.  He also mentions James' sister, Rhonda on her 5th birthday.  James and I went to elementary school together, and we would have been seven years old at the time.

I would love to find out more about Chauncey.  I imagine the two of us sitting on a porch, he telling the stories in a voice like Morgan Freeman, and I listening to his every word.

He never mentions any family other than his mother.  I wonder how old he was when he lived here?  Did he pass away here?  Is he buried here?

I have always said I am a notebook wanna-be.  Seeing this notebook is simply inspirational.

The Writer's Notebook

This spring I took some time here to think about where I want to go with my blog.  I do know one of my summer goals is to reflect more about my teaching.  I want these posts to be similar to a classroom show-and-tell.  Still working on the what that looks like exactly, but I do hope teachers will share.  Sometimes tweets are just not enough, and I find myself wanting to know more.  Hopefully this will be a place to do that.

Teacher Show-and-Tell

I wrote here about the changing of professional development and how that affects my own PD.  Twitter is a constant source of do-it-yourself PD.  Tuesday night was no exception!  I participated in a debut chat, #ReadWriteChat, with moderator, Rachel Small and author/writer, Ralph Fletcher.  And what a chat it was!

Our discussion was centered around writer's notebooks.  Writer's notebooks are many things to different people.  This is an area of weakness for me as a teacher of writing.  I have tried organizing and using notebooks in different ways, but have yet to find the "right one."

Ralph tweeted that he was afraid "the notebook was in danger of becoming a workbook.  Teachers direct kids to try this or that."  I am not a worksheet teacher, and I do not want their notebooks to have this image tied to them.  But I do think a writer's notebook is a safe place to try new things such as a different lead, writing with descriptive words, or playing with words and dialogue.  His comment still has me thinking.  Is it a playground or is it a workbook?

I spend the beginning of the year launching the notebook, starting with making lists of topics and moving to writing entires.  This is where my dilemma begins.  Because I teach 4h grade and they don't care for rewriting things over and over, I try to make entries more of a "snippet" which leads to longer pieces.  I do not want them to write long pieces in their notebooks.  Instead we use yellow legal pads for drafting.  The latter part of the year, we typically do not use the writer's notebooks because we are more focused on our state writing prompts for our standardized tests.  If I only use these in the beginning of the year, what is the purpose of them?

During this chat, I thought I would ask Ralph how he would define the purpose of the notebook.

I loved his answer - "A place to collect the richness around me."  I agree with that.  I want students to capture in words their world around them.  To have a place to keep these words.  I just don't know how I want that to look.

Defining the purpose of the notebook and how to organize it is the question I have for you.  If you have some wise words of wisdom or thoughts to share about writer's notebooks, please leave a comment or write your own blog post and link it here in the comments.

Thank you for reading my first (and hopefully not the last!) Teacher Show-and-Tell!

Slice of Life - Little Notebooks for Little Slices

Two Writing Teachers

After I started blogging this summer, I knew I wanted to try the March Challenge hosted by Two Writing Teachers.  But after the first nine weeks of school, I began having some doubts.  I just didn't see how I could accomplish this goal.

It seemed as if I consistently ran out of day before my endless list was complete.  How in the world would I ever find the time to write a post every...single...day in March when I am struggling with writing one every Tuesday!

My other doubt was how would I ever find thrity-one different ideas to write about?

Reading your blogs, I have learned that many of you "borrow" ideas from each other.

Yes, the lightbulb finally came on!  Why can't I do that?  I mean, isn't that mentor text at its finest!

OK, that problem is solved, but now another one.   I read blogs anytime, anywhere...sometimes I even sneak a peak in the middle of the school day!  How will I ever remember all of those ideas I read about when sometimes I can't even remember why I walk into a room?  I always think, "Oh I'll remember that!"  Wrong!

Another lightbulb moment - find a notebook!

I decided I needed to start keeping slice ideas in a separate notebook.  After reading Terje's post last week, I knew I wanted a special notebook just for slices that was a reflection of me and my personality.

I knew I wanted it to be small enough to carry with me.  

I knew I wanted it to express my personality.  

I knew this was the one!

I was so excited that it was green polka dots, just like my blog.

So I am now "armed and ready" to start borrowing ideas, searching for those little nuggets that I can turn into a slice and collecting them in a special place.  Hopefully, by March I will have so many ideas, finding the time to write is the only thing I will be searching for.