Thinking Like a Writer

I have been preparing for a summer writing project with a local school district. Three of us are collaborating on this project that will emphasize both teacher as writer and teacher as teacher of writing. As a teacher of teachers of writing for many years, the teaching of the pedagogy of writing is very natural. I have participated in a National Writing Project, and have attended many workshops with a focus on the teaching of writing. I have developed my own writers’ workshop for students and have taught teachers in a district and college setting how to teach writing.

The emphasis on teacher as writer has been one that has been helpful for me to explore. I believe that to successfully teach writing, teachers need to know what role writing plays in their own life. They also need to be in writing situations which we ask our students to be so that teachers of writing understand what it means to experience writers’ block or to struggle to get an idea as well as the experience of exhilaration of writing something that expresses the message in that just perfect way.

I consider myself a writer, but in my hectic teaching and home life, I don’t think I always let myself live a writer’s life—one that allows for writing to emerge. That kind of life has time built into it to write and reflect on a regular basis. I allow that space in spurts, but not on a regular basis. Someone once said to me, “You are a writer. You need to write. You need to write, write, write to a whole new you.” To build that writing space you need commitment and time as well as a passion for the written word from within.

Do teachers need to be writers to teach writing? I think they need to experience what it means to be a writer. I think teachers need to know what role writing has in their lives to be able to show students what writing means to them. They need to reflect on the role of writing in their life. And, although unnecessary for the teaching of writing, for the lucky students, they might live that writers’ life and provide from that life inspiration to their students.

In preparation for allowing teachers to explore themselves as writers, I have been reflecting on what it means to me to be a writer—think like a writer, live in the world like a writer. Below is a list of questions I asked myself around who I am as a writer. If you are a teacher of writing, these might be helpful to you.

Before writing or creating, what are some of your favorite rituals?
When I am writing something and I am not quite sure of the direction I am taking the writing, I like to do something physical--walk, rake leaves, clean my house--in the physical activities I often clear my mind so that I can really concentrate on the task at hand. It also helps my thinking to be in a place of creativity and production.

What kind of writer are you and what do you love about writing?
I think most people would say I am a good technical writer--I write for clarity in a very natural way. What I love about writing is the creative aspect--the part that reaches into your spirit and brings out something that you couldn't name before you wrote the words. There is a creation there that is very fulfilling--to me that is what poetry is all about and I love writing poetry.

What inspires you to write?
Things that touch me in a deep way inspire me to write. Other writing, something beautiful in nature, people who do and live with passion and meaning. All of these things inspire me to live and write deeply. The living and the writing are interconnected to me.

What words of support and encouragement can you share with other writers?
Don't write for perfection. Write for expression. The first time you write don't feel like you need a finished product. The finished product comes through the process. Also, keep a stack of books that you find inspirational near you to read on a regular basis. Two of my favorites are Julia Cameron’s, The Right to Write, a small book that has short pieces about writing and living the writer’s life. My other favorite is Mary Oliver's poetry book called Thirst. I love her poetry and it inspires my writing when I need encouragement.

Do you ever dislike and feel frustrated by your writing? If so, what kinds of things help you?
When I am frustrated with my writing, I put it away--for a day, for a month, for an hour--for a period so that I can get perspective. When I come back with fresh eyes, I can usually see what wasn't working and fix it, or come to the task in a completely different way, or throw it away and start a new piece.


What questions are important to you as a writer? I am interested in other’s thinking about what it means to be a teacher of writing who sees themselves as a writer. If this is something you have explored, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Snapshots

Home from Connecticut. Used the day to spend with my daughter and explore the new technology that inspired me during the Institute. I downloaded Picasa and spent a good part of the day organizing photos (haphazardly--still in the learning stage). And creating a collage that I want as my desktop screen. Haven't figured out how to do that yet, but have figured out how to put that same collage into my blog.

So often we get caught up in all of the business and things needing attention. Today it was nice to look at my life as I organized and downloaded pictures on a small scale and be grateful. Snapshots of time.

Part of becoming good at something is exploring. Today I participated in exploring technology and blogging. It is a wonderful life!

Why blog?

I am at the Communities for Learning Summer Institute, 2009. Two years ago I started this blog with what I call my Passion for Literacy Statement. And the statement just sat there--no one read it or commented on it (not that I told anyone to read it or comment on it--I thought they would just come). The in-interactivity made me feel that if I were to use this spot it would be like a journal or diary and I already do that somewhere else. So I abandoned it.

I also felt that to use this blog I only needed to post my finished thinking and I just don't have time to finish pieces of writing. Plus I don't have a lot of finished thinking. So I abandoned it.

At our fellowship this summer, Angela, one of our fellows, gave me two amazing insights. She talked about the purpose of blogging as different from that of publishing an essay or book. Blogging is a place to evolve one's thinking by putting writing in a place where collective thinking can happen.

First--she talked about how to engage other readers who are bloggers. She described the way to get others to read a blog is to first read their blogs, comment about their thinking and make connections that help other bloggers to realize that reading your blog might be of interest to them and that we both benefit from reading what each other has written.

Secondly, she talked about blogging as a place to crystalyze and to stretch thinking--not as a forum to print final thinking. That makes so much sense to me and it lifted up the pressure I felt to only put on my blog finished pieces. As I read your work and comment on it, my thinking evolves as it does when you read my writing and it causes you to wonder, or it makes you think of a concept in a slightly different way.

So I am going to venture into the land of the blog once again. I am going to start small--read and comment on others' blogs at least three times a week, write in this space in a regular way and look to use this cyber-space to interact as a way to learn and to stretch my thinking about literacy, leadership and educational issues.