Skip to main content

Writer's Block

Writer's block.
I've got it.
I don't know how many topics I've contemplated,
and started writing about,
and then stopped.
None of them seemed right.
Too trite.
Too contrite.
No substance.
I don't know what to write.
Keep writing something.
Anything.
I tell my students the same thing.
It's hard to do but if I don't keep going
then I'll stop writing altogether
'cause sometimes it just seems too hard.
Developing a writing habit is like exercising.
Now, that I've started exercising for 10 minutes in the morning I can't stop.
(Now, that I've started blogging every day, I can't stop.
Don't want to stop.)
I know 10 minutes isn't a lot but it's something.
A place to start.
A place to keep moving from.
What do you know?
I've got a slice!

http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/solsc-2011-4-of-31/

Comments

Deb Day said…
I really like this. I know you didn't know what to write, but write you did. I too tell my kids to just write anything--but seldom does it turn out this well!
Linda B said…
It's like the rhythm of your poem, like jumping rope for exercise. Write, write, contemplate! I will share your poem with my students-it will help them!
elsie said…
Don't let writer's block get to you. Read other slices, copy a format, just start typing. You can always delete it and save the best lines. Glad you found a slice today!
Andi Poe said…
I hear you. I think it is about the challenge of consistency. Keep at it! I enjoyed your post today.
Ruth said…
Oh My Goodness!!! This is fantastic! What you've done here is so very good. I'm glad that you started blogging and can't stop because you are a writer. This piece is one you ought to share with your students--and anyone else you can.
Becky said…
Your words are so true. This writing challenge so helps us realize what our students face some days.
Unknown said…
Thank you everybody for the encouragement and kind words. When we were talking about starting the SOL Challenge in my class we talked about how daily writing, by yourself, for just 10 minutes helps to build stamina so that on subsequent days you can keep it up and hopefully extend your time and interest. The kids likened this to a habit or an addiction. We talked a little bit about how some addictions are good for you; if you exercise every day and you skip a day or two you start to miss it and you don't feel as well. But, we also spent quite a bit of time talking about habits. The children already know about building stamina so it was easy to talk about the SOL Challenge as a way of building stamina as a writer just like we've done as readers. Now, it seems easier for them to understand the 10 minutes of silent writing we do at the beginning of writing workshop on most days. It is also critical because now they have a purpose and an audience: write a snippet of your life for someone else to read and respond to. Powerful stuff!

Popular posts from this blog

Partner Reading and Content, Too Routine (PRC2)

I'm a hoarder. There, I've said it. I try to deny that I'm a hoarder but it comes back to haunt me every time I move houses, or pack up my classroom at the end of the school year. I have old articles, lesson plans, handouts, folders brimming with teaching ideas, past issues of profesional journals. I hardly throw anything out though I've learned to be more selective over the years. My one rule of thumb, and I really try to stick to this, is that if I haven't used or referred to something in a year, then it's time to toss it into the recycle bin. One exception to this rule (you knew this was coming, didn't you?) is past issues of journals from professional organizations. However, with the ability to locate articles online through my professional memberships, even this exception is becoming less and less useful, which brings me to the topic of this blog post. I am currently reading a copy of The Reading Teacher from 2010. I've clipped a cou

The Reading Strategies Book - Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension

The strategy lessons highlighted in Chapter 12, Supporting Students’ Conversations – Speaking, Listening, and Deepening Comprehension, in The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo are critical to students’ engagement and comprehension, as well as their ability to write literary essays, or even book reviews, summaries and reflective pieces about books. If students aren’t able to talk about books in a way that is invigorating and joyful, they will be less likely to develop an interest in growing ideas for writing about books. In her introduction to this chapter, Jennifer Serravallo, reminds us that when conversations go well, children are inspired by what they read and are motivated to keep reading. However, when conversations fall flat, then kids get bored and tune out. How do we avoid this situation and teach kids to  have  focused conversations about books?  The answer is easy: teach kids  strategies to help them develop effective conversational skills .  As in

Are we listening?

A child sits alone with a ripped worksheet packet on his desk. He appears to be singing or subvocalizing something though no one hears him. Or, perhaps they're ignoring him. The teacher stands at the front of the room teaching on the SmartBoard. The children follow along in their worksheets. Except the child sitting alone. He is in his own world. No one engages him and he engages no one. My heart aches for this child. He is physically and emotionally removed from the class. I ask him why his paper is ripped. (It's not an accidental rip.) He says he did that on a different day. When he had been frustrated about the work. He tells me that he sometimes sits by himself because the work is too hard for him. He later tells me that he sits by himself because the teacher thinks he talks too much during the lesson.  He says he does that because he wants to find out about the "lives of the other children". My first impulse is to rescue him from the wrongheade