Getting Back to the Practice of Writing

Welcome teachers to a new year! We hope you’re feeling renewed after the winter break, ready to jump into this final half of the year with your writers.
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Just like getting back to the gym after a long time away is awkward and exhausting, getting back to a regular writing practice is often a frustrating experience of fits and starts. This could be true for you; it’s most certainly for your students. To help shake off the dust on those daybooks and pens, we’ve compiled some strategies to get YOU and YOUR STUDENTS back to writing. Think of these like the Jazzercise class you sign up for on a whim in the second week of January. Is it something you’d do every week? Nah, probably not. But it’s just ridiculous enough to draw you back to exercising. Embrace the weird, and write on y’all!

1. Divide your paper into 4-5 sections, the less even the better. NOW your goal is just to fill each space. They’re small so this is no big deal. It’s your call whether you stay on one topic or change every time you move into a new section. Mix it up and turn your paper so the writing faces different directions as you move between sections.
2. Set a timer for FIVE minutes. Now go! Don’t stop writing for a full 5 minutes. When you run out of steam, write “I don’t know what else to say” repeatedly until a new idea comes. Keep that pen moving. Stop after your five minutes and read back through what’s there. Try to approach this stream of ideas as the writing of a stranger. Annotate with questions, comments, further ideas your own writing. Who is this person on the page?
3. Write to someone. Write a letter you’d never send – express anger, undying love, jealousy, WHATEVER you’d like to say but usually have the good sense or decency to keep to yourself. Alternatively, write the letter you’d like to receive from someone else.
4. Become a snoop and pay attention to the conversations happening around you. Then in your notebook record what you would have said in those conversations. Imagine what the participants were really thinking or what happened after you stopped listening.
5. Beautify/funkify your previous entries. One of the best ways to get you back into your notebook is for it to be something you like to look at. Go back and add colorful borders or illustrations to what’s already there. Tape in memorabilia, quotes, fun images. This is the time to raid your sticker stash you’ve had since elementary school. Decorate the cover. Make it uniquely yours.