It's March, and March is for slicing. Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices!
Every year, slicing has led me to insights about writing, and I think if I curated my March 31 posts over the years, I could integrate many of my ideas. This year feels different than previous years have felt. This year, three of my four daughters have been participating. Over the years, I have developed relationships with many slicers. However, slicing with people I already know and and love has offered me windows into their daily worlds, insights into their hopes and dreams, and admiration of their writing abilities.
My conversation with Julia, daughter #2, really got me thinking. "Larkin is such a good writer," Julia said as we talked on the phone. "She's so naturally talented and funny and good at expressing herself."
Insight #1 that I shared with Julia: Larkin is not a strong writer because she is naturally good at it. She's been slicing every March since she was 15, and she writes almost every day for her work. Yes, she was a strong writer in kindergarten, but she has worked really hard at her craft. Dave Burgess, the author of Teach Like a Pirate gave a keynote years ago, and his message has stayed with me. One of the most offensive thing people could say to him was that "It's so easy for you." His point was that this comment devalues all the work he's done to make it look easy.
Julia also shared that sometimes she reads Larkin's posts after she's written her own, and she feels inferior. What an important point to consider as I work with children every day, and I don't know that I will ever consider the fragile egos of children enough.
Insight #2 that I thought about after our conversation: Yes, it IS hard to see, feel, and be inferior to other writers, and YES, there are all different levels of writers in classrooms and in the world. And ALSO, very few writers think they're as good as they are. If I didn't share my writing until I felt like it was the cream of the crop, I'd NEVER share my writing. No matter how many posts I write, how many books I publish, and how many positive reviews I receive, I feel vulnerable and insecure about how my work measures up. I remember years ago when I brought children to visit Patricia MacLachlan, and one child read a passage from one of her books to her. She placed her hand over her heart and said, "Oh my goodness, I wrote that?" Even a Newbery Award winner is surprised by her own writing.
If you are reading this, thank you. Thank you for being an audience, and a part of this amazing community.
I understand Julia's writing insecurities. Every year during SOL I tell friends that I discover so many teacher writers who should be professional writers. I love the way words on a page can do that to us all!
ReplyDeleteWell said! The insecurities of a writer were loud and clear when Amina Luqman-Dawson spoke to my students on Friday, She didn't even tell any in her extended family that she was writing because of her insecurities. When we asked if she was working on another book, she simply said yes and I could tell she didn't want to talk about it. The big take away was how many rewrites she did to publish Freewater. Writing is hard was her theme. Despite it being so hard, I am glad we all show up. And what a proud mom you must be, to have your grown daughters participating! Go Meehan Women!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a well needed post this morning as I am feeling like I should have deeper and more profound messages in my writing which to be honest is really just slices of my life! There are amazing polished writers, like you, who stimulate my thinking and motivate my writing. While it gets easier every year, I have a long way to go! KUDOS to your daughters!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love that the girls comment on each other's writing. What a great way to strengthen family relationships.
ReplyDeleteGosh everyone's posts today keep hitting! I just had this conversation with my therapist... not necessarily about writing, but about feelings like this in general. This challenge is so fun, pushes me outside my comfort zone, and I'm so glad to have it to look forward to, despite sometimes wanting to quit (like today). Proud of you for the community you've helped build!
ReplyDeleteKudos to you and your daughters for embracing this annual writing extravaganza! Your post reminds me of how our outlook on writing can change over time; how we shed some insecurities and layer on new ones. Slicing has become a 'hell-or-high water' fixture for me because of the community. I use slices as a lab for all sorts of experimentation. The one thing I don't worry about here is a need to 'measure up.' So very grateful to be audience and player.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you shared these thoughts, with your girls and with us. I agree, often when writing looks effortless it is because of all the effort and ability to self-edit, built up over time. The more time you spend at it, the more you realize that time is what matters. And I just love that Patricia MacLaughlen story.
ReplyDeleteThese are such important insights. Thank you for sharing them--I definitely need to be thinking about them as my students head into their own Slice of Life challenge. I am going to need to think about how to help students recognize the work others put into crafting writing and how to help them embrace messy first drafts.
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