To Write Or Not to Write

I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because school starts in less than two weeks - who has time to proofread?!

In  June I signed up for Teachers Write, a free summer writing program with prompts and advice and feedback from authors and other writers and teachers. For the first week, I stayed with every day's activities. Then we left for a vacation, and I thought, "I'll pick it up when we get home."

I took my writer's notebook with me on the trip. I even got a story idea that I jotted down so I wouldn't forget. And I wrote in a travel journal while we were gone. I kept track of all the things we did while on vacation. When we got home I saw all the Facebook notices about what I missed from Teachers Write, but I wasn't ready to dive in again. I was "still on vacation."

Two weeks later, I could no longer cite the "I'm still on vacation" excuse. If I'm honest with myself, I'm not writing - and not reading about writing - because I'm scared....

.... scared to sit down and try this story idea and find out I can't pull together more than a paragraph.
.... scared to wrestle with writing or planning - do I dive in and see where things go or do I outline a plan?
.... scared to write about things that are tense or that scare me
.... scared to find out I can't write fiction
.... scared to find out that what I do finally write just stinks

Writing is fear for me right now. Jon Acuff would tell me to "punch fear in the face." I guess it's time to dive back in and see if fear is ready for a pounding.

Thank Twitter for My Tribe!

I'm not sure how it happened.... I've had a Twitter account for awhile, but in the last month or so I've been using it throughout the day and really getting into the swing of it.

While I can't remember what got it started, I do know what has kept it going - teacher talk! I have found a community of teachers and librarians who are on twitter talking about books and reading and teaching and students and authors and all the other things I adore. I have found tweetchats like #kidlitchat and #teachchat.
I have found reading challenges like #bookaday and #SummerThrowdown (I am SO excited about this one - teachers and librarians competing over reading. I can't wait to find out more!). I've been introduced to new authors, new books for my students and new professional development for me, both books and events.

One event starts next week and that is #TeachersWrite. It kicks off next Monday and will be several weeks of writing prompts, writing blog posts and writing encouragement for teachers/educators who want to put their money/time/effort where their mouths are and do the things they ask their students to do all school year long. I can't wait! You can find out more about it here.

After two years in our school library, I feel like I am still getting a feel for my role at school - a feel for what teachers are passionate about what parts of their jobs and what form that passion takes. I haven't found the readers yet on staff - the folks who are reading what the students are reading, and talking to students about the things they are reading and clicking with kids over books. I've seen hints, and I am getting to know the teachers who read often to their students. But I still haven't clicked with anyone on the same manic-book-loving level as I am in my building.

But I have found those people on Twitter. In fact, a lot of them make me look like an amateur. So I am learning a lot and trying to find my way and my place in the conversation. But it is encouraging to feel like part of a "tribe" of folks who are passionate about books and connecting students with stories and developing readers. I am eager to look back over this summer and see how I grow and how I am energized for a new school year by these folks and these activities.