It is March 16th, which means that I have completed 15 of the 31 blog posts in my first-ever Slice of Life Challenge. Today, I'm taking a moment to ponder my feelings about accepting this challenge.
There are days when I love blogging. These are the days when I feel connected to a world of other writers whose words encourage and inspire me. These are days when the words just flow and my only problem is that I can't move my fingers across the keyboard fast enough to keep up with the thoughts pouring out of my brain. These are the days when I realize that I've been "thinking like a writer" and seeing details in life I would have missed only 16 days ago.
But to be honest, there are some days when I don't love it. There are days when I give up on the idea of ideas pouring out of my head and just pray for a trickle...something...anything. There are days when I spend thirty or forty minutes writing, only to re-read what I wrote and then delete it all, discouraged by the blank screen staring back at me.
After contemplating my love-hate relationship with blogging, I have come to this conclusion:
That first set of days is wonderful. They are the days when I have the most warm-fuzzy writer feelings. But, I believe that perhaps the second set of days--the ones others might call "bad"--are the ones that keep me coming back. The days when it is hard remind me of the reason I accepted this challenge in the first place. When I struggle to improve my own writing craft in my native language, I am reminded of the difficulties my past and future students (will) face as they write in a second language. When I discover ways to improve my own writing, I think of future opportunities I will have to share these discoveries with students. When I fear that people will think my writing is sub-par, I think of those kids who have certainly felt similarly. And so, I'm glad that I accepted the SOL Challenge 16 days ago! It is most certainly a challenge, but it is a rewarding one.
I agree...It is challenging and rewarding!
ReplyDeleteIt's helped me think of my students too!
It is interesting how it is the challenge of writing everyday that produces the clearest experience of its value. It is what keeps me coming back to this March experience year after year.
ReplyDeleteWriting daily certainly has put the angst I was feeling over weekly blogposts in perspective. Get'er done.
ReplyDeleteWhen we ask kids to do it, we can now identify with their range of emotions, right? I am always amazed at what comes out of me when I know I am going to make time for writing--no escape hatch--every single day. Even if I don't love a piece of writing that I've produced, I love the feeling of productivity and know that I can come back to it and revise... but that's my choice as the writer! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with all you said. This is my first challenge and I am so glad I decided to participate for many reasons. But one of the most important is putting myself in my students' shoes. I feel their anxiety, their excitement and their dread. You are so right - it is rewarding!
ReplyDeleteYou have captured the difficulty with this Challenge perfectly - this is hard work, but every day we ask our writing workshop students to take out their writer's notebooks and write entries. The SOLSC allows us to experience what our kids do - and by participating, and sweating out the low day, we learn how to help them.
ReplyDeleteOk, I can't believe we were thinking so similarly at pretty much the same time! :-) I love how you contrasted the in-the-zone days with the difficult days to show the ups & downs of this writing work. I'm so glad you joined the challenge this year, and so glad to know that you're having such a similar experience as me! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou are a very talented writer and thinker. There is no doubt about that. I'm am so impressed by the honesty that you write about...it is slogging through the bad days also...very important. xo
ReplyDeleteI am glad you decided to take up this challenge! I have enjoyed reading your posts. I have been rewarded every time I have visited your blog!
ReplyDeleteYea for you, Laura! Now that you've made it more than half of the way, it's going to be easier from here on out!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! This is how our students feel: "love-hate relationship" and self-doubt.
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