Writing for Savoring

I don’t know about you, but writing wasn’t my favorite subject in my first 12 years of education. My favorite was reading, later called Literature. I spent many happy hours selecting books from bookshelves of the local public library. I savored books. I still read all the time. And I found out how to savor writing. As a young adult I wrote a dissertation and journal articles. Currently I write books, a weekly blog, and I opened to the compact writing of poetry.

The National Day on Writing is celebrated October 20. The annual event (since 2009) was birthed by the National Council of Teachers in English. One goal of the teachers is to highlight the incredible variety of writing – including old fashioned pen-to-paper journal writing alongside emails, texts, and other social media blurbs. A recent emphasis asks students to share #WhyIWrite.

The New York Times has a column, “The Good List,” by Melissa Kirsch. She wrote about a retired elementary school teacher, David Millstone, who shared with her his genius writing habit he created for his students. At the end of each school day, his class was asked to give a name for that day. Millstone wrote his students’ responses on the board. But here is the twist that added to class collective creativity: the students learned democracy by voting on which “name” best captured each day. Sometimes one response grabbed everyone in some way. On the last day of school Millstone gave each student a written copy of all the voted names from their school year, along with their report card. Amassing 175 names for each school day in one year took on a life of its own. Millstone still remembers one day from 40 years ago: “The Day Gretchen Found a Crumb on Her Desk.”

In case you do not have a classroom filled with creatives, here is a substitute: Millstone and his wife began giving “names” to each day of their shared vacations. They compared notes. His wife kept a photo album (remember those?) and included their captions with trip photos.

I am a fan of pictographs carved on rocks. Sometimes referred to as “rock art,” I prefer to see these crude drawings as writing tablets to tell the world, “I was here.” Perhaps that is the reason why all writers write. If something occurs to you in a particular way, why not share it with others? Some will resonate with your writing. Others will dismiss your words. But in the end, you have left your mark: “I was here and these were my thoughts today.”

Write on this National Day on Writing. Perhaps tell a complete story in only 6 words…perhaps create 3-line Haiku poems…perhaps write and send a letter to a special person in your life. As author Karen Lamb suggests, “A year from now you will wish you had started today.”

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

542. What is your early memory of writing in school?

543. How do you use writing today?