Welcome to March!
This is my seventh year participating in the Slice of Life Challenge. When I signed up for the first time, six years ago, I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into. I signed up on a whim, after some encouragement from my friend Erika. That year, I got to know new friends through their writing. I shared plenty of posts with my real life friends, inspired by the brilliance and experiences of these new pals. It was through the sharing of slices and my own experiences, that I recruited some of my real life friends to join in subsequent years. That is how my virtual and “in person” writing worlds collided. I can honestly say that this community has changed my life.
Yesterday, one of my virtual slicing friends from the very beginning, Susan Kennedy wrote The Day Before. In this piece Susan said:
The biggest truth about my writing and lack of writing is that my orientation to being a writing teacher completely changed once I started writing regularly. That single act of being a writer gave me a completely different perspective about writing with students.
This is the truth. I know I am a better teaching of writing because I write and I live a writerly life. In addition, I have come to know people in new ways. Writing also helps me to process the world and document the small moments of my life. This experience and this community are truly a gift.
I wanted to share this gift with even more people this year, but I knew 31 days of writing might be hard sell. So, with the help of my best writing partner, Dawn, we put out an invitation to our school community. We posted a giant March calendar right in the hallway of our school and asked the question, “As a community, can we write for 31 days?” We invited staff members to sign up for just one day of writing, to share just one of their stories. Each day, we will share a story and encourage comments on our new school blog. I’m so excited for more members of our community to get the thrill of sharing one of their stories and for the chance for our community to know one another better through our writing.
This March, I have no game plan. No slices in the bank ready to go. But I know the ideas will come…and when they don’t, I’ll find inspiration from the community of writers I get to be a part of.
Welcome to March!
Where There Is Joy 
Huh?! I just read your writing partners entry. I had missed that in January. I really liked it. I don’t really have a writing partner…except that every Monday night (or every night in March), I say, “What should I write about?!” in the vicinity of my wife (or daughter when she was sheltering in place that past two years), and they would shout out ideas until I walked out of the room. I’m reading posts for ideas right now, since neither of those writing partners are home tonight. Thanks for posting the picture of the calendar. I have Thursday this week, so I need to find out where the SES blog is located!
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Just send me your post and I’ll upload it!
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Also, I scheduled this post to post at midnight…so that’s a glitch I need to work out.
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I also think these communities of writers hold us accountable to not only write, but go public by sharing which is a big piece of the process that helps learn and grow! Can’t wait to see what we learn from our SES writers!!
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I love the Saugatuck Writes idea- what a great way to make it less intimidating and get people to start! Looking forward to reconnecting this month! ❤️
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Dawn and I were just wondering if you’d be here. So glad you are!
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Thank you and welcome to March.I love writing and it is fun to be able to write something everyday.
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“I know I am a better teaching of writing because I write and I live a writerly life”
Same here.
I love your school community of writers idea, too.
Kevin
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Sending you love today. It’s our anniversary! What a friendship we’ve formed over these years. I love h your school wide idea. Can’t wait to hear more about how it gos. For now, welcome to March, where we will dig into our craft and our coaching. ❤️
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Right back at you! Grateful for you! ❤️
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I’m glad to be here with you, once again! I love the Saugatuck Writes idea! Brilliant!
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What an excellent way to invite and sustain community!
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What a great idea!!!! I can’t wait to hear about how your school blog goes!
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What a fantastic idea! I *think* I’ve convinced one other teacher to join this year, bringing my total convincing to three (hahaha), but the idea of a calendar where different people commit – perfect! As usual, you lead my thinking in new directions. 🙂
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What a great idea, nothing quite like writing in community. I have to work out how to get ESL teachers to be persuaded to write something…! Maybe along the lines of the more you write, the better you will get…!
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