Along with writing for 31 straight days as part of the Slice of Life writing challenge during the month of March through Two Writing Teachers, writers are also challenged and encouraged to respond to at least three different bloggers' posts each day.
So last night as I was looking through the posts on the website I came across a hook that brought me to another writer's post. Today I don't remember much about the post but it is part of the hook that I thought about all last night when I couldn't sleep and still today. This blogger had a title and in parentheses put (Not a band-aid story).
This stemmed from the blog post earlier that week on the Two Writing Teacher's site. The post talked about the difference between storytelling and band-aids. You can read it here if you want. I understand the gist of this post. The goal of the challenge is to write stories. Small moments. Don't get in the habit of throwing something down for the sake of getting your "story" done for the day. This post went on to also give some good advice about teaching students to write and not use band-aids all the time. But I am still clearly bothered by it. And maybe I am wrong but if someone needs to write "not a band-aid story" in their hook, maybe they are too.
Here is what I know. There are nights that I am tired. For example, Monday when I spent most of my evening waiting to be seen by urgent care then getting sent for an x-ray, then waiting to find out if I had pneumonia. The last thing I felt like doing was writing, but I signed up for this challenge and was going to follow through. It was not my best piece of work. Actually, I wasn't happy with it when I published it. But I also knew that I would go back to it at some point and work on it. Almost every post I make, I always read and reread, and revise and reread, and revise, and you get it. It is a constant cycle.
I read a tweet from Kelly Gallagher a few years ago. It said, " No paper is ever finished. It is just due. Papers always remain eligible for revision, even after a grade is placed. Latest papers are called "best drafts," never "final drafts."
I loved this and started using this language with my fifth graders last year. I noticed a huge weight being lifted off their shoulders. No pressure. And I still received quality work.
To me a band-aid is the sign of an injury. A weakness for the moment. And I don't think that any type of writing is a weakness. It is just a starting point. For some people it is where they need to begin so they can get to their "best draft."
I agree with you. I remember one year during the Slice of Life challenge I had hit a wall. I sat there for fifteen minutes trying to figure out what to write about. Finally I just started listing things I could write about but couldn't since I already had. Was this a stellar Slice? No. But did it have a nice flow? Yes. Did I ever go back and work on it? No. But I did expand on it later.
ReplyDeleteThere's so much truth here. All efforts to write take strength and courage, as evidenced by your pneumonia post. (I hope you're feeling better, by the way!)
ReplyDeleteGetting there. No pneumonia but asthmatic bronchitis, which is like a double whammy. I will pull through and rest up this weekend!
DeleteI agree, and sometimes a person just needs that band aid to protect the wound and begin to heal
ReplyDeleteI've read the Band-Aid post several times, and I am still struggling to find a way to read it where it doesn't sound like scolding. If even one person is discouraged by that post, then there's something wrong, and there are several comments on that post itself that indicate discouragement as well as many comments and posts I've seen over the past couple of days. I don't expect discouragement to be part of this writing challenge! I can't help but think there would have been a much more positive and kind way to nudge Slicers toward more story if that was felt to be necessary.
ReplyDeleteI can't agree with you more. I felt as though there was a hidden agenda in it, whether it was meant to be or not. I was up thinking about it all night. I am glad I am not the only one who thought that.
DeleteFirst, take care; get well. Your post reminds me that blogging is first-draft writing. That’s always how I approach it. And at some point I always get demoralized because I comment on many posts most days but often receive few comments. I have to remind myself what matters, and that’s my writing.
ReplyDeleteI read the band aide post. I commented that I find the posts written to get something posted offensive. That might not be the best choice of words, but blogging is about going public w/ ideas and inviting others to read, so while it is first draft writing, it should not be a post to post. I expect more than that from students when they hit “submit” on their best writing. But as I said on the band aide post, I also don’t have to read a post. I’ve been thinking about that choice is itself a judgment and a form of silencing or censorship.
I’ve made a conscious choice this year, for example, not to comment on a few slicers’ blogs because they hurt my feelings. That made me want to disengage.
Anyway, I appreciate your post today and the thinking it’s making me do.
Love the comparison to our writing and using the band-aids... makes it so much easier to explain to the kiddos in ways we can adjust our writing
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, but was too chicken to say so. I LOVED the Kelly Gallagher quote, too. I'm going to remember that one!
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