"I get the ideas from everything.
Children sometimes think you have to write special experiences to write,
but good writing brings out what's special in ordinary things."
Laurence Yep.
Writing Wellspring
Kid watching. Student feedback. Lesson plan reflection. High school teaching. Colleague conversations. Literacy coaching. Middle school teaching. Early morning dog walks. Comic strip creating. Coffee shop customers. Grocery shopping checkout lines. Music lesson waiting room people watching. Play dates. Puppy training. Snuggling. I gain writing ideas from noticing.
Overheard student conversations. Teacher lounge banter. Staff meetings. Powerful speakers. Inspiring podcasts. Song lyrics. Pokemon story snippets from my children. Girl Scout troop ideas. Familiar childhood sayings. Sermons from Reverend Allie. Toddler questions. Saved voicemail messages from Grandma Geanne. My inner voice - sometimes full of self-criticism, other times with a hint of encouragement. I gain writing ideas from listening.
Lifted lines from poems, songs, nonfiction, novels, children's books. Amy Krouse Rosenthal books for adults and children. Professional articles. Books about writing and books about teaching writers. Tweets. Instagram posts. Facebook. Blog posts. Book reviews. Recipe books. My past writer's notebook entries. I gain writing ideas from reading.
Instructing middle and high school learners and adults. Retrospective Miscue Analysis. Emulating mentor texts. Teaching adjunct courses. Designing and leading professional development sessions. Swimming. Traveling abroad. Parenting. Cross stitch. Crocheting. Gardening. Letter writing. Baking bread. Making risotto from scratch. Playing with words and phrases and dialog and voice. Struggling as a young reader. Loss. Writing my way out. I gain writing ideas from experiencing.
Such a wonderful reminder that the world is full of writing ideas. I love that quote at the beginning and the way you end each section. This should be on a poster or bookmark for students.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I seriously wrote this more for me than anyone. I easily get hung up on the idea that I have nothing to write about. I think that kids get this way too!
DeleteAre you joining the A2Z blogging challenge in April? I’ve done it twice and am thinking about doing it this year. You have your topic list in this post.
DeleteWow. An awesome list. Using this you could write a whole book.
ReplyDeleteThis is so wonderful. I am reminded, reading this, of all that I have to write about as well. Thank you for this.
ReplyDelete