A Red Letter Day

A RED letter day!

Never did I think I would write for ONE HUNDRED days.
Really.
I prepared myself for failure.

I believed I would write consistently for a week or two and then it would dwindle off to once or twice a week until I quit.

Especially after I saw all those pretty pages or those pages of writers who tried something new. It could be pretty intimidating.

But I kept telling myself, "This is my notebook and I can do what I want!"

So I did.

When I hit 31 days and the end of January, I celebrated. And urged myself to write through February too.

And I did.

I celebrated Day 40.
I celebrated the finishing of one notebook and the beginning of another.
I wrote through vacation and a weekend visit with family.

But could I keep it up?

And, somewhere around the end of February, a little voice in my head asked, "What about March?"

I've always loved blogging and I did miss it. But could I do both?

I signed up for the slice of life challenge in a moment of weakness. Before I knew it, I was notebooking and blogging every day. I'm not saying it wasn't hard--it was--but writing has become such a habit, that I couldn't skip a day.

So here I am. One hundred days in a row of writing. My life is chronicled in the pages of these notebooks (and in 31 days of blog posts). My current notebook is almost full and a new one arrives tomorrow that will replace it.

I'll continue recording my days, and fill the notebook with words that are speaking to me and the news of the day. There will be poems and drafts and some things that will never see the light of day. But they will be mine.

I hope that someday

when I am gone,

someone

somewhere,

picks my soul up

off of these pages

and thinks, 

"I would have loved her."

                                            Nicole Lyons

{solsc} 15/31 #sol18 . Good-Bye Old Friend

Good-bye old friend.
You filled up much faster than I thought you would.
And that's a good thing
But sad also.

I loved looking at your cover every day and
The gentle nudge you provided.

I tried to start writing in you last fall.
Beginnings, I called it.

But then I put you away again
And forgot.

January found me itching to write again.
I dug you out and made a
Plan.

I dated you.

I prompted you.

I wrote.

Every day.

I filled you with
Quotes
To remind me
To Write
For me
Because I needed to.

There are post-it notes scattered throughout
With inspiration for new ideas.

There are letters and rants about
Frustrations
and Life
That will never be read
by Anyone
But Me
And that's OK.

Today
I wrote in you for the
Last Time.

But you are not gone.
You will be
Treasured and
Referred to
Many more times
As I continue to
Write My Life.

I Quit. And Then I Started Again.

"I WANT TO WRITE, BUT MORE THAN THAT, I WANT TO BRING OUT ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT LIE BURIED DEEP IN MY HEART.
~ ANNE FRANK ~

I retired.

I quit writing.

Actually, I quit writing before I retired. I'd think about blog posts. I'd try to get started. But that inner critic kept telling me that others had written it before, my thoughts weren't relevant, I had nothing to add to the conversation. And when I did retire in May, it was easy to tell myself that no one would want to read the thoughts of a teacher no longer in the classroom.

I'm not sure what is motivating me now, but I know I've spent the last couple of months preparing to start again.

• I've started a Pinterest board for Blogging and Journaling.
• I've dabbled a couple of times
• I've pulled out a new notebook
• I've scheduled my writing time in my calendar
• I've removed blank pages from my notebook

Yes. You read that last one correctly. I removed blank pages. Well, maybe remove isn't the right word. You know how we all hate the blank page? Well, I dated a week's worth of pages and wrote a writing prompt on them. That way when I sit down to write in the morning, the page isn't blank and I have a prompt to start from. 

I've found that I tend to list things at first, but when I sit down to really write, I have plenty to say. This post started from a list of all the reasons I wanted to start my blog up again:

• I need to write again
• I think about blog posts all the time--why don't I write them?
• It makes me feel good to write
• I need to write to sort things out
• I miss it
• I miss connecting with my blogging friends
• "Write like it matters and it will." Libba Bray

What I really forgot when I quit was my very first blog post, written on another site, was that I wanted a place for me to write, and Coffee With Chloe is that place.

#Write2Connect

Here I sit, wrapped in my cuddly blanket, coffee in hand, Chloe beside me, thinking about writing, thinking about all the ways it appears in my life. It's the National Day on Writing (school edition) and it seems only natural that I write.

I write about my writing periodically.

I've written about what I write and why I write  and again, what I write.

I've written when I don't have anything to write about.

I've written about tough stuff.

At times I've written about the ugly times in a writing class, but usually I write about the fun stuff.

I reflect on what writer's need and more specifically, what boy writer's need.

And sometimes, I let Chloe write.

But as I said in a previous post, "And, now, I'm back. Writing for me. Writing because I can't imagine not writing. Writing about life so the world (well, mostly the grandkids) knows I was here. Writing so others know I cared."  

What has kept me writing this blog is the connections I have made. Wonderful readers who take the time to comment, who take the time to share with me. It's amazing the friends I have throughout the world just because of this little blog. And some, even drive hours to come and visit me (and my classroom). What could have been weird and awkward, wasn't. It felt like meeting with a long lost friend because we knew each other through our blogs.

I don't only connect through the blog. My Facebook feed is slowly turning into more than a game space. Connections I have made through my blog have become friends. Many groups and teachers have pages now where ideas are shared freely. Twitter and several Twitter chats also connect me to other teachers and their amazing ideas. 

In fact, it was through Twitter connections that a new writing project for my students came to be. We are now sharing our blogs with some high school students from two other high schools in other parts of the state. So far, we've read and commented on each others, but I think all the teachers involved have more in mind as we head through the school year. My freshmen also commented on the blogs of some third graders in our district one Monday, just for fun. 

Today, I will plead with my Creative Writing students to tweet out links to their digital storytelling projects. As I watched their videos last night, I laughed and cried and gasped aloud at the amazing things they shared. Some were so personal, I hurt for them. But I also cheered at their amazing spirits and their courage to continue on another day. Some shared stories of family members who impact their daily lives. Love came through those stories. They need to know their stories matter and those stories need to be shared. 

So we will talk about connecting with the world.

Because that's what writing can do. 

A Peek Inside: My New Notebook

I started a new writer's notebook last month--my geekiness is showing, isn't it? I love it.  It's actually a notebook that I sent for a year ago and GOT FREE!  A cool free notebook--does life get better than this?


I have found the perfect pens to use when writing in it. The right pen is always an important component in writing in my notebook, It's got to look good...


I've been playing with words in it. I did write a blog draft in it.  I am adding others writing that inspires me.  "Revolution for the Tested" by Kate Messner is one I turn to a lot.

The inside cover of the notebook has a copy of a journal card that my art teacher friend gave me entitled "Introduction".

Introduction

 The last paragraph says,

We have to be willing to be observers.

To listen to leaves blow, to look for rare pennies and

to be anonymous.

Only then will our observations begin to

unfold, as we scribble, attack, write, draw, and scribble some

more until who we are slowly appears like invisible ink and

the pain stops for that split moment...and then we do it

all over again.

I apologize I can't credit this right now. When I get back to school I'll get the name of the journaling set.  It's awesome.  

I've used it with my freshmen and showed them how I add little snippets to it

A place I am comfortable/A place I am uncomfortable

I also copied a form from Angela Maiers that gave me permission to play!

Permission to play

I've stashed some previously written pieces into it. Who knows if they will see the light of day, but they are there.  There's a list of ideas for blog posts, there's a list of things to include in a writer's notebook.

I'm excited to share this with my new classes in January!

So, what's in your writer's notebook?