If reading is a love affair;writing is a marriage. You have to commit to it and as a wise chiropracter once said to me ‘ It’s true freedom’. Don’t ask! However, I know what she means now.The real joy of writing, once you have battled the demons involved in picking up the pen or traversing the qwerty keys, is the purity of the experience;the precious flow of the words on the page; the liminal play of words in your mind.
The response I have had to Myself as a Reader made me consider a simple question. How often do we ask children about their writing? Their experience of the one task that hugely shapes their profile as a learner? What might that feedback provide for us? For them? So…….
Myself as a Writer
The idea of this piece of writing is to get you thinking about the kind of writer you are at the moment and how you came to be so.
You may write in any way you please and you may concentrate on whatever in the list interests you most.
There is probably too much here for you to cover everything adequately anyway, so follow the direction which holds fascination for you!
What do you write…and why?
What are your thoughts and attitudes towards different things that you write?
fiction non-fiction novels poems schoolwork books newspapers comics magazines articles chapters books play scripts recipes letters notes leaflets notices advertisements graffiti songs computer programmes apps blogs Twitter profiles and Tweets Text messages on your phone or Kick Facebook entries
Make a list of all that you write in one day
- How do you write each item?
- Where?
- When?
- How much time does it take?
- By hand or on computer?
- On your phone or on a tablet
- What else are you doing as you are writing?
- Do you re-read every word you write?
- What do you feel as you write?
- What do you think?
- Did you choose this writing?
- Why are you writing?
- Does what you write encourage you to read the writing of others?
Learning to write: early memories
Think of some of your early memories of writing. Think about feelings you connect with learning to write.
Can you describe?
The first time you were asked to write your signature?
How and why you chose the style of signature you decided to use?
Have you changed it since, if so why?
The first story, poem or non-fiction piece you wrote?
Did you find writing easy or difficult? How do you find it now?
Which rules for writing do you think are the most important and why?
Do you remember your first proper pen?
Learning how to write in a joined up style?
Think of one particular piece of writing that stands out.
What does it look like to your memory?
Think of the way you organised the words on the page, the title you gave the work and any illustrations or quotations you used to bring the writing alive.
Did you use any new or adventurous vocabulary that you are still proud of today? Who did you do this piece of writing for? What impact did completing this work have on you as both a learner and a writer?
Did anyone ever help you learn to write? Who was that person? In what situation? Do you let others read your writing? Do you enjoy doing so? Do they suggest you make changes?
Do you write for yourself? Do you have a special book you write in or app you like to use for it? What do you like about them? Why? What do they mean to you?
Choosing what to write
How do you choose what to write?
How have your choices changed?
Jot down a list of all the writing you have completed in the last week or two. School work, blogs, texts, poems, song lyrics, books, webpages , PowerPoints, magazines articles, computer programmes, apps or other texts that you have written recently.
What sort of patterns emerge? Does one piece of writing lead to another, something which catches your interest and make you want to write on….to reshape, refine your work?
Which writer’s voice or stories did you first love? How have they influenced the way you write? Where are you happiest writing? Do you have a favourite punctuation mark? Why do you like it so much? What is your favourite word? Why?
Do you worry about or love grammar? Do you know or think about how the order in which you choose to place your words will impact on your reader? Can you ever truly know this? Is this what makes writing exciting?
Which words do you find most difficult to spell? Do you have any tricks you use to help you remember difficult spellings?
How often do you plan your writing? Think about the words you write? Which ones do you love or overuse? Which writing rules do you find the most difficult to remember and why? Do you react to the appearance of writing in a book, on a screen, on your phone? Do you have a favourite font? On Microsoft word which are your favourite options for checking or presenting your writing?
Are there any people who have influenced your writing in some way? Either by their encouragement, help and recommendations, or by putting you off?
What kind of writing materials are you aware of at home and in the homes of friends and relatives? How has that influenced you as a writer?
How does having to write, rather than choosing to, affect your writing? Do you enjoy writing in school? Where, when and why?
Do you write quickly or slowly? Do you plan the end of a story before you have finished it? Are you willing to start a piece of writing and leave it unfinished or do you have to write it to the end? How much do you write? Are you happy if you write less than a page? Do you take pride in the appearance of your handwriting?
Do you like to write poetry? How? When?
Do you enjoy reading writing by other people in your class? Where and when do you like to write best?
What is your favourite piece of writing in the last week?
Has anything you have written ever changed or developed your view on things? Describe the effect this had on you. Or are there things you have written which have tied in with your view of yourself and world?
If you had to take one piece of your writing with you to a desert island from which you will never return, which would it be?
There is another blog to come here, Myself as a Speaker, and that will follow next week. Please add questions or ideas to this work – I am sure that my knowledge of writing on digital platforms needs to be added to! Please write back.
