The Writing Teacher – Maintaining a Writing Life

When consciously thinking of our health and possibly how much exercise we are getting we often think of incidental exercise - parking the car a little further from the office or grocery store, walking to the local shops instead of driving, digging out the bike from the garage... when thinking about creative pursuits though, it is evident that many do not have the same strategies for 'incidental writing,' or 'incidental art.' 

I have given some time to thinking about how I can be more tactical in ensuring I spend some time on creative pursuits that bring joy into my life.

1. Paper

Take a journal with you to jot down ideas. An A6 journal will fit into your pocket and so will a little pencil or pen. If you use a paper diary or organiser for work or life perhaps you could pop a few blank pages into the back and these will serve as your 'on the go' place to record ideas.

2. Notes (now, I mean, electronic Notes... don't you love how we name electronic things after their analogue variety?)

If you use Apple devices it is possible to set up a Notes page in your iPhone and attach it to cloud storage and this is when things get a lot easier. Linked Notes accounts allow almost instantaneous syncing between iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, etc. so regardless of what you are doing you can write down a quick note or continue to work on a piece you started at an earlier time. Your limerick will be across all devices before you have even had a chance to finish editing!

3. Shower Notes 

In a media rich world, quiet time to reflect is hard to come by. Many creatives state openly that inspiration comes to them whilst showering but it is not great for your notebook or smart phone to be smashing out ideas whilst dripping wet. My partner bought me Aqua Notes a few years ago and they wait patiently in the shower cubicle until genius strikes. Also handy for grocery lists.

4. Writing Goals

I set a personal challenge this year to write a poem a day (I am having varying degrees of success with this commitment). I figure that even if they are short or remain perpetually in draft form (very draughty draft form) it is still work that I would not have if I didn't set myself a challenge and hey, you can't edit a blank page.

5. Don't Make it into Work

I often set projects that soon become another thing on my to do list and instead of being a source of joy they become work. If time limits, word counts, and other such restrictions make your creative pursuits into work, leave them!

6. Morning Pages

Angela Cameron’s The Artist’s Way is a very well-known text that provides a range of ideas and provocations to nurture and revitalise your creative approach. One of these is Morning Pages – three A4 pages of writing first thing in the morning. I got my husband onto this bandwagon as well and each morning for several months we made cereal and began writing. After about 25 minutes our pages were done, we would file them in an envelope and continue getting ready for work. I attribute the ability to move through some very difficult situations in my life to the catharsis of Cameron’s Morning Pages. I need to tweak my morning routine somewhat to get them back into my life. 

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Writing Strategies for Stages 3 and 4

Corporate life has been quite a change after almost a decade in the classroom and it was quite a steep learning curve for a time. Now, after a year in the role I have learnt a great deal and I am sure this will continue as the role moves and changes to ensure better support for schools.

I have had the opportunity to develop some presentations for conferences and networks and of course with a great deal of presenting, I think I am more confident in delivering material. I worked with a colleague last year to develop a session on Writing Strategies which meant I could draw on strategies I have utilised with my own students but also, it gave me an opportunity to research the teaching of writing and I have uncovered many resources that will guide me when I return to the classroom.

Here is a copy of the Writing Strategies for Stages 3 and 4 slides, participant booklet, and the resources (also found in the participant booklet).