Write more

/ Fran Haley

I started this blog in March of 2016 because I knew I needed to write more. At the time I was leading writing workshop training for elementary teachers and teaching writing lessons across grade levels; I would go on to co-design workshops for teachers as writers. Although I’ve loved the craft all my life, I wasn’t always an active writer; if I was going to encourage others to write, that needed to change. One must walk the walk… I came across the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge too late that year, but I’ve been participating every year thereafter. I didn’t stop writing with the daily March challenge. I kept going on SOLSC Tuesdays. I found other online groups and wrote with them, too… and I kept going when my district moved away from the writing workshop model and stopped providing opportunities for teacher-writers. I kept on going when life took sharp turns. I kept writing because memories started flowing and I didn’t want to turn them off. I kept writing as a means of choosing hope over despair and because I kept coming across interesting things to try. I began recording ideas and dreams in notebooks, all the time thinking about what I might write next…for there’s so much more to write. So many more stories to tell. I love every minute, even when the writing is hardest. I have learned that just beyond that concrete wall is a garden of plenty, if I can just find the hidden door…

I don’t think I would have kept going if I hadn’t been part of a writing community that uplifts, encourages, and inspires one another.

You are the key.

I owe a debt of gratitude to all at Two Writing Teachers.

Fellow Slicers… don’t quit now.

Write more.

When you need a challenge
write more
When challenges are too much
write more
When you need silence
write more
When silence is too much
write more
When you need to know yourself
write more
When knowing yourself is too much
write more
When you need to remember
write more
When remembering is too much
write more
When your heart is full
write more
When your heart is empty
write more
When you are grateful
write more
for you cannot be too grateful
When you are out of ideas
write more
and more ideas will come
When endings come
write more
and find beginnings

My pencil pouch

*******

Thus concludes the daily Slice of Life Story Writing Challenge with Two Writing Teachers. Thank you for thirty-one days of joy.

Tomorrow is the first day of National Poetry Month; I’ll write more in VerseLove at Ethical ELA.

39 thoughts on “Write more”

  1. Fran, this is a beautiful slice filled with inspiration. It is a gift to the community.. It is your inspiration to self, “have learned that just beyond that concrete wall is a garden of plenty.” It is song of gratitude, your path to writing more. Keep bringing your sweet song, your lyrical words, your care for others, and your love of family to the world in each piece of writing that you do. You have a gift and we are benefitting from it., my friend.

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    • Such a lovely response, Carol – thank you. You know how much I admire your amazing artistry, whether it be stories, poems, images – I love it all and I know how much the world needs your own special touch in this way.

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    • I take it as a great honor for my poem to live in your notebook, Ramona! I am thankful for you and every gift you bring to the writing community – you make it an even brighter, more colorful place.

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  3. Fran, what a powerhouse of a poem! Write more. I am on the same page with you today – yes, this is only the beginning of the journey. You truly inspire readers each day with your gentle words of peace and the noticing of life going on around you. You seek the calm in the storm, and that is a gift each day to be able to rise above the troubles and turmoils and notice the calf at the fair, the carrion on the roadside, the bird on the grill of a car who may have hop, the egg in a nest. Because you are committed to writing more and to focusing your eyes on what the world needs to hear. I like your blend of prose and poetry – the closing that takes us into April as we celebrate National Poetry Month. I think you should take the Write More title and write a book! Starting with your poem. A writer’s journey…..living life with an eye for the moments that matter.

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    • Thank you for every one of these beautiful words, dear friend … and what if we had not been writing and not encountered one another?? I cannot think on that! I celebrate that we do and we did.

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  4. Fran, your memory of writing hits close to home and brings tears to my eyes. I wrote to another blogger that the experience of writing in our slicing community and the work of 31 days of writing has changed everything about the way I view writing, particularly the process. I have written before that I became a writing teacher who teaches reading, but as you said, I don’t always write about that part of my life. Writing has let me celebrate, grieve, and process. sk

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  5. “Write more” is always the right-write response to life in its myriad incarnations. Like you, I have so much more to say, so much more to write. I totally agree that to teach writing well, one must write, It’s heartbreaking to realize how many teachers don’t write. I’m looking forward to writing more with you as we gather to write more poetry during NPM.

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  6. Yes! Perfect poem. I’m forever grateful you found TWT and share here because your writing has impacted how I see the world. These lines: “I have learned that just beyond that concrete wall is a garden of plenty, if I can just find the hidden door…” really spoke to me today because for a while I’ve felt blocked and can describe that like concrete but I’ve found in these 31 days (29 to be honest=- I missed two) that writing each day (or most) has helped me somehow find the hidden door to myself again. Thanks Fran- for all you write and share. You are a gift to this community.

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    • You are ever a joy to me, Kathleen, with your encouraging words and insights. I am cheering at writing helping you find the hidden door to yourself again – it does, it DOES. From Day One of encountering you at TWT I have been grateful for the bright light you are and in awe of all you do for kids and teachers — just remember, as my Grandma would say, to take care of your precious self. Writing is there for you 🙂

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  7. I love this poem and have copied it to post somewhere (not as my own! Just so I can see it regularly). Thanks for all of your wisdom and beautiful words this month. It’s been great reading and learning for me.

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  8. I have loved walking this path with you, and look forward to many miles to come. Your blog is the one I refer to whenever I talk about Slicing as a shining example of the creativity and skill that abounds in our community. Hurray for another year of the SOLSC in the books!

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    • Chris – I am honored by your words. You know I love reading your blog as well. I rejoice that writing and blogging caused our paths to cross. I can hear your writing “voice” in my head, as comforting and familiar as a family member’s audible one. THRILLED you’re on Ethical ELA – here’s to sharing more of the fantastic journey!

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    • Aggie, as much as I love to write, it took me some time to get comfortable sharing…so your words mean much. I hope you will post on SOLSC Tuesdays – I will look for you!

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  11. Fran,
    Thank you for your encouragement. I would love to know about other writing groups you participate in. I will definitely co to use to write SOLC Tuesdays. Your beautiful words…”just beyond the concrete wall is a garden of plenty….”
    I’ll be over here looking for that hidden door. 🤍✍️

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  12. Yes! “write more” – what an inspiring post, Fran. I could really resonate with this line you wrote: “I don’t think I would have kept going if I hadn’t been part of a writing community that uplifts, encourages, and inspires one another.” I started blogging for very similar reasons.

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  14. You have provided us with the solution to life’s every challenge. I will take that with me. I look forward to reading more of your work. Thank you for all of the inspiration and encouragement you have offered me.

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  15. Such encouraging words, yet so simple: write more. Even when it’s hard and every piece doesn’t seem good enough. When I taught writing, I always wrote with my students, but I never wrote for myself. It’s time to move beyond morning “brain dumps” into a journal and push myself to see what happens. I can only do that by writing more.

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  17. Yes, thanks for your lovely post as always, Fran! Good to find out how you came to TWT and how you’ve stayed. What you say in your words and poem resonates with everyone for sure and I totally agree, that ‘write more’ is the key (love the little Secret Garden? allusion of finding that door into a wonderful garden). I am definitely intending to write more this year and also to try to drop by on Tuesdays!.

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