When our slicing gets done, this is where my “Friday Thoughts” would go. I did that last week and the title got a bit long! 🙂
Well, after 10 days straight of blogging, I hit a “blah” wall of watching no words popping up on my screen. It seems a number of Slicers have hit that wall, so I’m not feeling quite so bad. Along with this, many of my students today gave me the “but I don’t have anything to write about” as they laid on the floor and cried like three year olds (ok not really).
So what does one do when the words don’t come like a river, but more like a little dribble in a dried up stream bed? Well, I tell my students to look at the “Inspiration Poster” we made at the beginning of the year and if that doesn’t work, go here for a group of narrative prompts to use.
Me, I just keep writing. The words struggle onto my screen, like snail running a 50 yard dash, or me running a 5K, both painfully slow. But if you don’t keep going, then the word’s come at more painfully slow pace. What’s a writer to do??
So I keep writing. One does not simply stop writing because the words don’t flow. As I tell my students: the words are there, it’s your job to find them and get them going towards the final goal. Sometimes, herding those words onto the screen in an organized fashion is like herding cats, or sixth graders. Today is one of those days, with words trying to scamper off before I can get them into use.
But, in the end, they seem to line up, not in a great order, but one that makes a little bit of sense and gives my reader the impression that another word battle has been won. No, it’s not always like this, but some days, you just take the good with the bad! 🙂
March 11, 2016 at 2:55 pm
Yep. Write anyway. Or as Anne Lamott says, “Get to the desk. Butt in chair. Write badly.”
March 11, 2016 at 3:12 pm
I may need to write that down and post it in my room! 🙂 That’s totally what my 8th graders need!
March 11, 2016 at 2:58 pm
This:
“The words are there, it’s your job to find them and get them going towards the final goal.”
This is such sound advice.
Thanks for being a great writing model for your kids.
March 11, 2016 at 3:26 pm
I am right there with you today! Struggling today to get a slice. It’s like they’ve gone into hiding!
March 11, 2016 at 3:41 pm
So true. You simply must keep writing. Sometimes, some of our best words come in the midst of these struggles.
March 11, 2016 at 3:53 pm
Some days my slice is more like a sliver.
March 11, 2016 at 5:15 pm
Your bad day is better than my good one! Congratulations on a great write and a great read.
March 11, 2016 at 5:58 pm
Totally relate! I wrote about a color yesterday. A color. Good luck on the rest of your challenge; I’m sure you’ll find inspiration.
March 11, 2016 at 6:19 pm
🙂 Some days the struggle is real! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
March 11, 2016 at 7:46 pm
Even though you felt like your words scampered off, they didn’t. You herded quite a number to create this post. Now the trick is to do it again and again, and . . . You can do it!
March 14, 2016 at 11:00 am
It’s like herding cats, sometimes, it’s just hard to keep them from rambling all over. Yet, getting them together, and seeming them work as one, it’s pretty neat to “see”.
March 11, 2016 at 11:40 pm
Thank you for letting me know that other slicers have hit a wall on Day 11. As I finished printing report cards at 10:10 tonight, I had nothing to give, and no mindshare for choosing a topic. I listed 3 possibilities. Stared at the list. I needed to get the job done. I had no time to delve, and no energy for breaking down a single moment. What to do? What to do? I wrote a poem about the many moments. I suppose it was a list poem. No depth. No exploding the minutes. Just a sliver, as you say, of each moment, strung together as verse. I appreciated your reflection. It made me feel better. 🙂
March 14, 2016 at 10:59 am
Sometimes, the slivers of life are all we have the energy to share. I’m learning this as I keep pushing forward with this challenge. And I’m learning, that’s ok. 🙂
March 12, 2016 at 9:11 pm
So true! It’s weirdly getting tougher and easier. It depends on my mood, but I find I’m noticing more potential topics than I did before I started. At the same time, I’ll sit down to write and realize I don’t want to write about that topic. Ugh. #bloggerproblems I enjoy your voice; I’ll be back!
March 14, 2016 at 10:57 am
#bloggerproblems are right! I’m finding that as well: what I though I’d write about is crap, but what I just started scribbling about is what I actually want to write about! 🙂 Oh what fun!