March Slice of Life Challenge #sol17

This coming Wednesday, the calendar turns from February to March.  I find March to be exciting for many reasons.  It is the month in which I was born, so that’s exciting.  It also feels like the month when spring begins to poke its timid head above the winter snow and say, “It’s time, right?”  March marks the month of Spring Break for most schools (although not my own)- also exciting for many. And March, whether it comes in like a lion or a lamb, always feels like a spirit of renewal.  Spring cleaning begins, things begin to grow again, and the warmth of the sun — maybe not consistently– appears, seeming to whisper, “Hey, remember me?”

For me, this particular March is exciting for a new reason.  Recently, I have become a co-author of the excellent blog entitled, “Two Writing Teachers.”  No, I am not one of the “two” writing teachers; but I am one of the eight writing teachers who now blogs about the teaching of writing.  And this is actually really exciting for me!  Each March, the Two Writing Teachers blog hosts what is called the “Slice of Life Challenge.”  To participate in this challenge, one must (1) own a blog and (2) commit to writing everyday for 31 days in March. One must also commit to joining a community of writers who provide each other feedback along the way (i.e., commenting on others’ blog posts throughout the month).  Writing  during this time is intended to be about “slices” of everyday life.  “Small moment stories” they are sometimes called.  Poems are also okay, though not my strong suit.  So, as a co-author of Two Writing Teachers I will be participating this year.

For the first time.

And I am nervous.

However, I am one who believes everything is hard before it is easy.  Therefore, I plan to forge ahead with this challenge and use this opportunity for the following purposes:

(1) Continue to write posts meant to be within the spirit of this blog: that is, writing for those of you working to support middle school readers and writers at home.

(2)  Write more. Writing begets writing, and we learn to write by…well, writing.  Writing is a bit like riding a bike– the more we do it, the stronger we become (although writing is harder, I know that!). So I’m hoping to become stronger.

(3)  Join a community of writers all struggling together to accomplish something hard.

The late and great William Zinsser once said, “All writing is a journey.”  The March Slice of Life Challenge will be a journey.  I look forward to some of you tuning in to see what happens…I hope you do.  Stay tuned…

Author: Lanny Ball

For more than 29 years, Lanny has taught, coached, presented, staff developed, and consulted within the exciting and enigmatic world of literacy. With unyielding passion and belief in the possibility of workshop teaching, Lanny has worked to support students, teachers, and school administrators around the country in outgrowing themselves as both writers and readers. Working first as a classroom teacher, then as a coach and TCRWP Staff Developer, Lanny is now a literacy specialist, working and living in the great state of Connecticut. Outside of literacy, he enjoys raising his three ambitious young daughters with his wife, and playing the piano. Find him on this blog, as well as on Twitter @LannyBall. Lanny is also a former co-author of a blog dedicated to supporting writing teachers and coaches that maintain classroom writing workshops, twowritingteachers.org. View all posts by Lanny Ball