Presenting on Notebook-ing!

Writing Notebooks: Playgrounds for Writers

Let's Start Our Notebooks

Just Take it Bird by Bird, Buddy

The title is from my favorite Anne Lamott book, "Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life". I first read this book in the mid-nineties when it was first published. This book, along with "Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg, served as my writing bible when I was in graduate school. This was the first time I remember thinking, "I love writing." And wondering, "Could I be a writer?" 

Her story, her words...changed my life. As she wrote, I read and read. I shared. I listened. It was a relationship between me and the story. Her storytelling is brilliant, funny, real, and powerful. I can't stay away, so when I heard that she was speaking thirty miles away from me, I HAD to go.  Tickets purchased. Directions scouted. Plans made. I attended alone. It's how one should always meet a hero. The drive, though only thirty miles, took almost two hours...DC traffic! I could hardly wait! The venue was beautiful. I grabbed a bottle of water and a chocolate chip cookie to nibble on as I waited. I sat next to a woman who was sitting on the floor, alone. We chatted for a couple of moments and agreed that these nights, listening to our favorite authors, were our rock concerts. Finally, we were being seated. LOOK at my seat! I knew it was going to be a good seat when the usher said, "Wow!" 

Yes, I took a picture of my seat!

LOOK at all of the leg room. I had lots of space and I was very comfortable! About ten minutes after I took my seat, she quietly and with no introduction or fanfare walked onto the stage. I confess, I had tears in my eyes. I've been reading her stories for more than twenty years and now I'm in the same room as she is...it was a moment for me.

Her talk was entertaining. I love how she kept waving to the people sitting all the way at the top! I love how she kept losing her place and moving on to something else! I love how she connected with the audience. 

My hand rarely stopped moving. I took pages and pages of notes. I didn't want to miss anything. Here are some of my favorite lines, 

"Where I first found salvation was in the written word," in talking about reading as a child.

"Seek truth. Go outside! Talk to others who need to talk. Listen." 

"Mercy is grace in action. It means having a heart for other people's trouble."

Over and over again she repeated, "Show yourself mercy. That means radical self-care."

"Buy yourself beautiful socks. These are desperate times."

After her talk, she was signing books. It was already close to ten o'clock and I had to teach the next day...but once in a lifetime. I was four from the end of the line. As I waited, I reminded myself to breathe. I reminded myself to say, "Thank you." As the line moved, I got so excited. 

She signed my book! She signed MY book. I said, "Thank you." And other silliness. 

The moment I'll take with me is this...I asked, "How are you?" She stopped. That startled me a bit. She looked at me. She looked me in the eyes and said, "I'm fine," she paused and then asked, "How are you?" Those words felt like they were spoken in slow motion. It felt like the world stopped and she really saw me and heard me. 

I met Anne Lamott.

  Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.

Words Hurt, Words Heal

Yesterday was Monday. It was very Monday-ish too. Mondays usually don't bother me, but yesterday, it got me good! To quote the brilliant Judith Viorst,

What happened? Words happened. Words hurt me. Words frustrated me. Words shamed me. Responding to these situations isn't easy. Sometimes I fight back and other times I let go. Today I did a little of both, but most importantly I turned to my own words. Writing helps me sort out issues. Writing brings me peace of mind. Writing often answers questions that I didn't even know I had. Here's a poem that poured out of my day...

My notebook became Mine today.

I grabbed it

in a moment

of pain and

despair.

It’s in this moment

when the pages

offer comfort

and protection

they become part of me.

It’s in this moment

where trust is earned

by guarding and preserving

these words, these sentences,

these stories.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.

Falling in Love with Notebooks!

Today is National Notebook Day! This holiday is made for me. Unfortunately, we can't celebrate in class tomorrow as we are testing, so I began the celebration today. The past couple of weeks I've noticed students complaining about notebooks and forgetting notebooks. I thought about it and realized that we aren't using them enough. Wednesday, I posted this on the board...

In each class we spent some time reacquainting ourselves to our notebooks. It took some time. We perused our pages. We picked out special entries. We started to write and play in our notebooks again. Two students said, "Ms. Haseltine, I get it! I wrote better today than I have in a long time." These same two students stumbled on an idea for a book and started drafting and planning. Oh, the magic of notebooks! During the next blocks, we continued our journey back to notebooks. We wrote about ordinary objects that are around our classroom every single day. Some students wrote descriptions, some wrote poems, some began stories...they all wrote. They felt powerful and energized. As we ended, I heard the noise every teacher loves to hear, "Awwww! Can we have moooooorrrrreee time!!! Plleeeeaaassseeee?!?!" Here are some pictures of my students working and their writing...

Notebook Trouble

I have sad news. Many of my students have fallen out of love with their notebooks. I noticed this last week when I said, "Please take out your notebooks." and that was greeted with moans and groans. Uh-Oh! Today we began our journey back to our notebooks. Check out my blog post tomorrow for National Notebook Day. We are falling in love with our notebooks again. Here is a sneak peek...