Dear Writers,
Yesterday, on Twitter, I recommended reading @thelivbits’s recent post on words that define the year. I love Liv!!! She gives me ALL THE FEELS. I also love her mission and her drive. Also: I love challenges like this. I like thinking this way. I like seeing what other people write. After reading her post, my words came quickly:
Blessing, Family, Friends, Determination, Play, Serendipity
(Yep. I forgot SPARKLES. Oy. That’s what happens when you post a second too quickly.)
After I posted, my husband and I reflected on the year. There have been many triumphs. And also, many changes and concerns for our world.
I started thinking about how those words are really my every year words. They are my foundation for creativity (another word I forgot). They are the words that I lean on when the writing gets hard. Or when life gets hard.
So I thought about this challenge a bit longer. I journaled a bit. This morning, I want to add these words to my list.
VOICE. This has been a year when many of us did new things to have our voices heard. We marched. We spoke out. We called the kettle black. We tried new things. When I think about the ONE THING I never want to change in my writing life, it is my willingness to try. To reach. To see how far my voice will stretch. I have a lot of opinions. This is the year of #metoo. This is the year that the need for diversity stopped being a concept and became more a reality. This is the year that many of us needed to shut up and LISTEN.
Has listening ever been a more important action?
TRUTH: Did you read Roxane Gay’s essay on Truth? If not, here it is. Never before have I yearned for objectivity and truth as I have this year. I am disgusted by the willingness of people to LIE. I hate how the truth has been torn to shreds…for personal gain. Without truth, we wobble. This constant chorus called “fake news” dismantles our society.
RISK: I took a lot of risks this year. Some of those risks paid off. YAY! Some of them didn’t. Sometimes, I still cry. It’s the liability of caring.
VULNERABLE: When I broke my ankle, I got a crash course in what it feels like to have to ask for help. (Hint: I’m not so good at that.) I don’t think I do my best when I am feeling vulnerable or unsafe. ALWAYS my first goal in every class I teach is to help everyone feel safe. COMMUNITY is my foundation and strength. I don’t believe we can fully embrace our creative goals when we feel too exposed.
MISSION: I met a lot of people this year–that share a mission of kindness, literacy, and learning. I have loved making all these new friends. That is why I’m going to offer #TipsOnTuesdays. See cute image here: cover tips on tues
I want to support all the good work that is happening. I hope these tips will help teachers and young writers find new words to play with.
HEART: We writers write with our hearts. We share our hearts. We hope that our hearts will be heard. That is the magic behind SPARKLES. That is what this year has been about for me. I don’t mean to be funny! I have spent much of this year writing about girls and magic. I have thought a lot about how much we need a little magic–a break from the news. How we need people who will reach out to others to selflessly make them happy. (Or H. E. A.)
Friends, I will probably find more words the second I press POST. But I think I want to leave it here. I love that my first words are Blessing. Family. Friendship. Play. Determination. Serendipity. And Sparkle. I am so happy living a creative life. This is who I am. At the core.
Our words have power! Let’s use 2018 to make the world better. Thank again, Liv, for making me think.
xo s