#SOL

 

The desire to write grows with writing.  ~ Desiderius Erasmus

Right about this time of the year I often get a little weary and it is easy to start listing what hasn’t gone right and start planning in my head for next year.

But today I got the shot in the arm I need to finish out the year with the same enthusiasm I had when I began in September. I got to spend the day at MCIU with Jeff Anderson.  He gave us an introduction and small taste of three of his books – 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know, Mechanically Inclined, and Revision Decisions. I took notes feverishly.  

I thoroughly enjoyed my day.  Jeff was informative, inspiring, and funny.  These are some of my favorite take-away quotes.

• Teacher you’re a firework. You are the spark.  Bring joy to your students.
• The death of creativity is wanting to it to be right.
• What mark will you leave behind by what you say or don’t say, what you do or don’t do?
• Create a space where writing behaviors happen.
• Until you know what your focus is, you cannot choose the right details.
• Sentence combining is the most important part of growing writers.

And my most favorite…..

• Think of grammar as a creational facility rather than a correctional one.

I wish every professional development day could be as inspiring as this day has been!

Thank you, Jeff Anderson

@writeguyjeff

 #SOL    

 

Enjoy every moment; you never know when things might change. ~ Natalie Imbruglia

Sometimes when you don’t plan you end up having the best time. Take last Saturday for example. My husband and I kept tossing around ideas for what we were going to do once we tackled a few things on our “to do” list. Much to my surprise one of my colleagues emailed me saying she had two extra tickets to the Phillies/Marlins 6:05 game. I told Chuck of the offer, and we looked at each other a couple of times before deciding to seize the moment. What was our hesitation? Well you see the weather was not exactly baseball worthy. It was cold and a little windy.

We bundled up, packed a cooler bag, and set off for Citizens’ Bank Park. We looked more like we were going to an Eagles’ game just in red rather than midnight green. We were decked out in hoodies, hats, scarves, and winter coats. I even took a blanket! The drive down was uneventful, and before you know it we were entering the stadium and receiving a free t-shirt! We only had a short walk on the concourse to get to our seats in the right-center field. We were only a hop, skip and a jump from the bullpen. There really isn’t a bad seat in the whole ballpark!

The best part of the night was that the Phillies won 20 -1, and we got to witness two grand slams! So glad we decided to brave the weather and go to the game, if not we probably would have been asleep on the couch before the game was over.

     #SOL18 Day 31

 

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. ~ Unknown.

Dear Fellow Slicers,

We made it! Thank you to each and every one of you for helping me complete this challenge.

Many days I perused your blogs in search of inspiration, and I always found a new idea, format, or topic on which to hook my keyboard. You are an amazing group of writers.

Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. I learned more about giving feedback myself. There is a big difference between commenting on the work of my students and commenting on the work of accomplished writers.

Many people in my life asked me why I was doing this challenge; they didn’t quite understand. So I found myself asking myself the questions, “What is a slice?” “What are these things I’ve been writing about?”  This is what I came up with.

S – something large or something small
L – lifted from lives of one and all
I – inspired by individuality or imitation
C – cause for concern or celebration
E – ending with a sense of accomplishment

I won’t promise, but I am going to do my best to remain part of the SOL community by posting and responding on Tuesdays. I hope to see many of you there. If not….see you next year!

#SOL18 Day 30          

Today I am trying my hand at a 34-word story. Inspired by Kelly Gallagher and Fran Haley.

From Bethlehem to Nazareth she watched Him grow. Mary knew His life would change the world. Her Son. She silently watched as Jesus carried his cross to Calvary where He died for our salvation.

Whether you are celebrating Easter, or Passover, or nothing at all, I wish peace, and joy, and the feeling of hope that spring brings to us each year.