3.20.17 #sol17 Writer's Group

I should be at my writer's group right now. My friends Holly, Megan, Jill, Val and I are in a writer's group. Unfortunately Greg had a meeting tonight, so I had to miss. And I'm missing them so much. So I thought I'd write about them.

Our writing group has met exactly once. We didn't write at all. We laughed and shared. We caught up and talked about writing (a little bit anyway). We ate and drank. We communed.

And that community has been so powerful. It motivated me to actually start this blog challenge. Holly has been slicing for a few years now, and I always read her posts. An experience that Megan had earlier this year had me thinking on my drive home about a piece she should write; I was so excited I texted her as soon as I got home. And getting to spend time facilitating professional development with Jill, Val and Holly had me thinking about all kinds of smart writing.

So you see, though we didn't officially share writing during our group, we did the work of building a community. We're doing the work of writers -- thinking, sharing, collaborating, rehearsing. And writing.

This blog challenge has offered the same for me. It has been amazing to be part of a community of writers. Getting comments on posts is wonderful, but even without those comments, I'm feeling so empowered by seeing everyone else's posts. I'm loving the generative power of reading each other's works.

An unexpected surprise has been the feedback from folks outside the challenge. Friends have sent me messages about their own experiences that relate to something they read in my blog. Or family members reach out to affirm something I've written. My mom even texted me the other day because she thought of some topics.

Knowing that there are actual people reading my writing has reminded me how important it is to participate in a community. To be held accountable. To have a real purpose. To engage in our own learning.

In my work, I spend time with lots of different kinds of students: teachers in graduate school, undegraduates as well as young students. I want to find ways to create the same space for student writers. I want to do more than just school writing. I want to help them find a community.